Project needs a professional writer who is willing to script the person fictional story (tragedy/thriller).
The story is about Irish catholic guy who is arrested being a “terrorist” because his connection and political views to AlQaida.
He had a Muslim girlfriend who was accidentally killed by British troops in Afghanistan and whose brother then joined to AlQaida for revenge.
He himself had not being involved in any terrorist activities.
Being in prison in Northern Ireland, he wasn’t treated by laws so he went to hunger strike with the demand that he should be treated as “prisoner of war” with the respect to Geneva Convention (Bobby Sands).
Even he gets public support; he still dies in the prison as the result of treatment.
There should be conflict between his belief, love and religion and the system.
Anyone interested?

If I could have first draft by April 2008, there is a possibility that the project will go to production by the end of 2008 as low budget (£500K) movie in Northern Ireland.

Veiko Herne
Southwave Production Ltd - http://www.southwave.co.uk

Whatever you do with this I have a favor to ask!

Please, please, please do not let your scriptwriter create a theme that shows there are similarities between radical Islamic terrorists and the Irish fight for independence or the emergence of the IRA and more recent troubles in Northern Ireland . I am guessing this is the angle you are going for (why else pick a catholic in a Northern Irish prison?) and it would be a bad idea.

You need a screenwriter who has a very good understanding of Ireland's history as well as the the situation in Afghanistan otherwise you are going to end up with a shallow, ill-informed and possibly an inflammatory piece that totally misses the point. Whatever you think you know there is no similarities between the two at all, there are no common themes and there is very little Irony to be had in your main characters situation.

Good luck with this project but please don't even think about producing it until you have found the right person to write it - just trying to get someone for free from message boards like this may get you a good writer but not necessarily the right person.

Cheers Murphy

With a budget of 500k pounds, I doubt they're looking for someone to work for free.

Strike that.  I HOPE.

I think anyone attempting to take this on would need a little more in terms of a treatment or outline.  What's here is pretty bare at the moment.

This might be a shot in the dark, but have you had an earlier version of this script read by Jason Connery?  (Sean Connery's son).

The subject matter rings a bell.

Thanks for the comments. Nope, I'm not looking someone to write it for free but I can't afford to pay any prepayment at the moment as I need at least 1 draft to move forward with this project.
Other projects I have prepared and continue to prepare are all around £500K as the production does not cost much. My aim is to shoot those within 20 days and digital, few locations in closed environment.
Pre production and Post Production with right teams will be more important steps for me.
In mentioned low budgets I assume producer fee to be 25% of the budget and I will budget to writer and director 5%.
Hopefully the project will get green light by autumn 2008 with financing as I have preliminary interest.
But as I mentioned I can't hire a writer for the project at the moment.
I have very good vision about the film I wan't to produce so I'm looking the team to execute it and 100% agree with Murphy. I myself have now both, but I'm not a writer.

For a while ago I looked a script writer here who can integrate Mikhael Khorodovsky and Bobby Sands story to once withhout any luck, so I make another try by specifying the story now. I still have ambitious to go to production this year as low budget indie feature. As mentioned previosly, I have no preproduction budget to make any advance payments but can budget writers fee between 12K-20K to the production budget.
The story goes between courtroom and prison.
Our guy from Northern Ireland finds oil in the sea. As there are oil  in the coasts of Scotland so why it can't be found near Northern Ireland? Actually his grandfather had discovered it being a fisherman. Then he noticed same sea and fish conditions near coast of Ireland than coast of Scotland where later oilwaas found. And had told him a story when he was young.
And our guy is not a selfish egoist, he believes that this oil will help his nation. He is also a poet and a dreamer. He dreams about the wall (in the west of falls road) to become down one day like the Berlin wall did dividing a nations.
To his surprise, this oil is in international waters and nobody in Nortern Ireland isn't much interested considering him as lunatic with his dreams. So he fnds partners from Venezuela or Russia and suddenly they make lot of money. He doesn't much want it, so he donates it mostly to both Catholic and Protestants priests believing they will help him to execute his dreams. But some of them where just scammers. So his first sin (crime) he have been accused is to finance terroristic activities to organise riots between Catholic and Protsestant communities.
When one company being a biggest emploer in Northern Ireland goes nearly busted just before Christmas and does not have money to pay out to employees, he starts to support all the families. In my experiences, Social Services in Northern Ireland have no humanity and have hirered a persons who can't even read especially when it becomes complicated law texts. And you must wait around a year for a court decision which they can also .... The Salvation Army is running one of most expensive hostels there not considering persons humans who won't get paid from Social Services. How they do not shame to play their cacofonies in the streets of Belfast during christmas time claiming to raise money for the homeless persons?
I'm sure that in this case Social Services in Northern Ireland would have decided that because all those persons are legally still employed, the have no rights for benefits.
And he will be accused for the privary of "busted" company employees causing this company bancrupcy.
He must have at least three "sins" so I will let a writer to decide the third. If script needs more, we will create seven sins. Mikhail Khorodovsky court protocols can give a lot of ideas for example.
So this person gets 25+5 years in prison by corrupted judge. He doesn't have even possibility to speak in the court (like they put me to glass box there). British judges have history in Northern Ireland to put innocent people to prison up to 20 years, but in this case Stalin model to give 25+5 for everyone would be more appropriate.
In prison he turns to religion and want's to die like Jesus did. He hopes that maybe then one day his nation will stand up for themselves. And anyway, staying in prison for the rest of his life (he knows that corrupted society does not let him out  anyway) would not be an option for his kind of guy. Before he makes a suicide, he writes lot of poetry too...
So, if you are a writer interested to write such kind of story to the script in a professional level that I can sellit to my directors, I'm interested to hear about you!

