Oliver here. So what do you do when it turns out the script you’ve been focusing on for more than a month won’t get made? Well you could always panic and throw things, but there are more sensible solutions than that. When you invest your time and effort into a project then you want to see it finalized, but in it’s current state Blood Mask was less than coherent. It could have been changed and improved in further drafts, but if others aren’t as interested in investing their unpaid time then you can’t force them to be interested unless bribery is involved.
I admit to being a bit biased. I didn’t write Transgenesis so by default it wasn’t a creation that prioritized my interest. Even though it’s a contagion movie, it has an unmistakable zombie influence. I’m less than enthusiastic about zombies, but upon stepping back I can see it’s potential. Zombie or pandemic stories are difficult to create these days because good ones have already been made. You can’t help but compare it to films that have come before. Most zombie films end up becoming about the brutalities of mankind when reacting to a catastrophe. It’s a well worn but relatable concept.
They are in a sense, political or humanistic allegories. A ferocious display of the best and worst our species has to offer. Night of the living dead was about the Vietnam era and racism and Dawn of the Dead was about consumerism. There are many ways to approach this script, potential layers to unveil depending on the interpretation. Despite it not being mine I can still see the various plot threads and how they can evolve. Personally I would make it more satirical, a Dr. Strangelove-esque tale of paranoia and the idea that zombies may exist rather than the direct damage they inflict. I’m intrigued to see what it becomes. I wish the script the best. Now is the bit where I look to the possibilities elsewhere. Scan the storytelling horizon and see what options beckon.
There is an odd occurrence that happened after the meeting that decided the script the production bunch was to pursue. Despite already knowing the outcome of the day I still fought for Blood Mask. The story’s a mess, but it’s one I helped create so it’s tough to leave a story unfinished. However once the meeting was over there was a sense of what happens now? I could go back to Blood Mask, but for now that’s a story that needs time to gestate. I’ve spent the last couple of days going through various story ideas. Many of which are underdeveloped, but now is the chance to explore those prospects to their fullest extent. That or I could live in a hedge and make tea cozies out of my own hair. That’s a much better idea.
The Production Bunch 
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