One Week To Picture Lock

Whose idea was this film? I want my life back. Nick the editor wants his life back. Daniel the assistant editor has given up all semblance of ever having a life and has moved his gear into the edit suite. In fact we’re all getting a bit worried about Daniel. He has started saying the strangest of things and looking like something out of a Terry Pratchet book. Still, he can still memorise the 600 odd hours of footage and can recall a shot of Blair looking like a dickhead in various different environments, so all is not lost. Let’s just hope he retains his faculties when the film finally locks. Whenever the hell that is.

Structure of the edit went through a massive overhaul this week and is an infinitely better film for it. We had to decide whether we were going to make an arty collection of stories of injustice, or a rollercoaster of polemic and humour… and went for the latter. Currently standing at 100 minutes but could come down further – always leave them wanting more.

RADIOHEAD SAID YES! Still can’t quite believe it…

And there is a sodding CCTV camera in our edit suite. Really. I mean irony of ironies. Which brings us neatly on to...

Liberty News
The plaque outside George Orwell’s old house in London can apparently be seen by 32 CCTV cameras. Not often that I want to laugh and throw up at the same time.

Bisher Al Rawi has finally been released from Guantanamo Bay back to the UK. Bisher is a UK resident (but not a national) who was abandoned by the UK government in Guantanamo for 5 years. As the government does not legally have to intercede on behalf of it’s residents Blair’s government has continually taken the course of leaving them to rot. While it is of course wonderful to see Bisher returned to his family, there are seven other British Residents (including Omar Deghayes – one of the stories in Taking Liberties). Bisher’s story is particularly horrific as he was only arrested by the CIA after a telegram sent to them by MI5…

And finally – the Observer article yesterday about Blair having accepted a role in The Crucible (directed by Kevin Spacey at the Young Vic in September) is sadly an April Fool. But a bloody good one…