Ways to alienate funders, No.1

In the run-up to our holiday last week, I had my head down trying to get a script written for 'Mum and Dad', the Microwave/Film London submisssion - ready for the week-long 'Microschool' I've got to attend along with the other shortlisted applicants the week after next. As well as trying to write 6 or 7 pages of script a day of full-on crazed perversion, I also had to deliver a redraft of 'Deliver Me' to Em-media Development Exec Paul Welsh -which he was keen for me to do before I finished the feature (despite the fact that, as I found out when I got back off holiday, he's away for a couple of weeks, so won't be able to give me feedback until after the Microschool...).

So, I made some time, wrote the draft and sent it off to Tina to send to Paul.

So far, so good.

Except that on returning and reading through the script earlier this week, prior to a meeting with Tina about production stuff, I noticed something that had previously slipped my attention.

In the redraft, I've added a scene at the end of the script - a scene set in the past of the lead character, Erin. It shows her at the age of 13, already a gifted spirtualist healer, in the back room of a church, with a man who is a church member and, supposedly a kind of guardian to her. He is having unprotected sex with her, and ends up being the father of Erin's mutant child, setting up the highly dysfunctional relationship which is at the heart of the film.

So, what did I name this hypocritical, manipulative child-abuser?
Paul, of course. The same name as the person who'd requested the rewrite...

Now, I didn't even notice this at the time, and it certainly wasn't a conscious thing - but I don't know if that makes it seem any better - it's just my subconscious that names a creepy abuser after a our development exec.

Oh well, I'm sure he'll be all right about it. I think it's quite funny in a way. Maybe he won't even notice...
Should make the notes I get back quite interesting though...