The creative team behind The Triad of Reality, a feature length psychological thriller, have launched a Kickstarter campaign.
I was sent the script for Triad back in May, and was happy to provide some feedback. I sent my thoughts to writer/director Nicholas Holmes, and this week my social media blew up with some of what he’s been working on in the months since.
The industry is in a bad place, so it’s always nice to see indies defying the odds and making progress. I wish the team a massive good luck and can’t wait to see The Triad of Reality.
A little while ago The Haunted House Hotel was shown at In The Palace, an Oscar-qualifying festival in Bulgaria. We were in the Best Short Student Fiction category. Director Moe Acharki and actor Bojidar Nikolov gave an interview during the festival. That interview is now available to read on the In The Palace website.
They spelled my name wrong in the transcript, but what Moe and Bojidar said was very flattering.
Moe said:
I asked the British writer Matt Grocott (Sic) to write the script, which he did in two days based on some very odd criteria: 15 minutes, four characters, crime mystery, documentary, and the 1990s. It was a very bizarre combination, but he made it work, and that’s the film we ended up making.
It’s the only comedy I’ve ever made, and I’m still not entirely sure how it worked, but it did. I think it’s mainly because Matt wrote such a beautiful, funny script. He has a great sense of humor. And I had a very passionate, motivated team, especially considering how fast the production was.
And Bojidar added:
We had a lot to manage in only a few days, it was definitely a challenge. But having real professionals in the crew, and having Moe and Matt’s script, made everything easier.
The full interview is very interesting, and goes to show how much we went through putting this film together in only a few days. It really was a small miracle that it turned out at all, and that’s thanks to the hard work of Moe, Bojidar and the rest of the fantastic cast and crew.
Childbirth (For Men) – my short script built about a man who is suddenly thrust into fatherhood – has been polished, given its own page and is ready to download. It’s a fun adventure, layering a man’s impending parenthood with the traditional structure of the hero’s journey. It’s a quality story, with some laughs and a lot of heart.
I’ve finished a new short, Boudoir, which I’ll be submitting for publication over the coming week. It’ll ultimately be part of my anthology, Leak.
The story follows a woman who books herself a boudoir photoshoot after being called sir on the bus. The 1700-word story deals with themes of body image, privacy and confidence.
Another story – Lie for Me – is about half way done. There may be an update on that soon.
Progress on the next novel is steady. The writing is good, the story is hitting the right emotional beats – it feels inevitable in all the right ways. I can’t wait to talk about it.
Finally, I’ll begin the submission process on Nepo Baby in the next month. I finished the polish draft on June 28th, and I’ve been dying to get back to it since.
As well as a Childbirth update, the website has seen some other minor polish. It’s all coming together – slowly, but surely.
The Haunted House Hotel, written by me and directed by Moe Acharki, was shown at the prestigious In The Palace short film festival. Audiences loved it, and it was one of a number of incredible films shown at the festival.
Moe and Bojidar filming the Q&A
Moe – who I’ve worked with on several projects including The Eyes in the Box – spoke about the film alongside lead actor Bojidar Nikolov during a Q&A session.
We shot the film at Nu Boyana in Sofia in 2023, and we all remain extremely proud of it.
Moe said: “Truly a blast and what a great way to remind myself why I do what I do! I wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for the hard work and dedication of the whole Haunted House Hotel team.”
The Q&A session goes through the unusual speed of production, where the concept came from and the few hours I had to write a pilot-length script. We were also working on our upcoming film The Cost of the Crown at the same time.
I travelled to Bulgaria to see the production on both films and was impressed by the incredible talent and dedication of both cast and crew. It was an incredible experience, and I’m happy to see the film doing well.
Synopsis:
Welcome to the Haunted House Hotel! The rooms are okay, the owner dangerously quirky and the murders deliciously unsolved. Although that might be about to change.
When Edward DeWitt rises from the grave to solve his own murder, he brings along a camera so he can finally release a world-famous documentary.
But will he solve the riddle of his death? Will the love of his life return his affections? And is Hollywood ready to accept its first deceased documentarian?
The Haunted House Hotel is a murder mystery comedy about love, loss, and ectoplasm.
