Saturday 20 June 2015

I used to TFI Friday but not anymore

Dear all,

To give this blog post its full title, "I used to TFI Friday but not anymore - or - How long writing takes & watching other’s progress…"

I wasn’t planning on this blog post but I had a very mixed week so I felt like quickly posting, please excuse the lack of editing or re-reading.

It started off last Friday night. For those circa my age and above (35) and who grew up in the UK you probably very well remember TFI Friday (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFI_Fridaythe madcap weekly program dedicated to all that seemed good in the world back then (aged 15+ anyway… and the sort of 15+ that would immediately go out to the pub afterwards without the need for I.D, THAT was the 90s I remember) and I don’t know many people who didn’t love it. It was the start of the weekend and that sounds so terribly clichéd but it’s true.

TFI Friday Logo
Courtesy of Channel 4

There was a sense of excitement about what would happen as for a long period it was live (swearing put a stop to that), had great guests and bizarre and outrageous stunts and events. Now, you can’t look back with rose tinted glassed too much as I’m sure there was the occasional stinker of a show, I’m not going to pretend everything in life was so magically fantastic and amazing but the essence of what it was to be excited by the future is something I can clearly remember, it was a physical reaction to what was going on in society and what may happen once you got out there in the midst of it. The truth is, it was a very lively, energetic, free spirited time with a lot of political and social change... but I was also a teenager becoming an adult and that contributes to those feeling anyway.


Can you believe I got served? Okay, you got me, the moustache is a fake...
Last day of school which is the same year as TFI Friday first aired, 1996.

Every teenager (in the main) looks back on the crazy times of their youth with fondness (and maybe relief that it's over and you got away with it all) yet I do feel particularly fortunate to have been in my teens in the 90s and whether it is unfounded bias or not, I wouldn’t swap for any other time... than perhaps the 60s. There are far too many reasons to explain this here but what I want to express is the position I find myself in now, aged 35, watching TFI Friday and realising that what I want to do with my life is still inextricably linked to my teenage years and the understanding that I haven't really got anywhere.

Host, Chris Evans
Courtesy of Channel 4

The crux of it is that twenty years later I look back at that show with all the wonderful talent that worked or appeared on it and realise how incredibly young most of those people were. Not just Chris Evans, but the bands, the guests, the crowd and so on. They had all been successful in their fields and were making names for themselves in their early 20s and 30s. It seems silly to think of this now but at school I remember clearly thinking how simple life seemed to be. You finish school, you get a good job, you get all the things you want and by the time you reach 30 it's all wrapped up and under control. It was so naive I’m ashamed to admit I thought that way but it’s how I felt, if you wanted to act, you became an actor, if you want to sing, you became a singer… and so on. There was no understanding of what it took to get there at all. There was no understanding of what money really meant, what ‘living costs’ were and how difficult it would be just to get by. At 35 you bet I understand those things now!

That’s the problem with thinking about being young, you think of all the hopes you had because for the most part you still have them. It’s difficult to accept growing older for most people but in the main we get on with it, we make jokes about it, we recall old times and laugh about the situations we found ourselves in, but with an acknowledgement that our bodies and minds have changed, we have different responsibilities and a different outlook on life and again for the most part we find acceptance and relative happiness in our place in life. 

However, for me personally, there have been a few upheavals along the way and if I am honest it is hard to think of myself in one particular stage in my life. I feel very lost and disjointed from those around me and from the ordinary expectations of society. It feels as though I should be something, but I’m not sure what, and when I was watching TFI Friday, beer in hand (that wasn't the case in '96!)  I found myself getting quite upset at times because it dawned on me that I should be enjoying my life as much now as I was then; not in the same way of course, I’m not for a second trying to convince myself of acting like a seventeen year old don’t worry, but in the sense that I should be in a place in my life where I find excitement and fulfilment in new ways, and the fact is, I don’t. However, there is a contradiction which I will explain in a second. When I went through a depressed period three or so years ago, which I am still dealing with today but on a greatly reduced scale, I quit my job, used up all my savings to live abroad for a year, and had a lot of time to think about my future. I came back home and felt a lot better and a lot more sympathetic to my emotions (that  probably doesn't make sense) and that is where the contradiction really hit me and why I am now struggling to cope with that contradiction but in a positive and constructive way, not in a depressed way. It is not something I see as a problem, but rather the route to the success I want in my life. 

