OK SO if anyone is looking for a little extra drama then marion needs a baby daddy for her baby that’s due v v soon???? like he’s made it clear from the start that he doesn’t want to be involved and i... kinda see him as a douche and lol they can just argue over shit a lot cos like... marion’s romance is tied up elsewhere so this isn’t a romantic request??? idk hmu hmu
ballot boxing (2015) - satirical comedy - inspired by the thick of it, veep, etc
as britain comes up to a general election, tension are running high. gone are the days of a three horse race between the left, right and centre ground, in are those of multi-party politics, the prospects of hung parliaments and - a great big, bloody farce. this is where the campaign teams come in. those who try to swing the vote in favour of their parties, even though some couldn’t give two shits either way. ballot boxing follows them in the highs and lows in the last month leading up to polling day, and of course, it never completely goes to plan.
ballot boxing is the brainchild of esteemed director and writer marion wilson, a move which sees her move to a purely comedic platform for the first time in her career. the show was first broadcast on channel 4 in the uk in the run up to the election in early may, and has subsequently been acquired by bbc america.
for the cast, just tell me which character description your character would most fit/like to play and i’ll slot them in. note that while this is will likely be a majority british class there are spaces for non-brits in the campaign teams! more detailed descriptions are below the cut
LABOUR: four roles - two female, two male
TORY: four roles - two female, two male
LIB DEMS: two roles - one female, one male
UKIP: three roles - one female, two male
GREEN: four roles - three female, one male
PLAID CYMRU: three roles - two female, one male
SNP: two roles - one male, one female
LABOUR
JACK BRIGGS - first last - 40s +, more experienced team member, has followed the party through thick and thin, accidentally offensive
HARRY MASTERSON - first last - 20s, party intern who runs social media, not the brightest of the bunch, responsible for starting an internet fandom for the party leader
JENELLE MOODY - first last, early 30s +, american campaign manager, think jennifer barkley in parks and rec, makes the others roll their eyes approximately 89 times a day
ALICE PARKER - first last - mid 20s+, strategist, lives and breathes caffeine, survives on four hours of sleep a night, fitness addict
TORIES
FRED LINCOLN - first last - 30s +, poc, hates the current party leader and never shuts up about it, in charge of damage limitation
GREGORY BOYD - first last - 30s +, wishes he was doing anything but this job, ultra-pessimistic, wishes fred would shut the hell up
ESTHER DUNN - jules brooker - possibly the only intelligent member of the team, constantly correcting the others when they say something offensive/smacking the men round the head when they are rude
AMBER WATKINS - first last - early 20s, party intern, got the position through her daddy’s connections, spent two hours talking to the coffee machine thinking it was voice activated
LIB DEMS
ELSIE DENNIS - zola jameston - early 20s +, woc, new recruit to the team, actual sunflower light of their lives, tries to be optimistic at every port of call even though a heavy defeat is inevitable
ROGER MILLER - first last - mid 30s +, in charge of campaign, in denial about the party’s recent downfall, would rather stick his head down the toilet instead of give interviews on behalf of the party leader
UKIP
RITA MARSH - first last - mid 20s+, party’s PR guru only she’s not that great at it. demands the party get more airtime after almost every news broadcast, even if it’s about the birth of a new royal baby
MARK SANDERS - first last - late 20s +, in charge of damage limitation for quite possible the most offensive mainstream political party, keeps a list of party members who could get them into trouble
DOMINIC WILLIS - first last - 40s +, literally the worst straight white (american) male you could imagine, need i say more, press officer
GREEN
JOANNA MILES - first last - mid 30s +, poc preferred, has campaigned against nuclear disarmament, animal testing and deforestation. strong advocate for lgbtqia+ presence and consideration in government
MEGAN STONE - first last - late teens,early 20s +, working with the party on work experience, would probably vote SNP if she could
EILEED WARD - first last - late 20s +, has a degree in politics, philosophy and economics from oxford, looks into camera like jim from the office when anyone mentions the economy, in charge of party finances
DANNY HUNTER - first last - 30s+, poc preferred, party press officer, responsible for the best party political broadcast of the election (lookalikes of the four main party leaders singing a song about austerity)
PLAID CYMRU
KERRY BANKS - first last - 40s +, advocate for welsh independence, literally will wear a leek on her blazer on st david’s day
KELLY HOPKINS - first last - 30s, frequently gets confused with kerry, doesn’t really care for politics and just took the job because she needed the money
RONNIE EVANS - first last - 40s, the embarrassing dad of the group, makes really bad jokes about welsh people and sheep
SNP
KATHLEEN MCCORMACK - first last - late 20s+, poc preferred, party’s press officer, thinks the leader of the labour party is a right idiot
THOMAS SULLY - first last - 40s, party strategist, typical scotsman, wears a kilt on special occasions and definitely as a beard
this is marion. she was born somewhere in the north of england in the mid-eighties where she stayed until she turned 18.