I think I've bump into you before?

Being the only writer here I believe from Northern Ireland.

I find this to be the stupidest story I've ever read and I hope to God it never gets made!

It's so wrong on so many levels.

Here is why I suspect you will have problems finding someone to write this. Normally, I jump on these sorts of things because I enjoy writing. Not only that, but you say you have potential backers. That's interesting. However...

This is why I, personally, would be unable to write this. First, I'm from Oklahoma and I know absolutely nothing about the areas you're wanting someone to write about. Second, you have a lot of very, very specific things that you want and the person you would need to write would need some knowledge that I flat don't have, nor could I reasonably fake my way through. It's too specific. Third, you clearly want this story for a reason all your own. Obviously, we all write our stories for a reason, and it's because we have something to say. You have something to say, and you're wanting help to say it. That's fine. Trouble is, you would need someone with a similar frame of mind to write it. That's more difficult.

Here's my suggestion. You write out a script. Now whether this is a full script or what's called a "scriptment" (that being nearly everything done, but with some minor holes for dialogue or action), I really think you'll get the story you want by taking that first step on your own.

Once you have that done, find someone to rewrite it for you to turn it from the far too personal story that you've written into something that can play on screen. You see, I can't write this story for you, but I could rewrite it. Rewriting would take considerable less specific knowledge and you could get all the specific info you need into the scenes you want.

I just think that route would get you what you're looking for.

I do not understand what "jayrex" problem is? How it can be wrong, if it's:
1. is a fiction and not documentary!!!
2. based on the facts that I have personal experiences (including being in Northern Ireland) and you can read yourself on what Mikhael Khorodovsky was judged quilty.
Look, Kazasthan had the best nuclear and rocked scientists, including programmers over the soviet union and tehy still have those brains. But they didn't sent their nuclear missles to Hollywood when Borat was made.

Write a script on Mikhael and not on Northern Ireland.  Stick with what you know from where you grew up.  These facts you mention, what are they?

Alternatively, write what you want and take George's advice above.

Quoted from veikoh I do not understand what "jayrex" problem is? How it can be wrong, if it's: 1. is a fiction and not documentary!!!

This is kinda what they said when Josh Brolin played Ronald Reagan in a movie, several years back.  Essentially, the project villified Reagan, making him seem worse than Hitler, Manson and a baby killer combined.  When the producers were questioned about it, they said, "Well, it's not a documentary!"

You can't just write or film what you want and expect to get away with it by saying, "It's just a movie."

THe fact that you haven't gotten the help you wanted in the two years since you started this thread, I don't think that SS is the right place to find help.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe This is kinda what they said when Josh Brolin played Ronald Reagan in a movie, several years back...

Um, Phil, that was James Brolin, the father. Josh played Bush - well.

Two liberal extremists who shouldn't play conservatives.


Phil

Yes, it's difficult to find a good writer nowadays who will take the challenges as previous generation did. The society has been changed and that's is my point on this movie. Previously our society was based in creativity, entrepreneurship and professionalism which has been taken over now with some stupid theories of career levels, overqualified persons and social classes causing corruption, arrogance and cretinism. And every idiot can call a police in Northern Ireland accusing you "causing stress and anxiety" if you start to demand that they must do their work properly.
And as a final act of terrosism, BBC declares a really big piece of shit to be a "masterpiece" - http://www.veikoherne.com/2009/09/is-bbc-redefining-the-definition-of-film-now/ ???
Only one person went to watch it in Paris even it was sold on 50% discount in confortable cinemas. Tens of thousands Parisians joined with me to stand in the rain and watch Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" which has been my lifestyle when I was able to leave Belfast in September 2009 hoping that maybe Roland Emmerich predictions for 2012 will be true and finally we could get rid of idiotism.
Which goes to Hitler, Alan Parker would have never had possibility to direct Ghostbuster if he didn't had made "The Wall" before which really should belong to the film classics and not Fish Tank. And Bob Geldorf would have never written a song "I don't like mondays" and organised the Live Aid, if he wasn't playing the Schoolmaster a'la Hitler in this movie.

