How did I end up at Shaftsbury Avenue? – read previous blogs(I) and (2).
…..I was wrenched back to Shaftsbury Avenue by the startling reality of a young man greeting me at the door of A.M. Heath, literary agents, dressed in pinstriped morning attire. Pinstripes proceeded to guide me through an Aladdin’scave of books and scripts balancing on shelves, on tabletopsand on the floor. Flecks of dust floated in the shafts of light,as the sun forced its way through the lashing rain outside,creating enchanting patterns in this magical Dickensian place.
I was terrified, but full of hope as I made my way through this hallowed literary land. This is where writing careers were in balance, some to be made, others to be broken.
I knew that the stern, silhouetted figure sitting opposite mecould sink my film to unrecoverable depths, either by limiting copyright permissions, not granting them at all, or charging an exorbitant fee which would impact the production values I had so carefully planned “….and which quote of Orwell’s do you wish to use” said the voice from across the desk.
With trepidation I said, “I need permission to quote from all of Orwell’s books, all his short stories and all of his articles”. Just a small ask 😉. I told him my ideas for the film and why I needed the complete freedom to use everything that Orwell had ever written, published, or spoken. Furthermore, I wished to dramatize some of his work from ‘Homage to Catalonia’ his masterpiece about the Spanish Civil War.
There followed a long silence. This person had never heard of me; I was just a very wet person sitting opposite him dripping hope and water onto his floor. I wasn’t from the BBC or some other major broadcaster, I wasn’t making a feature film with loads of money, no big– named actor attached. The silhouetted figure leant towards me, out of the shadows and smiling said, “I like your ideas for the film and I’m going to grant you all the permissions you’ve requested. The fee will benominal”.
He told me afterwards that Hugh Hudson, director of Chariots of Fire was planning a feature film based on ‘Homage to Catalonia’ and so he’d approached Hudson to explain that my dramatization would be more like John Grierson’s definition of a documentary: A creative treatment of actuality and not in conflict with his large-scale feature film.
2 A.M. Heath was formed by Audrey Heath and Alice May Spinks. Looking
back I feel fortunate that they were Orwell’s Literary Agents. Their mantra is ‘Independent Thinking’ and an ambition to shift, shape and enrich cultural conventions, with innovative ideas – we seemed a good match.
I will be writing a 4th Blog to celebrate the Birth of Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell).
#culturalconvensions #orwellagainstthetide #freedom#copyright #orwell #literaryagent #independentfilm
This story and many others are available in my book at the student rate of £10.
‘SHAPING THE SHADOWS: A Picture Maker’s Story’ available from The National Library of Scotland:
http://shop.nls.uk/shaping-the-shadows-2798-p.asp
marklittlewood.org.uk
Amazon.