as a child, her and her sister gwen would constantly make short films with their dad’s old video camera. they’d send them off to competitions for young filmmakers regularly but they never seemed to get anywhere.
from around the age of fourteen, marion started carrying a notebook around with her wherever she went as she found she had a penchant for stringing stories together. to this day, she still always has one in her bag.
when she turned 18 and finished her a-levels (all As in english literature, film studies and chemistry), marion moved to london to live with her sister gwen, so that they could be closer to the british hub of artistic movement (and connections to agents and companies).
just a year later they were debuting their first short film at the london film festival which earnt them backing from a number of private investors to start work on their first feature length production.
in the three years before their first feature release, the duo continued to make short films, one of which won the bafta for best short film in 2004.
velvet assassins was released in 2006, a historical drama documenting the stories of the lesser known female heroes of world war two.
many called it a “turning point” in the way hollywood saw female roles within film, however these claims were dismissed when the film’s actresses, though critically acclaimed, received no nominations at that years oscar awards - while a rival big budget world war two movie did.
despite this, the film went on to win 4 baftas including best actress, best original screenplay and best cinematography.
however, the duo still had critics. many were annoyed at how a relatively unknown pair of women could come from nowhere and win awards and critical acclaim.
the girls laughed in their faces tbh
they continued writing and releasing films with strong female heroines, such as adventure and corsets and crossbones, which told the tales of female adventurers and pirates respectively. while these didn’t have as great impact as velvet assassins had had, the team were credited again for introducing more films with leading people of colour and showcasing stories that didn’t just focus on rich privileged people.
in 2013 they released pyramids, a film which was about as far from the happy go lucky films of their earlier career. this was a gritty portrayal of how the american and worldwide sex worker industry operated. it was here the girls won their first academy award for the screenplay.
marion has just begun writing a comedy series about the run up to an election called ballot boxing (which i’m gonna get up later).
both marion and gwen are loud and proud feminists and get angry a lot so if you’re gonna be hating you better be waiting (for an angry email) ((they’ve done it before)).
nah but marion needs just about everything in terms of plots??? i’m seriously toying with the idea of her being pregnant because keira looks so cute with a bump? but ya, she’s everyone’s mom and will bring you wine and/or flowers if you need cheering up and always has a spare tampon or two in her purse if you’re in need xoxo
marion wilson on her sister gwen: “i honestly don’t know where i’d be without her. she’s been my rock through thick and thin. i remember the first time one of our scripts got turned down - i was only about nineteen - and i just burst into tears. gwen just gave me a hug, found me a tissue but then just reminded me that this was only the start of our journey, and she’s not been wrong.
fourth of july (2016)
post apocalyptic drama focusing on the weeks, months and years following a global pandemic which killed 95% of the worlds population
this is inspired by the sufjan stevens song of the same name. it currently only stars tim davis and florrie braithwaite but is looking for the remaining cast, crew and i’d love for a sufjan stevens esque artist to have done the soundtrack? if you want your character to be in it then let me know, and i’ll write them in as the actual plot of the film is incredibly open right now!
areudirty
romaincrisis
izzy806
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
dededos