The contradiction is this. I have always been interested in contemporary affairs and examining how people cope in their surroundings .. everyday lives and dramas, you could say. And I realise now that everything I have gone through or everything I have missed out on for whatever reason, if looked at from a positive perspective, can help me in my ‘artistic’ mission to describe this. I want to write about normal people and what they go through and the melancholy that goes with examining sadness and disappointment and unfulfilled expectations and unrewarding adult lives is pretty much what I enjoy detailing. So the problem is, I am living an unhappy unfulfilled life, yet somehow this is helping me work towards my goals. Don't for one second think I am asking you to get the violins out for me, it is hard to describe negative feelings without giving the impression you are feeling sorry for yourself or seeking attention and comfort and someone to give you answers and tell you 'it will all be okay'; I promise you that is not what I am doing. I am extremely lucky in general, I have no serious problems in life at all compared to the vast majority of the world's population! So, take this as simply an introspective examination of my feelings based on a shock at realising how quickly twenty years have passed, that's all. 

The further issue is that I do feel like I am an adult who can reason and contemplate (there are times when depression can make you low and at those times it is incredibly difficult to view things objectively and with optimism but for the most part) and work through the issues I have in a calm manner. I feel I understand myself fairly well and have separated the things that are important to me and the things I used to think were important but no longer are. I don’t feel trapped by society or by external pressures at all. I probably feel freer and more liberated than ever before but that does not equal happiness. I am also wise enough to understand that the goals I have set myself and the hopes I have for the future may not bring about happiness in their own right either, if I had told myself that 20 years ago while watching Sleeper play over the credits of TFI Friday I don’t think I would have understood that, my perception was very much good job = money, money = house & girlfriend, house & girlfriend = being an adult, being and adult = happiness and contentment. That was my teenage reasoning, not my adult reasoning and it's very comforting to realise that the goal is happiness in itself. The old Emerson quote, ‘Life is a journey, not a destination.’ rings very true.

Taken just before GCSE's. A few of us came in to school on a Saturday
to finish our design & technology projects... not sure how much work was done.
I can see I may have convinced a barman or two I was a couple of years older.

I do not have any of the things I thought I would have when I was fifteen years old. Perhaps it is not just that I thought I would have them, I probably expected them, probably assumed they would simply be there. Yet I do have a more resolved expectation of what I want my life to mean than I did then. My sense of expectation in fulfilling my potential is entirely marked by what I will achieve internally, the emotional fulfilment of what I want my life to have achieved rather than any external symbol of success that I thought was typified in the glorious antics of TFI Friday. However, there is one serious issue that I still have not come to terms with and is probably the reason why I was upset watching the programme (again, don't worry, I was in stitches at parts too…) and that is, I know myself better now and I know myself as an adult, but I do not want to lose that sense of carefree wonder at the craziness of life, the sense of being unchained, the sense of embracing every single moment and squeezing as much fun into it as you can, that you have as a teenager… I feel the balance of those feelings swing to extremes all the time and as much as I understand how much hard work I have ahead of me and the discipline and the rigidity that requires, I would like to be happy again and laugh with that sense of abandonment that is difficult to come by these days. That's the contradiction of getting older, how to balance out those feelings and for me, how do I translate it into words - characters, events, plots - in my stories that will do justice to my emotions. Can I accurately produce works that highlight this journey? That's going to be my workload for the rest of my life I think. 