To vilify an entire generation because you have failed to drum up (unpaid) interest in what would amount to a terribly demanding project to fill a very small niche (that might not even exist) is a bit absurd.

As to the rest of your post, pin-balling from Hitler to Ghostbusters to Bob Geldof in the space of two sentences, I am most impressed.  In a way.

Best of luck with your project, but you might fare better with like-minded individuals within your own circle of acquaintances.

Or I would reiterate George's advice -- compose the piece following your own voice and vision -- then seek input from others at that point, once things are further along.

That is sound advice that you should reconsider.

Bert,

Depends on to which generation he refers.  If he means the 24 year-olds who graduate college with a "C" average and who get middling office jobs, and feel that the world owes them a living while they update their facebook page and text their friends during work hours, then I might agree.

I'm fairly certain none of them hang out here, though. Here we have students, and working people, who do what we love, as you said, for free. As well as some working writers.

I started at age 14 by sweeping up my uncle's knitting mill after school, and I haven't stopped working since.  I get up at 5:30 every morning, including weekends so that I have time to write, and I'm never home before 7:00.  Some weekends I go from early in the morning to 6:00 p.m.

I dare anyone to give me a challenge I can't handle.

I guess his post made me mad - thus my weighing in. Great response to him by you, though.

AJR

Quoted from bert As to the rest of your post, pin-balling from Hitler to Ghostbusters to Bob Geldof in the space of two sentences, I am most impressed.  In a way.

I'm impressed that it doesn't appear to make a damn bit of sense.  Bob Geldolf played Pink, not the schoolmaster, and "I Don't Like Mondays" came out about three years before "The Wall".

Thanks for correcting me on the facts regarding The Wall. It has been over twenty years and I'm not a film historian
Where have you got this idea that I want you to work free???
I have always produced the projects with at least 10X financial return and thanks to technology which allows low budget digital filmmaking and new distribution possibilities, all my projects calculations will show at least $2M-$3M return.
And in film business there is such kind of thing, as above the line costs where usually writers will get paid and which was totally missing in my previous activities on music and software production. In those businesses you had to wait return for a years until you get your production to TOP10 (music) or go public (IPO) sell your creation to some bigger company.
Look, I have generated lot of financing guys interest to my projects. But they always ask, so us your team then we can help you. Without a team you are just "one man band" for us.

I'm surprised what kind of attidude writers have taken in shootingpeople.org. They demand that producer should pay them at least minimum salary!!! Do writers really wan't to work in call center type of controlled environment? Better idea would be to declare one common price for each word writer writes. Then we can take apes to write shakespeare where we can show a money well spent

I have writers for my other two projects and as this project was a really simple to write, I assumed I will get a writer to this team easily. Instead, I have been bombed with stupid accusations here...

Quoted from This dude's Blog And I want to know despite the fact that some corrupted judge from courtroom number 10 in Belfast Magistrates Court can declare me “mentally ill”!

I think you should try and concentrate on making films in Estonia or wherever you're from and stop trying lambaste the people who reject your ideas.  Not all ideas are good ideas.  Some say yes, some say no.  It's life, get on with it.

I read your blog and punk music in Northern Ireland did not make Richard Branson a millionaire.   Where do you come up with this stuff?

Quoted from jayrex Being the only writer here I believe from Northern Ireland.

Nope, I'm 50% NI.

Andrew

Quoted from Andrew Nope, I'm 50% NI. Andrew

Did you grow up in N.Ireland?

I'm from Larne.

Unfortunately not, but my ol' man is from Bangor. Spent a lot of time in NI, though.

Got to love dodgy Port Rush, spectacular Giant's, and the view of the Lough from Carnalea Golf Club (where the family all go) is among the finest I have ever seen.

As you know, it's a beautiful land.

Andrew

You guys really are something. When you haven't met those people who made punk in NI on says, when brits made Beatles those persons won't not exists for you?
You really belong to be the characters for this movie showing such kind of arrogance and stupidity.
Why should I go to Estonia? I left it in 1998 to NYC with my business leaving a decent country behind, but when Georg W Bush started his war in 2002, I went back there. Total corruption was going on where honest and competente persons had no place anymore. And Estonians made their decision in 2004 to keep the corruption and bureocracy in their country; and give away their independece. I left, as nearly 50% of the population. This isn't a country anymore and I do not have any reason to go back there.
But I have wondered how your judges in Northern Ireland can sleep at nights living in lies? And those in Ipsos Mori.
You just can't destroy the professionalism and my life work there.

Low budget thrillers and smart horror is the way in.  If done effectively, its an easy sell.  This movie idea will never happen.  If you have money, lets talk and get a simpler, smaller, but smart project going.  Otherwise, you will never get something so convoluted off the ground.