5 questions with Rhys Jones on When Time Catches Up

How does the co-writing partnership with you and I work?

I’m not sure what the writing process on this one was, as I don’t remember anything about writing it. But normally these things come about thanks to conversations we have, we’ll talk endlessly and sometimes an idea for something comes out of that. When it comes to writing we tend (once we have a draft) to read it over and over and over, out loud, acting it out, and that way we can normally tell if something is or isn’t working for us. For example, if it’s a sitcom and a joke stops making one of us laugh it comes under a spotlight and we try and find out why it's stopped working. Mostly though we rely on the trust we’ve built up in each other, which lets us experiment and go off on some crazy ideas that I don’t think we’d explore on our own- like the “she’s a phone” bit in this film. When you pitched that to me it was a lot crazier than it is now, and I think you were surprised by my enthusiasm for it. Think you thought it was going to be stupid. Maybe had you been writing on your own that idea wouldn’t have made it to the screen. We like to play about and see what we can get away with, that’s how it works mostly, I think.

Do you think the film tries to pack too much into its short running time?

No, I don’t think it does. Time Catches Up isn’t that complex, really. It felt a bit crammed on the page, but Leonie did a good job telling the story. Stephen and Sara sold the relationship well. And I think after this long, having made so many short films now, we can tell richer story’s in a shorter time. That’s not to say the film isn’t full of story, it is. But it’s not trying to do too much, it works. It pulls it off, in my opinion.

How come time catches up is your only contribution for series 4?

Because I’m not a part of series 4. I stepped back a bit, well a lot, after series 3, but before I did that I had done this co-write and it ended up in the series. Simple as that really. Though we are starting to talk about the future of Twisted Showcase, and I might be coming back and being more involved again at some point.

Can you pick out a typical Rhys moment and a typical Robin moment from the script or is that impossible?

I don’t think this is a very typical script of mine. It isn’t the sort of thing I’d normally write, so I don’t think there is anything in it that is particularly, specifically “me” in it. Not that I’d recognise that anyway.  It does have a lot of those themes that creep up in our conversations, like the fear of wasting our lives, so as a whole it probably is very typical of the pair us when we get together.

I would like to explore what you see as a “me” idea?

I don’t know, I don’t tend to revisit my own stuff. I’m not sure if there is an example of the kind of idea that I think of as very “me”. Maybe Toilet Soup would be closest, because that’s funny and daft, but has something to say, and that’s the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to do. I really liked the shock value in Toilet Soup, how it was used to make a point.  Whether that’s what I do as typical “me”, I don’t know. Maybe Time Catches is up is more typical of me than I think. If I went through and looked at my student films, and my stuff for the showcase short story ebooks and the micro fiction on the website, perhaps I’d discover I'm talking rubbish when I said it’s not something I’d normally write. I always think you have a very distinctive voice, something like Be My Head, which I think is great, feels to me to be a very Robin idea.

5 questions on Muscle Memory with Debbie Moon

1. Would you call Muscle Memory a body horror story?

1)Yes, I think body horror is probably the most appropriate term. But all horror comes down to bodies in the end, doesn’t it? How vulnerable they are, how they betray us, how they can be changed into monstrous things we don’t recognize. This was a fun opportunity to look at how the body and the mind interact, which is still mysterious and a little scary to most of us…

2. Have you ever had a massage which brought back forgotten memories?

2) You know what? I’ve never had a professional massage. I feel like I should now! But having read the article that inspired the story - on how massage therapy interacts with memory loss in war veterans and others with PTSD -  I now feel a bit nervous about what it might unearth!

3. As writers we're usually reserved and modest, but here's an opportunity to throw off those shackles and reveal your favourite line of dialogue from muscle memory?

3) Boasting? How very un-British! The final line is fun – always love a good twist – but I also like the “You’re the car crash” line. The way it reduces a complex person to one event in their life - right before we use that one event to open up a very complex life indeed…

4. With writing for an anthology you didn't have to match existing character voices, but what holds Twisted Showcase together is probably it's tone. Did you worry about making it fit with the show, or look at certain episodes for a guide?

