My current project OUT OF THE DARK originated from literary agent Mark Lucas, who suggested that, on the strength of my debut movie Blind Flight, I might be the filmmaker to take on the best-selling book of the same name co-written by his clients Linda Caine and Robin Royston.

A true story - about a suicidal Baptist Christian mother (Linda) and a Jungian psychiatrist (Robin) who risks his career to save her life (see Outline/Storyline) - it was certainly every bit as "difficult" an undertaking as Mark professed. How could one make sense of a story in which the central protagonist just seems to get worse, not better, as her therapy progresses, and who is only cured at the very end by the sudden intervention of a Christian healer? What was the point of her therapy if all she needed was a healer from her faith!

This dislocation seemed to arise from the book skirting around the role of Linda's faith, apparently due to concern that it could be a turn-off for readers. But as a non-believer who had done a fair amount of therapy I found this very intriguing and as a dramatist her faith seemed to me to be central to an understanding of her character and her story. Where was Linda's God during her ordeal? What was the relationship between her psychological and her spiritual journey?

Thematically and filmically a big challenge - the book is an emotional and hallucinatory maelstrom of flashes, flashbacks, spoken memories, nightmares and waking dreams - OUT OF THE DARK also felt makeable, a necessarily pragmatic question when considering any film venture. It was a powerful story, with potentially two strong lead parts for actors, which could be made on a modest budget. And the story's very large UK readership of almost 250,000 suggested that it could attract audience interest.

An exploration of faith - of Linda's in her God, of Robin's in his psychoanalytic skills, of both in each other - on the back of a compelling Hitchcockian psychological detective story - the screenplay I've done (see Screenplay Samples) has been taken on by my formidable casting director from Blind Flight Celestia Fox. She feels that both the lead parts have indeed turned out to be very strong, with Linda's demon-driven, roller-coaster role particularly attractive for leading, possibly even A-list, actors.

Robin's part is, by the discreet nature of his profession, a very subtle, nuanced one that will demand 'listening' screen acting of a really high order, but as Celestia puts it "It's not showy - get a terrific woman actor in place first and then go for the male lead". Like my agent Elaine (Steel), she doesn't mince her words. That, and their instinct and intelligence, is what makes them invaluable. They put you on your mettle.

The US writers', and possible actors', strike has been logjamming the business so casting is going to take time. Meanwhile Ian Hart, who starred as Brian Keenan in Blind Flight, has committed to the co-starring role of the senior psychiatric nurse (Barry), a cynical atheist and member of the awkward squad at the mental hospital where Linda was treated by Robin. Barry's a character I invented, with Ian in mind, to help develop the film's themes and provide some humour. Ian's a wonderfully acute actor and to have the support of him, Celestia, my script editor Philip Palmer, to whom the screenplay owes a great deal, and Luke Randolph and Archie Tait, my mainstays on Blind Flight, is a real fillip in such a morale-challenging business.

My market research has uncovered some interesting, indeed encouraging data for any filmmaker trying to do work that might be seen as on the 'quality' rather than obviously commercial end of the scale. What sector of cinema audiences is now becoming the increasingly significant one in the marketplace? The answer is the over-35's, with women a key component. Very much Out Of The Dark's most obvious potential market. And the net obviously offers all kinds of possibilities for targeting audiences and giving a film a considerably longer marketing life than in the past. (see News/Info: A Film Project & Its Marketability)

January 2008