SMA Talent Welcomes Writer and Director Michael Elkin
SMA Talent welcome writer and director Michael Elkin into the family. Michael has experienced most aspects of filmmaking having first entered the industry as an actor in his late twenties. However, always a keen storyteller, he began writing short film scripts, feature films and pilots. After Lambeth Walk Films asked him to write a feature for them, he decided to concentrate his efforts on writing scripts that he could direct.
SMA sat down with Michael to get to know him a little better. Here's how the conversation went...
Q> Tell us a little bit about your path into writing and directing.
Michael> In truth, it was almost accidental. I came into this industry as an actor at the ripe old age of 28 and a few years in, having seen a few scripts, started scribbling my own ideas down and creating little scenes -‘comedy stuff mostly’ - as a little hobby. Then one day myself and a few actor friends were talking about writing something for us all to act in.
The result was a short film called Trapped; nothing special, but I had enjoyed the process of writing it. A couple of years later,a guy I met asked to look at a feature script that he was having trouble with. The film to this day is unproduced, but the guy was a real live wire and kept telling me that I had a real talent for writing and should forget the acting.
I still act, but I love the whole writing process. I wrote my own feature script called Breakearly 2010. The only problem was, every time I spoke to a potential producer,they all seemed to want to change it in some way shape or form. The final straw came when I met a guy who said he could get the film financed and produced, but only if I took my name off the script and put his name on it instead. I realised quite quickly that if I handed Break over to anyone else, it would end up something completely different and it would have been totally ruined. The only option was to direct it myself and to maintain as much control as I possibly could!
So, I set up Break Films Limited and I was then able to approach producers as the screenwriter, director and as the owner/director of aready-made film company.
Q> How do you like to approach a new project?
Michael> As a writer, I tend to act on my ideas pretty much straight away. If I am reading or even just staring out of a window deep in thought and story idea, a situation or even just a line of witty dialogue pops into my head and I think there could be something in it, I write it down. Generally, I write the opening for a movie before I even know where I am going with it – four or five pages is usually enough. The next step is to formulate an ending, so I know where it is heading. Does the character achieve their goal or not? Then I start to think about various obstacles and mishaps that could happen along the way. I tend to think of these in actual scenes - a scene where our protagonist loses their job, their house or they realise that they have been double crossed or whatever. Once I have these plot points in mind, I write them into the scripting basic form, a sentence will often suffice. Now I have the beginning already written, a clear ending in mind and a few basic sentences in between – the plot points. Then it’s just a case of filling in the gaps and that tends to happen organically rather then methodically. I just write and see where it takes me.
Q> What would your ideal working day entail?
Michael> My ‘ideal’ working day would entail getting up at 6 o’clock and thrashing out ten pages of a script before breakfast, but unfortunately that has never ever happened. I tend to get up at around half 8 and everything is usually geared towards breakfast for me, a cup of tea and a plate of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. I’m usually on the laptop for 10 and consider a few good scenes or around five pages a decent day. I can live with that.
Q> When you’re having a tough writing day, what do you do to get yourself back into gear?
Michael> I find going for a walk in the park is a good way to clear the mind of any distractions and get the creative juices flowing. It’s something I learned to do as an actor when learning a piece for an audition, I would find a secluded spot and speak the words out loud until they were ingrained. Alternatively, I have a good friend who is also a writer and I will often call him and talk through the script; he helps me identify problems and often gives me a little pep talk. If none of that works, I turn it in for the day. Some days are just like that. I find asking questions or thinking about a scene in bed before sleeping is a good way to get the right answers.
Q> What kind of screenwriting do you admire most and why?
Michael> Good question. There are so many resources available these days and I tend to make good use of them. I download and read a lot of scripts.The Devils Advocate is a terrific read and a great example of everything I like in a screenplay. It’s about a hotshot lawyer who is hired by a top law firm that happens to be run by the devil himself and who later reveals that he is actually the father of our hotshot lawyer.
In the wrong hands, something like this could have ended up being an overwritten, over-complicated mess, but what we end up with is a study of human nature, of vanity, pride and a man’s innate desire to succeed at any cost. Ultimately, he must choose between good and evil. It’s a great story,simply told.
I read some scripts and it’s clear that the writer is grandstanding; they go off on a tangent with their description and throw in as many big words as they can. A screenplay is a blueprint for a movie. If you want to indulge yourself and show the world what a wordsmith you are, write a book. Ahem. Anyway, I guess the short answer is that I like scripts that manage to find the ‘human element’ within the story and tell it in an interesting but simple way.
Q> Which director(s) sparked your interest in turning your own hand to directing?
Michael> As mentioned earlier, the directing for me came about from necessity rather than desire, but I’ve admired Walter Hill since I first saw HardTimes, which stars Charles Bronson as a bare-knuckle fighter under the management of a money-grabbing James Coburn.
Aside from Hill, it’s the usual for me I’m afraid: Scorsese,Tarantino, and I’d also have to say Sam Mendes. Road to Perdition is a masterpiece for me. And David Lean: I manage to watch Lawrence of Arabia at least once a year, every year. Sometimes more. I’ve already watched it twice during this lockdown period!
Q> Corona permitting (!!), what does 2020 have in store for you?
Michael> Firstly, the release of my film Break which has been delayed due to the coronavirus. The film has a great cast including rising star Sam Gittins, Jamie Foreman, BAFTA winner Adam Deacon, David Yip and Rutger Hauer in what was sadly his final film.
I also have several projects currently in development including two feature films and a couple of television series. They are all really good I think, but the one I am feeling most dogged about at the momentis a series called Nefarious. It’s essentially a crime drama, but it’s also a study of mans need for survival, for acceptance and to feel like he has a place in this world. I have resisted the urge to have people shot and blown up in every episode because for me, that stuff is just unrealistic and the reality for many of those that live their lives outside the law is that they are struggling to make ends meet. Often characters who live on the fringes of alaw-abiding society are portrayed as one-dimensional thugs who struggle to utter a sentence if it doesn’t contain the ‘C-word’. I grew up on a south London council estate and my eyes were wide open, not much passed me by.Nefarious is based on real people, people I either knew or knew of. Most of them were generally decent people trying to get a pound note. Del Boy types rather than Kray types.
