FWOAN - My Statement of Intent...

#FWOAN Screenwriter Nick Thomson answers the important, ‘Why’s’ behind the motivation for creating the series of For Want Of A Nail...

#1 - to create a series that mixes drama and humour in a way that feels unusual and entertaining, introducing the audience to characters that they will care about and enjoy spending time with ... and

 

#2 - to finally represent Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on-screen as it has never been shown before... accurately and encompassing as many of the varied facets to the condition as possible.

 

“The series will allow the audience to learn more about the condition and gain a new appreciation of what OCD is and how it affects the 1-2% of the population who suffer from it. Importantly, never ‘wagging a finger’ at the audience (I hate that approach).

 

"For Want of a Nail" will be approachable, accessible, and entertaining - while never mocking the condition, or those (such as myself) who suffer from it..."

 

Continues after the jump...

The OCD & Anxiety Podcast - FWOAN Interview...

I was recently interviewed for The OCD & Anxiety Podcast, covering the topics of the short film For Want Of A Nail (which I wrote the screenplay for) as well as my own experiences with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

You can listen or download the podcast HERE, or via the embed below:

FWOAN 2019...

As we head into 2019, and what will hopefully be another successful year on the festival circuit, Oakhill Productions are taking another look at the process of making "For Want Of A Nail" while also looking ahead to our aspirations for FWOAN and the future.

It's really been a great few months since finishing 'For Want Of A Nail' back in March last year. The film is into a second year of it's festival run and has received such positive feedback from a wide variety of viewers.

        As we push forward with another year of festivals and screenings around the world, Writer Nick, who was naturally our script supervisor on set, reflects on his experience in making FWOAN, his best bits and his thoughts on the TV series development.

Read the full article at the Oakhill Productions website HERE and don't forget to follow FWOAN on Facebook.

FWOAN at Top Indie Film Awards...

For Want of a Nail has done rather well at the Top Indie Film Awards for October 2018.

In addition to a win for Best Director, FWOAN also received seven nominations including Best Short, Best Original Idea, and Best Writing!

Check out their website HERE for the full list of nominations and wins in all categories.

Our other nominations came in the Cinematography, Editing, Music, and Sound categories.

Click "READ MORE" below for the rest of the laurels...

FWOAN Wins at DMOFF...

Groovy news from the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival - I won the award for Best Screenwriter!

You can check out the full list of winners HERE.

FWOAN Selected for Mindfield FF...

More festival news relating to "For Want Of A Nail" - we've been selected to be a part of the Mindfield Film Festival in Albuquerque!

Check out their Facebook page HERE, or their official website HERE.

Snuffles: The Screenplay...

A while back I accidentally wrote a novella called "How Mr Snuffles III and Others Met Their Maker". I say accidentally because it had started out as a short story which then grew into a novella on-the-fly. I found myself hopping back and forth inserting new passages and ideas and it was one of the most 'free-wheeling' instances of writing that I have experienced thus far.

It is a black comedy about an orphaned pet therapist/serial killer aficionado who teams up with a gifted taxidermist to explore the limits of love, death, and psychopathy ... so yeah, the jettest of jet black comedies.

A nearly complete version of the layout/guide.

There's nothing quite like a good old corkboard with actual, physical index cards and pins.

Anyway, a while after writing the novella I had the idea of converting it into a script, but various other things I wanted to write slid in first until now, a couple of years down the line. I've returned to it for a little bit of creative writing fun to kick off 2018. With a fair bit of groundwork already done in writing the novella, I figured this would be a project I could hammer out efficiently...

Click "READ MORE" below to continue and also see a little sample...

"Celebrityville" update 22/12/2014...

After a few delays - such as having surgery to remove my gallbladder - I've finally been getting underway with "Celebrityville". First of all I got cracking with the short story ("The Great and The Good") that will tie-in to the main narrative (and accompany it in the book), but now I'm well underway with the primary text...

Click "READ MORE" below to continue the update...

Sleaze Fiend Magazine Issue #2 now available!

The second issue of Sleaze Fiend Magazine (for which I'm one of the staff writers) is now available to buy!

From the deliciously dirty minds who bring you the Exploited Cinema podcast, Sleaze Fiend Magazine is all about exploitation cinema and is most definitely not for sensitive souls or the easily offended. However, if you dig grindhouse cinema, out-there entertainment, bizarre curiosities, and independent zines, then you'll want to check it out.

