Screenwriting #10-11: My sister

When I was at the Radio Times Festival I told my dad Bobby a bit more about Platinum Heaven and the land I created and one main character I hadn’t mentioned before. I have an older sister called Gemma, who I have never met. She passed away when she was 3 months old, and the reason in the simplest terms was because her muscles were too weak to feed herself. She would have been two years older than me. My sisters and I have always known about her and her grave is at Hitchin Quaker Meeting where we used to go every Sunday growing up.

The great thing about screenwriting is you get to create characters, create new personalities, and maybe combine traits you like from people in your everyday life. Writing Platinum Heaven allowed me to think what Gemma could be like if she was alive. I’ve made her out to be a bit of a ball buster, but someone that cares a lot about her family at the same time.

Upon talking to my dad about Gemma and my writing I explained Gemma’s role in the series, in that she was a meet and greeter for new arrivals. He thought this shouldn’t be the case as he said she was smart and would have a better job than that, one that would use her intellect. I asked how he knew she was smart, and he said the nurse said that when she was born she recognised my mum and dad straight away.

So in the final episode I incorporated that view; was she deserving of a better job? And she does get an opportunity by Steve Jobs and Jim Henson no less. But an unexpected twist means that the audience don’t find out whether she takes the opportunity up or not.

The second view point my dad had was he accepted a few of the entry points into the land but couldn’t accept A-List and asked why they deserved to enter. So to add a bit of conflict episode 5 explores exactly that, and how after so many years the entry requirements may finally change. There were some characters willing to fight the system.

I’ve always been scared to tell people about my ideas, only a few people know about them to be honest as I think that people will laugh at them. Yes Platinum Heaven is whimsical and complete make believe, but how often do you get to really use your imagination fully on a regular basis? It’s fun to create something completely from scratch.