Then the second shock of the week. This may have happened to you as I bet it is very common now with the necessity of social media. Out of the damn blue I had a LinkedIn connection request come through on email from someone I had not heard from in three years. I won’t tell you about the person but it coincides with the TFI Friday issue. At first I was in shock, then I was upset, then I was angry and then I was upset again. Aside from my issues with the person it made me think... what if they had asked me what I had been doing for the last three years? What could I say? Three years is a long time really, a person can do a lot. It was upsetting for me to question my position in life as in all honesty, I couldn't say I've done much. A lot of people I know would argue with me on that, they would say I started my company Thinking Plainly Limited three years ago and look at what I have achieved with it... and I think that is where the niggle is, the word 'achieve'. It feels to me like I may have done a lot of ground work (yes, that is essential I know) but that doesn't necessarily correlate to any real achievements. The same question if extended to my TFI Friday watching days would result in me having to say the same thing. If my sixteen year old self came up to me in the street and asked me what to expect over the next 20 years would I be happy with what I tell them? I'm not so sure. I have led an interesting and eventful adult life but what have I got to show for it? I have just as much to my name now as I did when I was 16 and that's not the nicest of thoughts, but that's why you must judge yourself against yourself and not against others. I am happy that I have got a very good idea of what I want from life and I still have ambition to succeed, I actually feel like the main journey is only just starting, but it's just a little hard to say it at 35 when part of me always thought I would be more 'formally' settled by now. I couldn't help but think of my friends who would be watching TFI Friday with their wives or husbands, their kids in bed and their feet up on their own couches in their own houses, secure in their choice of careers, etc, etc...shouldn't that be me too? Of course, I know that were I actually to ask them, the reality versus the portrayal would be very different, I know that, yet it's difficult to shrug off. 

That’s why I titled this blog post, “I used to Thank F**K It’s Friday” because as much as I love what that meant for me, time is going too quickly and I have so much yet to do. I don’t want Friday’s to come around because I haven’t done enough during the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Give me more time!  Friday night used to be the time when you felt released and free to get on with your life and be who you actually are, you would escape from your uniform, your studies, your scheduled-for-you life and go out and have fun... but now?

In another twenty years I want to look back at the 90s as a wonderful time but knowing I am still having a wonderful time, and that means a lot of hard work ahead of me. So for me, the phrase TFI Friday is staying in the 90s, it is just the title of a t.v programme, not a feeling I want to have. I know how long writing takes me, I know what I need to do to improve, I know the hard work involved. I have fully accepted that and I measure my future in a very different way now, when I think about writing a book I confront the reality of this taking up years. The arbitrary targets I once set myself have no place in my life anymore, I mark my progress in life differently and for damn sure I know to only mark myself against myself! Have I worked as hard as I should have today? 

Final photo of me at 16. This was the night our school year received
our GCSE certificates. We all went for a curry afterwards, which is how
a lot of nights still end today :) Those who watch my YouTube channel (you
can subscribe by pressing the red button on the top right of this page may recognise
the face behind me... he'll kill me for posting this.

I wrote this out in one morning and I have only re-read it once so I hope it hasn't come across too miserable, it was just a reflection of two incidents that made me realise I need to really push harder with my work. Writing, or any artist endeavour, is about creating something you are proud of and you think is meaningful... that is what is important to me and I wish that when I was 16 I had more of that insight rather than worrying so much about my position in society and setting milestones and reminding myself at every birthday how far away I am from being successful... but then again, that's not what being a teenager is about, it's about laughing your head off at TFI Friday and then going out with your mates and having a good time, and I wouldn't change that for anything.

I guess I could have saved you a lot of time and just condensed this whole blog post into the words, “My 30s can go to hell!”

Just kidding :)


RGR

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Saturday 6 June 2015

A New Inspiration (Part 2 of 2): The Supreme Tweeter

Dear all,

Following on from my previous post I want to tell you about a recent coincidence that resulted in watching something online that really inspired me. It came about when I was having a drink with a friend and he said, “I’ve got a mate that’s doing this thing… ”



Didn’t Arya Stark shoot up quickly

But first, to explain…. some weeks ago I became one of the last people on the planet to start watching Game of Thrones and after being totally drawn in I pretty much sprinted through the entire series’ start to finish.

