August/September 2025 Newsletter

Hello, imaginary internet people!

Okay, so the “do shorter newsletters to decrease the long gaps” plan didn’t quite work, but better that than send you endless ones with no actual news.

So what have I been doing? A mix of various things.

Managed to pop into FrightFest for a bit last weekend, as always my favourite film festival. Cat and I made the opening night ident, pulling it together with borrowd props and favours, in a frighteningly short amount of time. It’s our tribute to the terrifying public information films of the 70s and 80s, and stars our very own Gracie in the main role of Cautious Kid. If you saw any of those films back in the day, some of this will be very familiar! Be warned, if you’re at work, there’s some swearing and violence…

I really enjoyed doing this, and it was nice to stretch my directing muscles again briefly. You can catch up on the previous idents in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbhj4SdpTLAPu9UbLqPy9PDJH4uQT8CpR

Two of my Big Finish audios got released, the River Song meets Ace and Tegan box set, and my latest 8th Doctor adventure, as part of the recent set Uncharted 2. They were both lots of fun to write, particularly the 8th Doctor one, because it absolutely SHOT out of me and onto the page. I don’t think I’ve ever had something come out like that, it felt like I was transcribing a story that someone else was whispering into me ear - which is ironic, given the nature of this story (you’ll know what I mean if you listen). It’s a spooky one! I’m really chuffed with how it turned out, one of the actors even scared me during the recording, before any sound effects had been added. I absolutely love doing Big Finish stories, and hope they keep letting my play in their sandbox. My previous 8th Doctor story, Cass-Cade, got nominated for a Scribe Award, by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, which was a lovely surprise. I didn’t win, but the category was stuffed with friends and colleagues, so I was more than happy for them, and just genuinely happy to get the unexpected nomination.

The River Song set is available here: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-death-and-life-of-river-song-series-02-ace-and-tegan-3081

The 8th Doctor set is available here: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-time-war-uncharted-2-pursuit-2973

Editing/grading/post/etc continues on Cat’s short film Rubbers. She also directed a music video, which I helped on some bits and bobs, for a fantastic new artist called Amelie Roden, which you can see here:

It was a really fun project, partly because of the HUGE doll box which we all obviously took turns climbing in and out of, because we’re all 12 years old.

And I actually had a holiday, which was much needed. The three of us ran off to Portugal for a week, on an all-inclusive resort deal, and I got VERY used to being able to simply eat and drink whenever the hell I wanted. Weirdly, I think I actually lost a little bit of weight, because I didn’t have the ability to grab chocolate from the fridge every now and again, I was just eating protein and veg. And drinking my own weight in Super Bock every day. I can’t honestly recommend it as a diet, but hey, it was lovely for a week.

Movie projects: several things that have been bubbling along recently started bubbling more quickly, and feel like they’re close to becoming A Thing. I’m cautiously optimistic. All of them would be life changing if they happen, but as always, you never know in this business. Don’t count your chickens until they’re in the… chicken bank? On the chicken screen?

I had a short play performed at Slung Low in Leeds, and went up to watch one of the matinee shows. It was so lovely to see it come to life, the cast was *superb*, and it made me very emotional. It’s tribute to my mother, who the character is loosely based on, so for a while it felt like she was back with us. Here’s a pic of me with the cast and director:

I’ve also just launched a Skool community - if you don’t know, Skool is a place where anyone can start their own online business, and this week I finally took the plunge. I’ve been looking for a platform like this, and it fits the bill perfectly. My community is called The Screenwriters Lounge, helping writers find ideas and complete their scripts, step by step, guided from start to finish. I’m excited to see how it grows and develops. It’s only just launched, I’m keeping it at $9 a month for now, but anyone who signs up from this newsletter will be entered into a random draw, and one of you will get free access, for life! You’ll have to sign up at the paid level, and if you win then I’ll move you over to a free account - but if you don’t win, you will also stay at the $9 level, even if the price goes up later on, it won’t for you. It’s going to be a positive, supportive group, where we all lift each other up, with regular live streams, and writing challenges to get you moving. And to get me moving, too, let’s face it. We all need a push now and again. It’s fairly bare bones at the moment because you’re the first people to know about it, so come and make it noisy! The link is here: https://www.skool.com/write-your-script-3307/about?ref=23517bff57df46cfac64ba5cbde2d586

I think that covers pretty much everything, so a fairly eventful few months! Hopefully there’ll be even more news to announce next time, but if not, I will try and do more, shorter newsletters, just to remind you that I’m still alive.

Until then, stay safe, stay hydrated, stay you.

James Moran

www.jamesmoran.com