In Cannes to promote a project which might become my next film, with a prevailing wind. It goes by the name of Our Robot Overlords. Piers Tempest is producing, a man with boundless enthusiasm and drive. The script was commissioned by Natascha Wharton at the BFI. We have a fantastic Casting Director on board – but I won’t jinx it by naming names, the ink isn’t dry on her deal yet. Nvizible are set to handle the visual effects, as they did on Grabbers, and my partner in crime Paddy Eason is back in the supervising seat. And as anyone who’s seen Grabbers will tell you, the monster effects are brilliant…
So… What’s it about?
All I can tell you is that it’s set three years after the robot invasion. There’s a two minute teaser I could show you… but won’t. There’s a gang of kids with a Super 8 slash Goonies vibe. But it’s a bit darker and harder edged than those movies. A PG-13 certificate.
Sorry to be a pricktease… but we’re only going out with the script to a handful of people. A very select few. And trust me when I say that this script… is really cool. It rocks.
William Goldman, screenwriter of well-deserved legend, once famously said that in the movie business “nobody knows anything”. I know what he means – I’ve experienced it first hand! But here’s my inkling, my gut instinct… Our Robot Overlords won’t stay on the shelf for long. I can feel it in my water.
But that’s just a hunch. The Movie Gods, as ever, will do what they will…
Written with a dubbed version of Anaconda on the hotel room TV — 21st May 2013
PS: There’s a Twitter account if you want to follow our adventures in the screen trade — @Robot_Overlords.