I completed series 4 on a Friday night and carried on with my weekend as normal, buying the newspapers as I always do (I post a round up of links to all the art and literature articles I enjoy every Sunday night on my social media links, see: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingPlainly as an example) and as I was going through them I came across an interview with the actress Maisie Williams.

This article stood out for me because it was an interview held just before her 18th birthday and it was partly discussing her new film (The Falling: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3294200) but also her experience of growing up in front of the camera. I had never seen her act before because I hadn’t caught Game of Thrones (I was aware of it before I left for Spain but didn’t get around to it) and only recognized her because of a YouTube channel I love, called React (https://www.youtube.com/React), where she had had a few special guest spots. Yet I suddenly realised I had seen her grow up from thirteen or fourteen, to eighteen in the space of - more or less - an intensive month of Game of Thrones binge watching. It was really weird, like seeing my nieces grow up in fast-forward right before my eyes. Anyway, this drink with a friend I was talking about; he is an actor and I mentioned how strange it was to see someone grow up in the space of such a short time and of course, how great I thought Game of Thrones was. Then the coincidence.

Anima-a-a-l!

Some years ago now, my actor friend (Gerard Monaco: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1456647) was in a staging of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge in the West End and as with all his performances I, and our friendship group, went to watch him.


And just for the totally unrelated hell of it, here is my copy of A View from the Bridge that I stole, yes, that's right, STOLE, from my secondary school. I'm finally using it twenty years later! That's the government and our taxes investing in children and our futures right there, have that. 

It turns out that the chap who had played Rodolpho (my mate had played Marco) was Harry Lloyd, who is of course for all you Game of Thrones fans, Viserys Targaryen. Furthermore, my mate had only some months before worked on a YouTube mini-series Harry Lloyd was filming and Maisie Williams had also been in it. Strange how things work isn’t it? What a co-incidence. When I watched it, there all three of them were on camera in the same episode. How mad is that! Anyway, it is Harry Lloyd’s mini series that I would like to speak to you about. I do love a bit of a waffling intro sometimes I know, sorry.




The Supreme Tweeter



It’s a really funny comedy series (drama/mockumentary) with a great premise (yes, yes, The Interview, I know, I know) produced brilliantly (George R.R Martin cameo anyone… ) but it’s actually my feelings on the principle of the project itself I want to share with you rather than any description of the story line. Part 1 is above and please do go to www.supremetweeter.com to watch the whole series and find out more, enjoy J


I loved the fact that he has made this himself (with help, please see the bottom of this post for the press release and full information). He is an established actor and has been in one of the biggest hits of recent times yet he had an idea and went ahead and made it. How great is that! I’ve always had an interest in independent artists and how people make a name for themselves and as a novice writer at the very earliest of stages I’ve become more aware over the last three years of what it takes to utilize social media to market yourself (not saying I’ve done that! Just that I’m aware of it… ) and this ties in with one of my most fundamental beliefs: You should always focus on producing the best work you can that is important to yourself. I am not interested in fame for fame’s sake and I think the greatest goal an artist can have is to be proud of the work they create. Whether the world knows about it, or it is just their mum and the locals at the pub should be a secondary consideration. Now I know that sounds all highfalutin airy-fairy arty-nonsense to most people. When I say, ‘make a name for yourself’ most people think, MONEY, fame and the external perceptions of success. And there is nothing wrong with that, money and fame I’m sure can be fantastic, but what if it is based on something that you don’t feel satisfied or rewarded by internally? This is where the brilliant contradiction of what the series is concerned with: the exploration of what it is to exploit fame, to how it is doing it: an independent YouTube series. It really made me think about what it is we aim for when we put ourselves out there on social media and as much as it is a warning, it is also an inspiration because it’s great to know that the form is there even if the reasoning can be dangerous!


