Irish Screenwriter Gets Hollywood Treatment
27 Apr 2010 :
Channing Tatum, Lexy Hulme and Joseph Gordon Levitt Tweet Having a short story discovered on a website has led screenwriter Sarah Daly to leave her office job and see her films come to life through the acting talents of stars Joseph Gordon Levitt (500 Days of Summer) and Channing Tatum (Step Up, Dear John). Sarah spoke to IFTN about the immense collaborative online effort which has resulted in the production of two short films she has penned and her debut feature project, ‘Harboured’. Sarah uploaded a short story onto Joseph Gordon Levitt’s online production site, hitrcord.org last year and, as she explains, “Interest in the community was quite good so Joseph Gordon Levitt did a reading of the piece and asked others to submit their visuals. The contributions flooded – art, music etc – which in turn spurred Joe to shoot a live action version with himself and Lexy Hulme.” What followed was a combination of skills as Lawrie Brewster added the Jules Verne-esque visuals and steampunk style backdrop alongside Florida-based illustrator Jenyffer Maria. The project’s soundtrack was a further collaborative effort, with over 50 musicians on the site contributing to a score composed by Nathan Johnson (The Brothers Bloom). ‘Morgan M. Morgansen’s Date with Destiny’ screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival where is received much praise from the festival’s founder Robert Redford and the festival’s audience members. So much so that Sarah was called upon to write a second instalment which she duly did. ‘Morgan & Destiny’s Eleventeeth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo’ featured the same cast joined by Channing Tatum (Dear John), Gordon Levitt’s ‘G.I Joe’ co-star. When asked about the likelihood of future episodes Sarah is confident Morgan will be around for quite a while telling IFTN it’s likely that the series will indeed be developed further. As to Sarah’s current status she tells us she has no intention of returning to office life and has begun work on a feature project: “Since Morgan I have made the move to Scotland to work full time with Lawrie [Brewster] in a creative partnership called 'The Fictionary' under the umbrella of New Age Film,” she explains. “I'm managing the development of several TV and film projects, including some 'Morgan style' quirky animated series. The biggest and most immediate of the projects is the feature film 'Harboured'. The script is complete and we are about to embark on a series of about 30 workshops with the community here towards the production of the film. It is fully public funded by Fife Council, Town Heritage Initiative and the Fife Coast and Countryside trust. “‘Harboured’ is a romantic drama with a strong historical element and it will involve the participation of over 100 local people, so quite an epic production really and quite unique in its production model. It’s exciting to be involved and to have my first feature produced!”. ‘Harboured’ will start shooting on location in Scotland in July of this year. For more information about Sarah’s work and New Age Film’s slate of upcoming projects visit www.newagefilm.co.uk Free Industry Newsletter Subscribe to IFTN's industry newsletter - it's free and e-mailed directly to your inbox every week. Click here to sign up.

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