The Anatomy of a Title

The process of writing  is different for each screenwriter, obviously.  Some can write an entire screenplay under the heading "untitled", while others like to have the title and story and then commence putting words to paper or in this day and age it would be words to computer screen.  I fall into the latter.  However, for this particular project (With Her), it was a little bit different.  

I went through a few different titles but I just wasn't satisfied.  The reason being that the idea for With Her actually came from a feature film idea and after some thought the decision to do it as short first, was made.  I also knew that the title would change.  Personally, I like to have a title that will stick from first draft right up until the final draft and a few times I thought I had it but what would happen, was that I would like it for a few days and then hate it.  So for the first time I was writing something without having a firm title.  The term is "working title".  I remember I mentioned my dilemma to our producer Kris and he would say just use the title you have and call it a "working title", I didn't like that idea but I went with it.  Immediately upon finishing the script I went back to the title, I couldn't bring myself to pass it along without a title that I was happy with and that would not change.  So I sat there and pondered, you know like the Thinking Man sculpture, I thought about the writer/directors that I admire, who always seem to have a title that sort of encapsulates their story.  Pedro Almodovar was the person who came to mind,  Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces, all great films with titles that work really well.  That's what I wanted!  Still in my Thinking Manesque pose, I thought about my story.  It's a juxtaposition.  Two different ways to look at love, I looked at it through the eyes of William (the writer), who would see it this way...with Sophia (his love interest) it would be one way ( a real love with real feelings) and in a vicarious sort of way through Matthew (the male escort) it would be another (no love, no real feelings).  That was it!  I had my title, it was simple yet it still encapsulated what I want to say with this film, it was perfect.   

With Her (Sophia) it was one way and With Her (the clients) it was another.  I said it over and over again in my head and I even waited a day or two before I told anyone I had finished writing just to see if I still liked the title.  I loved it and it stuck.  I passed it along and...well here we are.  With Her is now a completed short screenplay which will be going into production and I look forward to sharing it with each and everyone of you and I hope that you all enjoy it (eventually of course) as much we will enjoy making it.  Until the next blog.

Gerson Peña

Writer/Director of  With Her

The Idea of "With Her" and Three Films That Were An Inspiration

After finishing up my last short film "Hugito" (that also happened to be my first, which you can see at www.youtube.com/notebookoncinema) I knew right away I wanted to keep going.  It was just a matter of what I would do next, what I could write.  As fun as filming "Hugito" was, I immediately knew my next project would be more serious.  I'm not a hopeless romantic but let's be honest deep down we all want to be loved and want to love.  I thought about that notion for a moment.  I like that.  Okay so what's next?  How will the story in it's rawest form play out? 

Being a writer myself, I thought the main character should be a writer and he should be at a point in his life where he wants to follow his dream of writing his  first book.  Now we're getting somewhere.  I went back to my original idea of how we all want to be loved and want to love.  That's when I thought to myself that the main character should want to write a book about that idea.  I knew that everybody who would see this film would have been in love at some point or  had loved someone but possibly never receiving that same love in return.  I pondered again.  The idea of going to a prostitute came into mind (to clarify I didn't mean actually going to a prostitute myself), men go to prostitutes all the time but then I thought they only go to prostitutes for sex, sex isn't love.  Maybe sex can be love but just go with me here.  Okay prostitutes, if you have some wealth you take it up a notch, an escort.  This is where it got interesting because these men that get these very expensive escorts are usually looking for something a little bit more than sex.  They want companionship, someone to talk to, someone who will stroke their hair while sitting down on the sofa, the little things that make being with someone extra nice. 

So the story thus far, a writer who is writing a book about escorts and why men go to them.  I mentioned that idea to someone, she said it's been sort of done a lot, I agreed.  Why don't you push the boundary a little more, women go to escorts too, she said.  That's right!  They do.  I did some research and found out what male escorts offer these women, how much they charge, what's involved in a typical night out with these women (they vary).  Okay we have a good chunk now, a writer writing a book about male escorts and the women they have as clients.  I found myself fascinated with this idea and found that most of these women are in executive positions at their workplace and  a lot of them either have no time to date, so they pay someone, or men are intimidated by them, so they pay someone, or they have some issue with their significant other, so they pay someone.  These women are searching for that love that we all want and since they can't find it, this is another option for them because I doubt they would simply want to be alone.  Alright so the other half of the story.  Some people get lucky and find true love.  You meet that person that just...well you know, no explanation needed.  I pondered again, what if the writer meets someone and what if while he's writing his book and doing his research (which involves interviewing a male escort) he is falling in love with this person.  So now you have someone who gets to see both sides.  A juxtaposition.  That was it, I had my idea and it was time to start writing.

