GO Rom Com Spotlight: @portablechemist
The gorgeous @portablechemist (OTHER REFS) has claimed Love Actually to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.
For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!
About Love Actually: Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love. Among the characters explored are David (Hugh Grant), the handsome newly elected British prime minister who falls for a young junior staffer (Martine McCutcheon), Sarah (Laura Linney), a graphic designer whose devotion to her mentally ill brother complicates her love life, and Harry (Alan Rickman), a married man tempted by his attractive new secretary.
We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know @portablechemist a little better!
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goromcom: Starting with something about you, you know how if you open a Tumblr chat with someone you haven't chatted to before, Tumblr tells you two things they post about? I wanted to tell you that yours reports that you post "about #tru and #:d". Those are some really fun tags, and I browsed your :d for a minute and had several giggles, so thanks for that!
portablechemist: Oh, that's so accurate, I love it :D I'm glad it gave you a laugh!! The #:d tag is all stuff I want to be able to find quickly to cheer me up, so I'm glad it makes other people laugh too :P
goromcom: But let’s move on to your rom com, Love Actually. Has this movie been a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it?
portablechemist: It's one of my favorite Christmas movies specifically, and I try to make a point of watching it every holiday season - Love Actually (along with Doctor Who and the IT Crowd) was part of my introduction to British media, so it holds a special place in my heart. As soon as I saw it on the list of choices, though, I immediately knew who I wanted Death to be, and that was enough to write the rest of the story :P
goromcom: So interesting that it would be that casting to cement the idea in your mind! Now I can’t wait to see!
What's your favorite moment of the movie and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?
portablechemist: There are a few moments that I really love - Hugh Grant dancing through the PM house, Rowan Atkinson doing up the necklace at the jewelry counter, and the bit where Jamie (Colin Firth) learns Portuguese and goes to France to confess his love to Aurelia (Lúcia Moniz) - but I think my favorite bit is the montage of the PM going door to door in Wadsworth to try to find Natalie. Loose plans for that scene include Gabriel making his way through Hell to find Beelzebub, because she's the only being he respects. But that's ALL it is - respect!
goromcom: Do you plan to stick very closely to the beats of the original story, or make bigger changes?
portablechemist: I'm sticking pretty close to the original beats of the story - it's still set around Christmas time (the chapter names will be the weeks until Christmas), there'll still be a school play with lobsters, etc., but those beats are wrapped in a new story. It's going to be set during the first Christmas after Armageddont, when Heaven and Hell have sent their own agents to Earth to get Armageddon II going. While this story line is the plot device driving the story forward, I'm focusing more on the individual couples/groups and their personal struggles. There are parts of the fic which are definitely more serious, but overall, I'm going for the same light, kind of silly tone that the original movie had (which will lead to some ridiculous scenes I am very excited to write).
I'm also doing my best to remove all the problematic bits (because yikes there are a lot of problematic bits).
goromcom: I know a lot of people are making little nips and tucks here and there to their rom com storylines, and it’s another thing I’m very interested in watching how it pans out as the stories begin to post.
But let’s see if I can charm one more little nibble about your story plans away from you. What's an interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, or some other plan you have to paint Good Omens all over your rom com?
portablechemist: This was the one I cast immediately - I've given the role of Colin (the guy who desperately wants to sleep with someone and thinks American girls will find him more attractive) to Death, and the roles of the American girls to the Four Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In this version, Death's lonely after War, Pollution, and Famine are destroyed, and God gives him the advice to find some new friends. I was really hoping to see the FOHA in the Good Omens show, so this is me bringing them in!
I've also recast Billy (the singer) as Agnes Nutter, and I'm rewriting the Christmas song to be one of Agnes's prophecies :D
goromcom: Oh my, Billy Mack is my favorite in the original. But before you reveal too much, I’ll cut off the previews here and move on to my favorite final question.
Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.
portablechemist: I mean, I think this whole thing you've put together is amazing - I've never felt more welcome in a group of folks online. Even though I mostly lurk (because life is crazy), it puts a huge smile on my face every time I see a new emoji or a brand new work from someone. This is so special and I want to thank you for putting it all together and doing all the moderation :)
goromcom: Oh my, blushing super hard over here! I’m really enjoying the whole thing and I really have fun with the whole group. :)
portablechemist: Outside of that, an organization I really enjoy is Little Free Library. They're a great way to bring reading to communities that otherwise might not have a lending library, and they also donate books cost-free to libraries in need around the world. You can do everything from donate money to build a Little Free Library yourself, if you're so inclined. Their website has resources to get involved, and the world map can let you know if there are any libraries already near you.
goromcom: Oh, I adore Little Free Library. Check that link out, everyone! Such a sweet and wonderful project.
And speaking of wonderful projects, make sure to catch the GO adaptation of Love Actually, coming soon!
