Success for Andrew on scriptwriting debut

By John Rainsford

‘FAR away hills are always greener’ goes the saying but for some people at least, there is satisfaction in knowing they really are.
One of these is former Shannon employee Andrew O’Gorman, who only recently turned his hand to screen writing. Amazingly, his very first film script has been accepted for production by a major Midlands filmmaker.
“My dream was always to be a writer but in my earlier life, perhaps, I did not always believe that it was a viable choice. I suppose it was a self-confidence thing. Now that I am a bit older and have some life experience under my belt, it has become something more tangible. I have always been a major movie fan and see story-telling as a basic human trait, especially in Ireland.
“My first breakthrough as a screen writer came when I attended a Script Writing for Beginners course, in 2010, led by Eleanor McSherry at the Limerick Writers’ Centre (LWC). The course was invaluable for giving me the technical knowledge to write a script. In addition, I learned how to cope with the pressures of having to write something each week for the class to review.
“Indeed, I met actress Maeve McGrath, who is now artistic director of Sidhe Theatre Company, on the course. Maeve, already a talented and experienced actress, presented a really excellent script during the course, so when she asked if anyone would be interested in co-writing a feature-length science-fiction script with her, based upon a very intriguing idea that she had, I knew it would be a great learning opportunity.”
His second lucky break came along a couple of months ago during the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) Film Festival. The festival of Irish-made short films is now in its third year and is organised by many of the people who run Behind the Scenes, a networking group for film professionals and amateur filmmakers in the Mid-West set up by Mark Griffin (LCFE) and Simon McGuire a couple of years ago.
The group provides an opportunity to meet others involved in film-making in Limerick – students, writers, camera-people, producers and directors.
Andrew went along to the awards night of the festival with some friends from Behind the Scenes (including Maeve McGrath and Eleanor McSherry) and knowing there would be some representatives of production companies there, he brought along some USB sticks with a couple of examples of his scripts on them.
He remembers, “During the evening, I got talking to producer Peter O’Dwyer and director Pauric Brennan of 50Lb Films and they kindly agreed to take a USB stick and read over my work. I was delighted to get an email from Peter roughly a month later to say that 50Lb wanted to ‘option’ my script.
“We recently signed this option contract giving 50Lb Films the exclusive rights to Dead Dog Bounce. I am incredibly excited about this development. It is exactly the kind of opportunity I only dreamed of when I first thought of trying to write films. I feel very lucky indeed, as chances like this are really a lottery.”
The plot of Andrew’s film tells of a father going to pick up his young son after hurling training but the journey home reveals the stresses that are destroying his life. Along the way, there are some signs of impending disaster. The climax of the movie involves a shocking but comical scene, which leaves the jaws and shopping bags of onlookers dropping.
It is intended as a visual metaphor for the mixture of disbelief and disgust that Irish people felt when the economic house of cards came crashing down and people found themselves under the economic control of powerful outside influences. The ending of the film is deliberately indecisive because it is almost impossible to see where the current state of affairs is going to lead.
50Lb Film’s location manager Peter O’Dwyer is currently looking at various locations around Limerick, with Cappamore being a front runner at the moment, as it meets a lot of the criteria for the film sets. Former Glenroe star Nigel Mercier and Fair City’s Maeve McGrath are both well-established actors, who are well known for lending their support and talents to new independent ventures like Dead Dog Bounce.
Andrew states, “Film and the cinema are certainly my favourite forms of entertainment, so to be involved first-hand in the area is very enjoyable. I recently had a great time as an extra on the set of Maeve McGrath’s short film Gypsy Vanner, which was shot in County Limerick a few weeks ago.
“Thinking that it was just going to be good fun to be on set for the first time and seeing how things were done, I was surprised Maeve had more in store when she informed me that I was to play a speaking part in the film. It was a nerve-wracking but also a very exciting experience. Maeve and I continue to co-write a feature-length script together and there’s another finished short film that I’m hoping will be picked up by someone.”
Dead Dog Bounce has also been listed from hundreds of entries for the RTÉ Filmbase Short Script Awards. It is intended as a snap-shot of Irish life in the commuter belt around Dublin in 2008 and has been inspired by Andrew’s own experiences after he returned to Ireland in 2005, having spent 11 years living abroad in Scotland and Switzerland.
However, the country that he came back to was very different to the one he had left years before. There was more prosperity around but there was also a sense of loss too. A lot that people valued in the past seemed to have been replaced by rampant consumerism. Although big cars and huge houses abounded, something about it seemed precarious or unnatural. It is a mood that Andrew captures well in the film.
“A writer’s goal is primarily to communicate and entertain with stories,” Andrew comments. “Maybe there is an egotistical element to it as well. I suppose that everyone has their own reasons to want to write. Personally, I think it is a very rewarding way to make a living. Many of us from the beginners’ script-writing course still get together every couple of months to swap ideas and information.
“I would certainly encourage everyone to write. I think it is a very natural instinct and everyone has a story to tell. It keeps your mind and imagination active and there is a great feeling of accomplishment in creating something. I am not sure that the current economic climate has much to do with it. The process is the same in good times or in bad. It will always involve hard work and application. However, I feel very lucky to have a job at the moment, as many of my friends have not been as fortunate.”
Although he does not have to depend on writing for a living, the film scripts he has completed so far have been very well received. In addition to the success of Dead Dog Bounce, a second film script, Black Crab and the Blind Cow, has been the subject of an application to the Irish Film Board (IFB) Short Shorts funding programme from Galway-based animation production company A Man and Ink.
“I could see myself going into script writing in a bigger way if things go well. Right now it is just a hobby but one which I very much enjoy. However, I am just going to take it one step at a time. I am really looking forward to the experience and learning just what it takes to actually make a short film,” he says.
“My lovely girlfriend, Áine, is expecting our first baby in September and that is even more exciting right now. Finding the time to write new material might be a bit more difficult to come by in the near future.”
Behind the Scenes meets on the last Monday of every month upstairs at Foley’s Bar on Sarsfield Street in Limerick. For details, see http://behindthescenes.ie.