Wednesday 23 June 2010

The Story of a Story

One morning back in the spring of 2000 a friend of mine told me a story about the horse they once owned as a child. The story took about 20 minutes to tell. I liked this story very much.

I decided to write down a version of the story as I remembered it. Maybe I could use it for something in the future.

Another friend loved my story so much she agreed to show it to her mother a British publisher. The publisher thought the story was good but would work much better if it was illustrated and edited for a picture book.

The picture book was published in 2002 and was a commercial success. I was now a published author. I thought about my next projects.

A Hollywood producer read the picture book to his daughter. He took it to his backers explaining to them that it should be adapted as a screenplay for a feature film. The feature film version was completed in 2009 and is due for general release in 2011.

In 2010 a playwright colleague of mine re-worked the original story for the stage. It would be aimed at an adult audience, perfect for the Donmar Warehouse in London, England. I had author approval on the script. I read this script to the friend who told me the original story back in the spring of 2000.

He liked the story in its new form but added that it would make a good musical!


Karl

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