sent from:London, UK. destination: London, UK

One of the small blessings of working on films, big Hollywood films that is, is that there’s a definite release date that rarely, if ever, changes. It means that at some point a decision needs to be made, stuff needs to flow through the system and get shat out the other end. What an unfortunate analogy. Because, however, no one can ever say no to a client, we keep noodling every detail, gilding that lily, until the last possible moment, and then it’s down to a lot of people making a big heroic effort to try and execute the work in time. This is called CRUNCH TIME, and it has arrived for me and my talented team. I feel a bit like Kirk in Wrath of Khan when the Enterprise crew has to tackle the crisis without quite being ready for it. The hours are long, sleep is fitful and interrupted. Sitting in a dark meeting room I grabbed (or was grabbed by) a couple of moments’ sleep. I wonder; what could I have done differently yesterday, last week, last month, to have avoided this? Any of stress in the crew has me fretting inside like a mother hen. But, let’s be honest, the work is never done, it could always be improved. Let us be grateful that it is eventually wrenched from our tired hands.