Today – June 3rd 2011
J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play “…and straight on till morning for many days.”
In the course of the current roll out of THIRD STAR I’m doing lots of Q and A’s around the UK. I really like it. (I like Q’s and I like A’s – what’s not to like?) The people who come to take part are, of course, film fans and so I have something in common with them already. On top of that – talking about the journey of this film with strangers, while I’m not one for counselling, is in some way cathartic.
One of the most asked questions though, is why the title or why the title had to change?
For a long time the film had the title “Barafundle Bay”… anyone who’s seen the film will be able to work out why (unless they’re dumber than the leader of the RMT). If you haven’t it’s because that is the (real-life) place that Benedict’s character wants to see one last time with his best mates. It started as a working title and stuck.
Film investors want to know in advance that a professional who sells films – a ‘Sales Agent’- thinks it ‘might’ make its money back. Our Sales Agent came on board very early and told me that the title had to change. This didn’t bother me too much. I had always hoped that in a very wordy film a line or phrase would leap out me. It never did.
Jump ahead three years and sure enough I have spent the entire time having to spell out the title to EVERYONE who we meet, phone, cast, and employ. For some reason people take a long time to get it even though it’s phonetic.
Before I know it the shoot is over, the edit is drawing to a close and I still don’t have a title. We’re rapidly approaching picture-lock, the grade and our title designer needs to know what the film is called.
At this point of course there isn’t just me, hiding in my study. All the parties who have joined the film are giving their opinion and we are now naming the film by committee! Some of the suggestions are so bad that I am ready to take my name off the film… “Forever Loved” was an all time low.
Eventually, as I was actually researching something else, I saw an old illustration from Peter Pan and thought that Peter’s instructions on how to get to Neverland might work. I like the fact that James would misquote things – hence Third star instead of Second – giving Miles the opportunity to say “Fuck. No wonder we’re lost.”
In J.M. Barrie’s original tale (in the 1904 plays), Peter led Wendy and her brothers to Neverland by flying ‘second to the right, and straight on till morning for many days’, though it is stated in the novel (written later in 1911) that Peter made up these directions on the spot to impress Wendy, (This in fact struck me a very James thing to do.) Wendy and Peter then find the island only because it was out looking for them. (the genius of Barrie.)
In the 1953 Disney film, Peter Pan, the word ‘star’ is added to the directions Peter speaks: ‘second star to the right, and straight on till morning.’ That phrase is widely quoted, and was used again in the 1991 movie Hook. But the less said about Hook in a film blog the better.
The title THIRD STAR had arrived and was quickly signed off. The link to Peter Pan is inalienably British and subtly enforces the idea that these are Lost Boys and that in a way, James never will grow up.
I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The two words in isolation made it a bit tougher and more ‘boysy’ – which was good. And the aim of a title that would travel all over the world was achieved – but it took a brilliant bit of design to bring it to life. Franki Goodwin, who designed the poster and titles, picked the perfect typeface but crucially added the simplest four pointed star as the dot of the ‘i’ and suddenly it felt like ‘our film’ again.
The link to the stars, and fate, and travel had long inspired this film and now we’d come full circle. So, that’s the ‘A’ in more detail than I can usually give to the ‘Q’…
But here’s some other stuff I found out as some nice wider reading.
Did you know:
The third brightest star in the sky is Rigil Kentaurus, otherwise known as Alpha Centauri, which literally means foot of the centaur.
It’s also known as Rigil Kent, Toliman, HR 5459 or the even catchier, HD 129620… (Anyone looking for unusual baby names may want to add that last one to the list.)
If you’d like to take a look, here’s where it is… Right Ascension: 14 39 35.9 – Declination: -60 50 07 (Yep… right there.)
Although its ‘Apparent Magnitude is -0.27’ its ‘Absolute Magnitude 4.4’ (Hey – we all look different in the mirror.)
This beautiful astral body boasts the Spectral Type: G2V (…I KNOW!!!!!)
But our THIRD STAR… is also sometimes known as Proxima Centauri.
Why? Because it’s the closest to us.
Yes. At a mere 4.3 light years… (not the brightest star – not the second brightest – but the third brightest star)… the THIRD STAR is the closest.
Take a look tonight. Raise a glass even, as many a traveller has since before we knew quite how we all hung together in this big bright universe. Good on you Alpha Centauri.
mug7 