Click HERE for more info.

Triple Bill Mini Musings: Killers & Writers...

Chained:
What's it about?
A taxi driving serial killer called Bob abducts a mother and child, takes them home, kills the mother, and then keeps the nine year old boy chained up in his house for close to a decade, treating him like a dog and his own post-kill cleaning attendant.
Who would I recognise in it?
Vincent D'Onofrio, Julia Ormond, Jake Weber.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Written and Directed by Jennifer Lynch - daughter of David, thus partly explaining the sheer darkness of this intensely disturbing psychological horror - Chained makes for a bleak but fascinating watch. Everything is deliberate and calculated, there are moments of shocking psychological conditioning, and the deep-freeze coldness of the selection and killing of victims by Bob is decidedly unsettling. The central performances by D'Onofrio (killer Bob, simmering threat and full stops in all the wrong places) and Eamon Farren (captive Tim, gaunt and painfully quiet) are utterly captivating - at times terrifying - while Lynch keeps the film moving forward at a precise pace. So pitch-perfect is the film for the duration that's it's confusing when a late-in-the-game development nearly derails everything ... however, recall one particular detail of a flashback and suddenly a bizarre left-field punch turns into a typically deliberate calculation that feeds right back into the nurture-over-nature theme. The last minutes do exhibit moments of messiness, but then maybe that's the point. Easily one of the most unsettling films I've ever seen. Great.

Click "READ MORE" below for one dud and one hit...

About Me

For Want Of A Nail (Trailer):

View the full film on YouTube now.

Nick Thomson is a writer and freelance film-maker, best known for the multi-award-winning short film 'For Want Of A Nail' (which was inspired by his own experiences with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), as well as his work in documentary shorts and educational films, which have screened around the world at festivals and on television, gathering a host of nominations and wins.

He is also the author of the horror novella 'Dug Deep' as well as the 'Celebrityville' series of books, and has reviewed genre and exploitation movies for publications such as 'Sleaze Fiend Magazine' and 'Exploitation Nation'. He is currently working on an adaptation of 'For Want Of A Nail' for television, in addition to his new novel “Murder at the Grindhouse”, a coming-of-age murder mystery set during the last notorious years of New York City's 42^nd Street.

Brother of Mine:

What is this blog?:
A gathering place for various posts about various things, including filmmaking, writing, and film reviews.
 
Biography Continued: 

I graduated with a dgree in Film & Television Studies from the University of East Anglia.

"Contempt of Conscience", is an independent documentary about UK protest group The Peace Tax Seven, on which I acted as cameraman (as well as some additional editing, and consulting). It has gone on to be shown at film festivals (both foreign and domestic), on TV, and is available to view online at YouTube and TopDocumentaryFilms.com.

"The Racket" is a short documentary about World War One and profiteering. I acted as editor, camera operator, and script editor. It was nominated twice at the St. Tropez International Film Festival, and gained further nominations from other film festivals - including a nomination for Best Editing in a Documentary Short from the Porsmouth IFF. Watch the trailer HERE.

I have worked for Ethics Online for many years, in numerous capacities, on educational DVDs such as “Sex & Ethics”, “Gaia & Genesis”, "War & Peace", "Abortion: Ancient & Modern", "The Problem of Evil", "Life After Death", and "Ethical Theories I & II", which are designed for GCSE and Sixth Form students. These award-winning films have been well-received by teachers and students alike. Follow the links for Ethics Online's Website and YouTube Channel.

Of the many filmmakers who influence me, some are: George A. Romero, Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, James Cameron, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Danny Boyle, Rob Zombie, David Cronenberg, Neil Marshall, Kevin Smith, Christopher Nolan, Sergio Martino, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, Andrew Dominik, Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Tobe Hooper, Brian De Palma, Sergio Leone, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Mike Flanagan, Frank Henenlotter, and Stuart Gordon.

To view my Top 50 Films of All-Time, click here.

Nick Thomson
https://deadshed.blogspot.com/
MARCH 2022

Ethics Online Promo Reel:

North Berwick, Scotland:

The Inevitable Decomposition of Zombie Man:

Skinner: