Happy New Year. I hope that you have good things to look forward to in 2012. We sure do - especially now that co-directors Michael Lewis and Chris Arthur-Henly Robinson have begun their collaboration to realize Keskarel. They are energetic and excited about working on the movie, and highly motivated - Chris wants to shoot a scene as soon as possible and Mike is dedicating a lot of creative thought to making a real person out of Keskarel, by developing the story of her relationship with her husband, Mikhail, giving her goals and put simply, a little backbone.
When Mike and I met, I jokingly asked him how many flashbacks Chris wanted. Without blinking, he said "two." I was taught and have difficulty letting go of the philosophy that flashbacks are inherently something to be avoided. But Mike had the same dramatic writing teacher that I had, and handles flashbacks like a virtuoso. I do agree with the boys that Keskarel and Mikhail’s relationship needs to play more deeply and real, since what went wrong between them not only led to the inciting incident, but also is a major clue to their respective characters and motivations.
Ironed out: Mikhail is an ambitious young lawyer pursuing the "American Dream." Keskarel was not mature enough when she got married. They are not newlyweds. She is flaky, creative, spatial and way too artsy fartsy not to frequently collide head-on with her upwardly mobile husband's plans. Mike and Chris are still developing what leads up to the inciting incident - namely the beaning of Mikhail with the frozen chicken.
After Mike and Chris meet again later this week I will have a better idea of what and when our first shoot will be.
