MOORLAND ORIGIN STORY

The Moorland Origin Story

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After spending several years developing my craft and finding indie-level success tantalizingly close, but eluding me like the last digit on an old high school combination lock, I found myself becoming disillusioned with the direction the industry was taking.

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I saw where things were headed: sequels, prequels, reboots and remakes, movies based on TV series and graphic novels, and much of it leaning heavily on expensive CGI spectacle.       

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I couldn’t see a place for myself in this Hollywood (I love originality, unique characters, and sparkling dialogue). I turned to my other love, photography, beginning the process of learning to be a creative, conceptual portrait photographer. A few years in I became a finalist in the Hamdan International Photography Awards, a prestigious competition that receives tens of thousands of entries…many of them from war photographers, editorial photographers, fashion photographers and National Geographic photographers with decades of professional experience. I was one of only two Canadian photographers to be featured in the HIPA annual four volume collection (in the b&w category).

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Then Covid hit. Like so many portrait photographers I suspended my business. For a time it was mandatory due to restrictions on gatherings, but even after those were lifted I didn’t want to risk taking action that might spread the illness.

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Needing a new creative outlet, I began writing short stories again and discovered that I had become a much better writer during my absence from writing fiction. Rereading novels had provided me with new insights into effective storytelling. The first time I read the books merely for pleasure. The second time I began to analyze the techniques used by the authors.

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I decided to look at some of my old screenplays with the idea of possibly rewriting them. I opened a folder containing some of my screenplays along with many that I had reviewed for the American Zoetrope Virtual Studio many years ago. When I reached the end of the folder on my computer I came to a script labeled “Untitled Zombie Comedy.” I couldn't recall this screenplay. I was puzzled. The file name didn’t contain the name of the author. Neither did the title page. I thought, “I don’t remember this. I wonder who wrote it?”

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After began reading I found I couldn't stop turning the page.  My first thought was, “This is pretty good. Why can’t I remember who wrote it?” There was only the first act. Just 18 pages. I set it aside, still unable to recall who wrote it.

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You can probably see where this is going.

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A few hours later it came back to me: a warm, sunny day. I was relaxing on a lounge in the back yard. Birds were singing and flitting about the shrubbery against the backdrop of a water fountain. My Bengal cat was patrolling the yard. I closed my eyes. Almost immediately I was in the catacombs. An indistinct figure appeared in the background to become 1…2…3 zombies. They passed by me in single file. I followed them through the forest to the edge of an expanse of lawn, on the other side of which stood a heritage house with a single light shining through an upstairs window....

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The entire first act played in my head like a movie. When it stopped I grabbed a pen and note pad and wrote it all down.

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So the mystery was solved…but it led to another. Why did I stop writing this? “Because I don’t write zombie comedies,” was the answer. So I asked myself, “Why don’t I write zombie comedies?” Being unable to come up with a satisfactory objection I spent the next three to three and a half weeks writing the first draft of Moorland.

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If I told you I’ve polished this screenplay two dozen times, I’d be lying. It’s been many more than that. I’ve been obsessed with making it the best possible screenplay I can. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been a hell of a fun ride.

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And that is the Moorland Origin Story.