SOME DAYS...

THE QUIET BEFORE...

Entering that very precious stage of early pre-production where it's not too busy, there's time to do what you need, to catch up, to think out loud, to listen to music, to watch movies, to leaf through reference books, to shove ideas together, to plan, to suggest, to dream. I've moved into the Gallipoli production office and for the next week or so I'm the only one on my floor. It's so bloody wonderful to have this time and space because very soon it's all going to fill up and disappear... But right now, this is the bit to cherish.

Coming into land last week after a day of casting in Sydney.

'TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD'

Carved and gilded in granite in Martin Place, Sydney. Glorious dead...

NEXT...

Gallipoli. A 4 x 2 hour drama series produced by John Edwards, Imogen Banks and Robert Connolly, written by Christopher Lee and based on the No 1, best selling book Gallipoli by Les Carlyon which is heralded as the definetive account of the Gallipoli campaign. Les's book is dense with history, highly detailed and spiked with the most beautifully poetic descriptions of the people, the landscape and events of that chaotic and bleak patch of turkish coastline where over a 100 000 men died over the ten month. It's this powerful combination of truth and lyricism which has drawn me to the project with both excitement and fear.

We started early pre-pre-production last year, and will go into official pre-production early 2014, shoot and edit 2014, to air (on Channel 9) 2015, coinciding with the 100th year anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign, April 25th 1915.

I've begun working full time on this over the past few weeks and will finish sometime late next year... crazy times ahead. Stay tuned.

ISTANBUL 3

ISTANBUL 2

Road trip to Çanakkale...

ISTANBUL 1

Closely following New York as my favourite city in the world...