Have you ever read or seen those 100 Most Influential People type lists, or similar? They drive me mad. They are generally nothing to do with what the people are actually saying and whether or not it is commendable content, newsworthy, educational, helpful or positive… it’s about who gets their faces in front of the most people. I’ve always been dubious about the relationship of fame to influence, of course there is definitely something in it, and it has got more direct over the years with the rise of direct tailored marketing and how every child is constantly eyeballing their smartphones, but regardless of how many Facebook or Twitter followers a famous person may have, how many times their YouTube videos have been watched and liked… if they have gone viral and so on... I would love to see a closer examination on what that content makes a person do, how much it actually changes them… I mean, if there was a base of interest in the first place, the person generally speaking would drift towards that sort of content anyway or whether purely on being exposed to a famous person that changes my mind about something, i.e. influences me to the point that a person now changes their life based on what they have been exposed to. Or on the opposite side, a person becomes famous for doing something that has already caught the zeitgeist and therefore doesn’t change anything but becomes influential by becoming famous in that already established field. I guess pop music is one of the most obvious example of that, the teenage demand for new idols to have crushes over has been there since Elvis, every time a new sensation comes along they are very rarely changing pop music itself but rather filling the need that celebrity has created. Thinking of exceptions to this off the top of my head as I write (excuse my lack of research!) I would say that the fame somebody such as Lady Gaga or Kate Bush has is different, they are genuine artists who have done what all artists try to do, develop their chosen art form, push boundaries and work hard to create art that is true and meaningful to them, and that is where fame has a funny side… it can create controversy for what you don’t do just as much as what you do… if a person that has success goes down a different route outside the established boundaries then you are liable to criticism, but not for your art, just for purely having the gall to do your own thing and be your own person. Anyway, I am going a bit off topic. The point I’m flapping about with is this, the more I see conformity to mainstream and adherence to popularity for its own sake, the more I feel determined to pursue what I want to do no matter if it goes nowhere. I would just like to say that as a viewer, as a consumer of pop culture, I like it! I don’t want to put it down. It’s just watching something like The Supreme Tweeter reminds me that when it comes to actually creating something you have to know why you are doing it, and more importantly, you have to know if you are doing it for yourself.



You are your own production company

The other reason it was so inspiring is that on one hand, yes it is fascinating to think about influence, how you gain fame, maintain fame and so on but for me, it was how the actual medium itself is so accessible. That was what I took from the experience of watching The Supreme Tweeter. It was the sense that regardless of how famous you are you can still take charge of the artistic process yourself. Yes, there are issues with money and investment, there is no point glossing over that fact. If you don’t have access to a few quid (the old beg, borrow and steal) then you probably aren’t going to be able to access the higher end tools that you need to produce something as good a quality as The Supreme Tweeter, but you can still produce something! All the major social media sites have basic free functionality and that is amazing. You can create your own YouTube channel if you want and simply knowing that is possible is encouraging. Yes, there are issues with exploitation, scams and frauds. People will always try to convince you to part with your money in order to get famous and there are sites that are ready to rip you off. Yes, there are budget issues. As well as not having money to use high end equipment you may not have the money to spend on marketing and promotion. On and on it goes. There will always be issues, always! On a personal note, I have no money to invest. I do not have a budget to spend on Facebook, Google or Twitter adverts or anything like that but that isn’t going to stop me working on the projects I really enjoy and have a passion for. Maybe one day in the future I will make money from writing, most likely not, but that’s not why I am doing it, and isn’t it amazing that even without money I can still communicate my ideas and my personality. I have a presence on all major social media sites, have made a few YouTube videos, have ebooks in the major retailers and so on... I'm still at the very bottom rung of the ladder but it's all been possible by working hard and working with my friends, relying on the skills and knowledge others have that they are willing to aid me with, and of course, I help them back if I can, rather than getting a huge loan from the bank and hiring some impersonal company to do it for me (which of course is inaccessible for most people anyway and those who do try most get turned down). That is what The Supreme Tweeter reminded me of. Things are possible and it is only hard work and the production of genuine art that I am passionate about that will enable me to forward my life, and what’s more, have fun doing it.




