Since we decided to make a film, the entire staff of the company has been acting … funny. Employees can be seen congregating around water coolers or elsewhere in the building, discussing such issues as “antagonists”, “flashbacks”, and “character arch”. Conversations held over the edges of cubicles include such statements as: “No can do! Scarlett Johansson is busy this summer!”, or “I agree that TWO battle scenes would be costly, but just one, maybe?”, or “Seriously? George Clooney, is not what he used to be, honey!, or even “I think I’d be a perfect choice for the main role! Look at those abs!”

Brainstorming at SuperMemo World

Not that the management minds it. They too spend countless hours staring blankly into space, mentally processing the plot of the film SuperMemo World is planning to produce.

In short, everyone at the company is working in a creative ferment. Encouraged by our CEO, employees have been submitting their treatments and ideas for the film:

1. The IT guys wish to exploit the zombie theme, but from a new angle. Yes, there would be some nudity in it, and some gore, but nothing offensive if compared to, say, Machete Kills or any of the recent HBO series.
2. The management’s idea is a story of a retired CEO who has sold his company shares to pursue his life-long passion of being a pro mountaineer. But instead of climbing the Everest he decides to come back at the eleventh hour to save his company from bankruptcy.
3. The editorial room had in mind a romantic comedy about a smart and attractive woman working in a middle-sized multimedia developing company. One day she meets a fascinating, handsome man (a bit like George Clooney, though somewhat younger) who takes her on a romantic journey to self-discovery.
4. The office guy who came to fix the Xerox machine came up with the idea of a deeply meditative, artistic film about a guy repairing office equipment.

Okay … Seriously, we haven’t done most of these things! (We don’t even have cubicles at the office!) However, we are working hard on the project to get ourselves ready in the organisational and marketing sense. Schedules are being made and tasks are being assigned. (Someone did call Scarlett Johansson, though, asking if she would work for us, but they never put him through to her).

One thing is sure – we have decided to shoot the film in the UK, with proper British actors and a film production company. We have considered making it in Poland, but the main obstacle would be the shortage of talented actors speaking impeccable English. While there are quite a few native speakers here and we have indeed produced some video material with them, they are not professionals and it shows despite their efforts. Fortunately, some time ago we established some business contacts in the UK among the local film production companies. We will get in touch with them soon.

W