3 Films That Inspired "With Her"

I always study before and while I write.  Like any apprentice breaking out into his own, you go back and you look at the masters that taught you.  For myself one of those master filmmakers is Jean Luc Godard.  A key filmmaker of the 1960's and one of the founders of the French New Wave.  That's how I wanted to make this film, with the idea that Jean Luc Godard had and that was to go against the studio and make cinema an art form.  Right away, I watched "Pierrot Le Fou".  A film about a Ferdinand, a man tired of his married life who decides to run away with the babysitter who happens to be his ex-lover.  The film is more than that.  We all know about the 60's, it was a time of revolution.  Godard uses this film to show the consumerist obsessions and politics of the time to make the film great.  For me though, the inspiration came from the story of the couple.  A man, who's wife happens to hire a babysitter, who also happens to be his ex-lover which he clearly still loves.  So they run away together (the male escort side of the film...in a sense).  Great!  Another thing about the film is the use of colour, it's bright beautiful primary colours, inspired by the pop art of the time.  To go along with the fact that it was shot in widescreen, which adds the wonderful look of the film.  I knew I wanted "With Her" to be shot in this same way.  I had what the film looked like in my head after watching "Pierrot Le Fou".  

Inspirational film number two is also a Godard film (is there a pattern here?).  "Masculin Feminin" was made in 1966, one year after "Pierrot Le Fou".  Here Godard goes back to black and white, the inspiration from this film came purely from the story.  Paul, an idealistic would-be intellectual struggling to forge a relationship with the adorable pop star Madeleine (the writer and his would be love interest).  This film is really in great in that, Godard takes it back to when he first broke out, a sort of fast paced, free form film.  Although, William (the writer) doesn't struggle to forge a relationship, well maybe a little bit, it's the idea of meeting someone who immediately captivates you.  Albeit from a smile or a certain look, it's something that makes you want to pursue that person.  

Inspirational film number three, "Match Point".  Yes Woody Allen.  He is, for me, a big influence as a writer.  I never start writing without watching a Woody Allen film.  His great use of dialogue and wit.  His stories of torn love affairs and ruined relationships.  His idea that love is a difficult thing and I think we call all agree to that, no?  Back to "Match Point", the reason for the inspiration? It's easy, this is Woody at his best.  The story is about an ex-tennis pro who is trying to make it in London as a tennis instructor, he meets a wealthy client who then introduces him to his family.  He ends up marrying his client's sister and is now a part of this really wealthy family.  He then falls in love with his brother-in-law's fiancee and ends up having an affair with her (I'm not going to go into to much detail in case you haven't see it).  I'll leave it at that.  Which brings me back to my point, the story is told in such a fantastic way, all the elements are there, comedy, tragedy, betrayal, guilt and consequence.  The essence of a good story which then becomes a great film.  What more inspiration as writer could I possibly want?  

So there you have it.  Three films that inspired "With Her".  I encourage you to find these films and watch them and let me know what you think.  Maybe you'll love them, maybe you'll hate them, in any case I would love to hear what your thoughts are.  We all would.  Write on our Facebook page or comment write here on our blog.  Thanks for reading.

Gerson Peña

Writer/Director of "With Her"

Final Tidbit

For all of you who are seeing my name for the first time, here is how you pronounce it...

Gearson :)

A Script, Three Film Makers, and a Blog

Hello and Welcome to the official Blog for 'With Her': a new film project from Writer/Director Gerson Peña, and a collaboration with Producer Kristopher Finnigan and Associate Producer Emer Schlosser. We have a polished version of the script, a few production meetings under our belt and a burning desire to make this film!

Over the next few months, and potentially year we will be updating fans and those interested in the project along the way in a variety of ways. We have a smathering of web delights for you; this blog, our twitter feed, and the facebook page. Here's hoping that if you can't get us on one of them, you'll have us on the other. It's not about inundating you with a barrage of garbage messages, it's about keeping everyone in the loop.

We are an independent film, and that means we are funding the film through donations, associations, and (if luck has our side) film council(s) and government grants. Currently, our event calendar is in the works and we're excited for the first time that we can all get together to celebrate the official launch of production for the film! Early March is likely for that party, so keep your eyes peeled.

If you enjoy supporting the arts, and if you find it refreshing to watch an independent film from time to time please consider our film! You might be surprised to find that all kinds of businesses and people get involved in a film production, and we think you'll appreciate that we are going about this film in a grass roots way. Canadian music and cast, Torontonian crew, Ontario locations and support from local businesses and individuals are the lifeblood of the film and it gives us a great deal of pride to be making it this way. We would like to right away thank everyone for their help and interest thus far and we're sure that it's going to be a blast making this film with and for all of you!

We know that not everyone has the means to help us produce the film at the executive level... so we hope you'll come out to events, sport a tshirt or a pin (coming soon), or simply follow along with us as we make the film and come to see it once it's all done :)

It's the tag for the blog, and a quote from the script, and something we think is true... it's not about finding love, it's all about finding love in a place where love isn't supposed to be. Thanks for joining in the search with us...

Kristopher Finnigan
Producer