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.
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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***
