*FILM* My first lead role for quite a while: MERCY

[judecalverttoulmin]

Hello again, I haven't been on here much recently as I'm trying to keep off forums atm due to my work load as a writer and tossing it off on Facebook. However some of you may be interested in this - I was recently cast in the lead of the short film MERCY, written and directed by independent Sheffield filmmaker João Paulo Simões.

The 10 minute preview is available at the following private link: Password: Mercy

"MERCY explores the notions of family and identity through the brief encounter between two women. This unforgiving tale retains its ambiguity until the very last frame of the film."

The extended version will be available on a Special Edition DVD this Christmas and there will be a private view and launch party for it in Sheffield. Please message me here if you want an invite once the date is announced: fleurdelyspublishing.com/contact.html

I have done bits and bobs of acting over the years and am on the IMDB for the cult short Johnny YesNo which is being re-released on Mute Records on the 14th November, but writing has taken a precedent. However once all 5 of my book titles are out I'm going to be pursuing more acting work - I recently appeared on a TV show with a 5 million audience (to be screened in Feb 2012) and apart from having children and meeting my husband, it was the best week of my life...more on that once I'm able to talk about it...I tried to get plugs in for my two favourite directors, Shane and Bruce Robinson, but they may well end up on the cutting room floor...

Other work by João Paulo Simões can be viewed on capturafilmes.blogspot.com/

[judecalverttoulmin]

Above: Brian mucking around in bed with the hipstamatic getting a Stem on.

OK an update for those interested....Mercy now has a closed group on Facebook with nearly 1400 members. Please apply to join and one of the mods will accept you (I'm one of them as I co-produced the film.) The group is very entertaining as we're having to constantly remove spam by Hollywood actors and producers - I wrote a light-hearted blog article about an online spat I had with one of the Hollywood actresses over the spamming called The Fine Art of Plugging.

Mercy will be released on DVD on the 16th January; I'll return and post a link once I have one.

In the meantime, my husband Brian Trevelyan, who played a small role in Mercy and who has never acted before in his life, has turned out to be a total natural as an actor with one of those rare screen presences where you simply cannot take your eyes off him on screen and João Paulo Simões has now cast Brian as the lead in a music video for Sheffield artist Sieben, whose work some of you will be familiar with as he'd gaining popularity on Sheffield's underground art/music/film scene.

The Sieben video He Can Delve in Hearts is a multi-character short film/music video hybrid and Brian plays a drooling psychopath called Stem. It's being shot in a couple of weeks in Sheffield at Sieben (Matt Howden)'s gothic rambling house in Nether Edge in Sheffield and once it's cut and ready I'll post a link to that too. I'll be taking production stills and will put an album online of those as well.

Also, João was so pleased with my performance as a totally broken woman in Mercy (not really rocket science considering my life - see my fictionalised autobiography My Adventures in Cyberspace linked to in my sig, 87p on Kindle) that he's cast me in the lead role for his next film playing a psychiatrist, woo hoo! I'm not allowed to say any more than that yet but shooting will begin in the spring. Which means me having to shift about 10 kilos of winter blubber before then.

See, this is why I became a writer in the first place so it didn't matter what I looked like! Bah humbug!

[Dave]

There's been a distinct lack of interaction with people's film posts on this forum for a while now.... and I'm as guilty as the next person. I'll give this a watch later on after work.

I'm trying to think of some sort of fun way of making people feel more likely to comment on other peoples work. I think people may be watching stuff (because there are usually quite a few views of each post), but there's not much comment afterwards!

[Gareth]

I think another competitions over due Dave

[Dave]

Hey, so what is this TV programme you are in... or is that still top secret until it has aired in February?

Just watched the 10 minute version of Mercy. Moody and atmospheric. I did think the editing was sometimes a bit clunky though.
..and if you want any of my valueless thoughts on the acting, I thought it often felt a bit like stage acting that was aware of an audience. Not that you were looking for my opinion!

[judecalverttoulmin]

Jan 11, 2012 21:41:59 GMT Dave said:

Hey, so what is this TV programme you are in... or is that still top secret until it has aired in February?

It's in the press now Dave so I can mention it...will put a post on the general discussion board in a mo. I'm on Come Dine With Me Sheffield All in One this Friday at 19:35 Channel 4 then on Channel 4+1 at 20:35.

It has been KILLING me not to be able to talk about it till now. Even my own children don't know what the order of the winners was.

Apart from having them and meeting my husband Brian, it was the best week of my life and after these next two books I'm working on are out I defo want to do more tele so will be registering myself on Star Now or wherever as a TV presenter...or possibly putting together an idea for a show of my own to present...but atm that's just an idea as I have to (try to) focus on my writing for now.

Jan 11, 2012 21:41:59 GMT Dave said:

Just watched the 10 minute version of Mercy. Moody and atmospheric. I did think the editing was sometimes a bit clunky though.
..and if you want any of my valueless thoughts on the acting, I thought it often felt a bit like stage acting that was aware of an audience. Not that you were looking for my opinion!

Your opinion is welcome, of course! João is not one of those directors who wants to let the actors bring their own plans to the table; he's a total control freak like Kubrick. He has a definite vision and the actors are merely pawns to move around the board to fulfill that vision. And as an actor, I think you have to be prepared to be humble enough to allow that. My own ideas about my hair were involved, but the make-up and acting were exactly as João wanted them. There are times when I didn't particularly want to play a scene the way he wanted me to (I take your point about some of the acting feeling staged; that's precisely what he wanted) but I wasn't in charge. I'm in charge writing my books and I can get characters to do what I want (within reason, my editor often scrawls "purple prose get rid of it" or "not working needs more" etc etc all over my work) but on set João is the boss, and I feel very strongly about respecting that irrespective of my own creative leanings.

It would be worth your while seeing the full length version, Dave, you can buy it from [url=http://frontiermedia.blogspot.com/
]Frontier Media[/url] or directly with [url=
www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZCXKATJ2ALCBU]paypal[/url] for the price of a couple of pints.

I'm proud to be involved - João had professional models and actresses from all over Europe trying to get onto his latest project, the music video He Can Delve In Hearts for Sieben.

Which brings me to my husband Brian again who played Stem in HCDIH and my husband "Brian" in Mercy. Now I've seen him in the full length version of Mercy I am GUTTED that he stole the screen from all of us, LOL He's just got something, I'm honestly so proud of him. Brian and I had to do a sex scene together and it's honestly one of the best sex scenes I've ever seen on screen; visceral and real. I was crapping myself having to do it but it was all done very sensitively.

So....that's a roundup so far. I now have to continue getting in shape for spring! Will go and post about CDWM on the main board now...

[judecalverttoulmin]

OK the video for Sieben's He Can Delve in Hearts is online now at Vimeo.

Brian as "Stem" actually made my skin crawl! Personally, I'm not a big fan of the audio dip for the dialogue sections, but it's one of those creative decisions. Apart from that, I LOVE it!

Here's a shot of Sieben by photographer Chris Saunders for the No Less Than All album photoshoot:

[jamestsullivan]

I think another competitions over due Dave I agree