You only have to look at Jerry Seinfeld and ‘Comedians in Cars getting Coffee’ to see what potential there is: http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com It is hilarious but all it is is a very simple idea, one person talking to another person in the car ride to get a coffee. If you strip away the fame it is an incredibly simple set up that is entertaining. It doesn’t need millions of pounds, it doesn’t need to have summer blockbuster levels of production value. If you wanted to make an episode it wouldn’t be a crazy notion, you could do it. Sure, no one would watch it because who wants to listen to your boring backside talk about your day in the office, but nevertheless, physically speaking, you could make it and release it for the world to see. Amazing.



So yet again I have managed to go all around the houses when attempting to make a very simple point. We all have those days when things just seem impossible and you feel like the most insignificant speck in the ever expanding universe of media content. They're going somewhere... They're getting noticed... They're selling... They're doing better stuff... Whoever the hell They're actually are we never seem to care about, it's just overwhelming to think you can ever make an impact. Then you go for a pint with your mate and find out he has his face on a website in-between George R.R. Martin, Harry Lloyd and Maisie Williams. That's the lesson The Supreme Tweeter gave me, it doesn't matter who They Are, its just numbers after all, they represent a certain way of commercial thinking that is important when it comes to business but if the art isn't there in the first place then what are you doing it for? It comes down to having the passion there in the first place doesn’t it, whether you get a billion-ka-jillion followers on Twitter and become The Supreme Tweeter or you are the most famous person in your own bedroom and your hat and sunglasses are only ever used for blocking the sun, not the paparazzi, you should judge yourself on what you have produced. I know I have years of hard work ahead of me and that is exciting, not because I want to be famous, but because I want to look back on my life and know I tried hard to make the most out of the potential I feel I have, regardless of its success in other people’s eyes, or social media follower numbers, but in my own heart.

Have a great week all,

RGR


Supreme Tweeter Press Kit Statement



**ABOUT SUPREME TWEETER**

SUPREME TWEETER tells the story of what happens when a struggling actor is suddenly followed online by Kim Jong-un, the “Supreme Leader” of North Korea.

Harry Lloyd plays a mostly fictionalized version of himself: a British actor almost-famous for his part in the 1st season of HBO‘s smash hit Game of Thrones, who has not done much of note since. He joins Twitter in an attempt to raise his profile, but he gets more than he bargained for when, inexplicably, the Leader of North Korea follows him on Twitter. He seems to be a fan...

Rather than simply a punchline, North Korea and its bizarre and unique position in today’s media are used as a device to explore the relationship between propaganda and self-promotion.

The 3-part capsule series is a fun, fast-paced, and surreal modern allegory about seeking fame in the modern world and the extraordinary lengths people go to get it.

**KEY CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES**

@HarryLloyd
HARRY is a classically trained 31-year old actor living in London. He talks grandly about the Art of his job, but as the story progresses he is drawn more and more to the seductive world of Likes, celebrities and worldwide recognition.

@SupremeTweeter
KIM JONG-UN is a 32-year old dictator. Like his father and grandfather before him, he retains an almost God-like status in North Korea. Perhaps he relates to the impotent and exiled leader, Viserys Targaryen, Harry’s character in Game of Thrones.

**OTHER KEY CHARACTERS INCLUDE**

GEORGE
(George R.R. Martin; author of the Game of Thrones novels)
GEORGE feels guilty that he killed off Harry’s character in Game
of Thrones and Skypes him occasionally to check in.

MAISIE
(Maisie Williams; Game of Thrones, Cyberbully) MAISIE is a 17-year old actress who Harry met on Game of Thrones. She is a social media wizard with a hoard of Followers. While cute and eager online, she is in fact a strategic digital tactician.

