Tag: Markham (2020)

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Markham (2020) set for release…

It’s been a long time coming, but Markham (2020) my feature debut as a director should be locked and loaded and ready for distribution by the end of this month (July 2020).

My heavy workload as a script writer for hire and UK script consultant has meant that putting the final touches to Markham has taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated but finally, the film is just about complete.

Over the last month or so I have shot additional scenes in Staithes (near Whitby) and had a day or so at the village of Skinningrove. I’ve also completed all the special effects scenes, which I’m pleased to say are nearly all practical effects (there’s only a tiny bit of CGI in the film).

My composer Mariella Nelson Renaud has produced a simply amazing soundtrack which has now been added to the film – the music gives a great retro horror vibe and adds so much to the film.

Actors and performers have completed additional dialogue recording for me, and special mention should go to actor Tony Coughlan who’s a pro voice over guy, and a master of accents (as well as comedy).

Scenes have been recut since my first assemble, and I’m pleased as punch that the film clocks in near close to 90 minutes. The perfect for film length for me.

I’ll blog more in the coming weeks about how we made Markham for a low budget, and what we intend to do with the film regards distribution. But, rest assured, you’ll all be able to see the film yourselves very soon.

As well as being a freelance film director for hire, Matthew has also enjoyed a long career as a script writer for hire he’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

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Countdown to Markham (2020) release

My feature debut as a director – Markham – is only weeks away from release now, there’s a little bit of work still to do on the film, but in these Covid crazy times I’ve found that my services as a script writer for hire, UK Script editor  and UK script consultant  have been highly in demand, as people have taken the downtime brought on by Covid to seek help developing their scripts and screenplays.

As well as being busy with my specialised script development service, I’ve also just finished the first draft of another feature film which I’m hoping to direct – The Battle of Belgrave Street. This script is one of the most hard boiled screenplays I’ve ever worked on, and is aiming for the action simplicity that Walter Hill gave to some of the screenplays he penned as writer and director. It’s a terse, script, with as few words as possible, it features laconic, easily defined characters, who are judged on action they take, and a very clean narrative which features a straightforward if difficult goal to obtain and lots of obstacles to overcome. In this case, a handful of bouncers need to protect a club from Yardie gangsters in Chapeltown, Leeds in the 1980s.

As well as writing for myself and for hire, I’ve also found that the extra time, given to post-production on Markham has helped a lot, and I’ve shot some extra scenes and increased the amount of practical special effects in the film.

Markham will be available to buy on this website very soon, before it moves onto one of the streaming services.

I’ve also, had some distribution experts’ look at Markham, with a view to giving the film as wide a release as possible, some of these guys are big ‘Hollywood’ type players with prestigious reputations in the industry. I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple of the bigger players, I’m pleased that in some way that Markham a low budget film, has put me on the map as a director in some way already (even before it’s released proper).

Feedback, from cast and crew so far has been positive too, I’m hoping to use many of the same actors in future productions and some of the same production crew too.

So, there’s no further news as of today (01/06/2020) but I’ll continue to add blog posts as we count down to the release of the film – very soon.

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire, UK Script editor  and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. His UK script coverage service and script development service are highly sought after.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller Markham will be released in 2020. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can get in touch with Matthew on matcoop23@yahoo.co.uk.