4) Obviously, I was familiar with Twisted Showcase and the kinds of stories it tells, but I don’t think I thought too much about matching the tone. I just felt this was the right kind of story for the anthology, and the tone took care of itself…

5. What do you think is the scariest aspect of your episode? And I'll sneak in another question - what are you most proud of about it?

5) I suppose the scariest idea is the idea that everything we’ve ever done – even the things we’ve forgotten – is written in our minds and in our bodies somewhere. There’s no escape from memories, even if they seem to be erased. That feels like a classic horror idea to me…

         And what am I proudest of? I think, fitting a full story into a short running time! I’m used to having a few more pages than this to play with!

5 Questions - Episode 1 Be My Head

Each week, for the next six weeks, there will be a quick interview - 5 questions long - regarding the most recent Twisted Showcase episode. This week Debbie Moon, creator of Wolfblood, has asked me 5 questions about the first episode of Series 4, Be My Head.

Debbie Moon: This story is rooted in a very relatable "real" tragedy.  Do you think the best horror is rooted in reality?

Robin Bell: I think the things that we can latch onto, and identify as something from our own lives are the most effective elements of horror whether that be the feelings of grief or the fear of what'll happen to your leg if you leave it hanging out of bed. Familiar settings and emotions are important also to ground the big monsters or the abstract ideas. Godfrey Cavendish, the crazy tape licker in this episode, is scary because of how he is juxtaposed with the intense stillness of Lucifer Jones. So reality has to play its role to create scares, but as with all good ideas, it's how elements rub together and react to each other that creates the best results.

DM: What was it like working with a first-time director?

RB: A lot of Twisted Showcase has been working with first-time directors, but it has never felt like it. Every director on the series has come to set fully prepared with loads of ideas, invention. I've been very lucky. It was obvious to me that Gareth would be a great director from the first time we worked together. We were a nervous crew making our first film and he knew what everyone on set should be doing, he had loads of ideas to keep the shoot flowing and create intense scenes for Peter & Paul. I'm incredibly proud he chose Twisted Showcase as the platform to make his directorial debut, and think he did a terrific job.

DM: How does writing for specific actors affect how and what you write?

RB: To be honest we've very rarely done it. I think Rhys did a draft of Toilet Soup where he Norman'd the character up a bit, but I don't think we've ever started a script thinking this is one for Gareth. Even for Be My Head, I think he had a choice of a few scripts.

DM: The music is very striking. How did you settle on it?

RB: We were very lucky music wise for this episode. On set, Gareth explained what sort of music he wanted for the film and referenced a few films, and it sounded similar to the type of thing one of my closest friends make. He soundtracked Peter & Paul but makes so much stuff that I knew he'd have something that'd fit what we were going for. We were very lucky in that he gave us complete access to everything he's made. There was a complete team effort to get to the finished goal - Gareth whittled it down to about 8 choices and broke the film into 3 categories for 3 different types of music. I made my favourite choices for each segment and then Leonie who was editing it started putting it together. Little segments changed here and there but I think the music really stands out and in every moment really highlights whats going on emotionally in the film. A testament to the team and to Jim Hughes for making those soundscapes that always create an emotional  reaction.

DM: If you could get rid of your worst memories, would you?

RB: I'll just avoid answering that for a second to talk about my love for titles with double meanings. Moffat was great at them in Who e.g.  The Eleventh Hour, The Pilot. It took me ages to realise that Mad Men had multiple meanings. I was quite pleased with Payback and The Drugs don't work in Series 3, and the double meanings they had, but this episode is my favourite and I think most clever as it sort of sums up the issue at the centre of the episode. It could be read as asking someone else to "be my head" take my thoughts away from me, or it could be read as "be my head" I need to be myself, true to who I am even if that contains pain and grief, that is part of who I am. I suppose I'd err towards the second one of those meanings, but there's an incredible temptation in the first. It's what makes this episode so intriguing, alongside the performances, the look of it, the jokes and everything really. I'm really proud of this one.