**SERIES INFORMATION**

FULL SERIES LAUNCH
APRIL 1, 2015 on supremetweeter.com
Launch timed to coincide with Season 5 of HBO’s Game of Thrones

FORMAT
3-part Web Series
Runtime approximately 5-8 minutes each

TONE/VISUAL STYLE
SUPREME TWEETER is a surreal comedy about celebrity and the digital age. The story aims to reflect the unpredictable and chaotic nature of the social media landscape by invoking Birdman and Black Mirror-like story points. It is at times funny and scary, dramatic and farcical, sympathetic and provocative.

Despite its short length SUPREME TWEETER encompasses a wide range of visual styles. Traditional conversational scenes are mixed with an alternate reality set inside the realm of social media and coupled with dynamic graphic animation throughout the series.

**THEMES**

CELEBRITY
The series looks at the glorification of celebrity over success in our modern-day culture. While popularity is a helpful tool, the spotlight can be an addictive and destructive drug. In the age of social media, the attention of the whole world can be thrust upon almost anyone or anything within the blink of an eye.

ONLINE PERSONAS
Harry’s profile pic on Twitter becomes a major character in the series. The dramatization of his relationship with the real Harry highlights the disparity and ambiguity between who we are and who we are online.

META
The show gives us a backstage view of how actors change in order to present themselves publicly. Whether it’s by exploiting an online association for attention, or by writing a web series about just that. The ‘character’ of Harry exists in many different forms for the viewer: in real life, in the story, online, online in the story...SUPREME TWEETER is both a critique of self-promotion and an exercise in self-promotion itself: it knowingly includes viral subject matter such as Game of Thrones, North Korea and, of course, adorable puppies.

INTERACTIVE STORY TELLING
SUPREME TWEETER was always conceived of as a web series. It is concise, relevant and accessible. It has been designed to give the audience a glimpse into a backstory that spans multiple online formats as well as the opportunity to directly interact with the SUPREME TWEETER universe. Preceding launch, our production team has been propagating content via in-character social media profiles and diverse online platforms.

**ABOUT THE CREATORS**

HARRY LLOYD
Co-Creator/Writer/Director/Actor
Harry Lloyd is a British actor who has been acting in supporting roles for over ten years, in things like The Iron Lady, The Theory of Everything and, of course, Game of Thrones. In 2014, he adapted a one-man play about a reclusive man, which he performed in Paris and London. Doing this play made Harry want to write more, and is the reason he sports such a nasty beard in Supreme Tweeter.

JAYNE HONG
Co-Creator/Writer/Producer
Jayne is from Chicago.  When she was younger, her father told her that he was going to take her to McDonalds. Instead he drove her to the Grand Canyon. Later she worked in entertainment marketing and production for networks, including HBO, HISTORY and XBOX. When she's not coming up with blue sky ideas for web series', she's probably somewhere eating a Happy Meal.

**BACKGROUND**

Co-creators Harry Lloyd and Jayne Hong began developing the script for Supreme Tweeter in the Fall of 2014. There was something about today's frenzied world of social media that was funny, strange and scary.  A bit like North Korea. And this led to the story idea of an unusual online relationship.

They teamed up with director/ editor Todd Sandler to help tell this topical and surreal little tale about an actor's quest to achieve celebrity in the digital age. The trio always wanted Supreme Tweeter to be representative of the scatter-brained nature of the Internet, playing through a variety of genres with scattered movie references and viral themes. And the inclusion of cute puppies, of course. It was specifically made for an online platform to try and create a blurred and interesting line between what you're watching and how you're watching it.

The shoot began in London in September 2014 and was put together by a brilliant team of friends and their friends and their friends. Post-production spanned across three cities - London, New York, and Los Angeles.

**CONTACT**

For more information about the show or to get in touch with the cast or crew, please use the following contact information:

Web: www.supremetweeter.com
Email: info@supremetweeter.com
Twitter: @SupremeTweeter

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