There is only one day left to back ROOM SERVICE on Kickstarter, so I'm showing you some of the script!
Hello Friends,
I’m back home in Brooklyn for the first time in over twenty days. It’s been a real blast seeing so many of your wonderful faces in Italy, Spain, and the UK, but I am so damn glad to be home. I slept for about nine hours last night, and my brain feels like it’s finally been washed in the sink, and is ready to use for some heavy lifting. The next two weeks are going to be a lot of catch-up. But I’m not done shilling for the week!
We’re in the final hours of the ROOM SERVICE campaign!
36 Hours to be precise! The campaign will wind down at Midnight ET tomorrow. We’ll be banging the drum a LOT over the next day and a half, but I wanted to hit the important beats with you Right Now!
First and foremost, this campaign is backing a short horror film that I am writing, PK Colinet is directing, and Elsa Charretier is storyboarding. This is the whole reason we’re doing this thing! We want to make a movie!
Second, this campaign is backing the creation of a special COMIC BOOK that will act as a prologue to the film itself (but will also work as a standalone story). I’m also writing this, and Elsa is doing the interior art on the story. We’ve also got a bunch of INCREDIBLE variant covers on this bad boy.
Third, this campaign is backing the creation of a beautiful Art Book that will contain the storyboards and original script for the film, as well as a bunch of behind the scenes information about how we made the film. The art book has a stunning cover by my Department of Truth co-creator, Martin Simmonds!
We also have other odds and ends as part of the campaign! For you original art nerds, Elsa is making art from the comic, and the original storyboards available for you to purchase. A lot of these things are available as add-ons, you so even if you’ve backed, you can load up on your pledge Every penny we raise is going to go into the campaign. Please go check it out, and consider backing it, today!
I interviewed our amazing director, PK COLINET, about the campaign as a special treat for all of you followers…
JT: We’re reaching the end of the campaign, and once it’s over, we have to actually make a freaking movie! What part of the process are you most excited about getting started on?
PK: Putting up the crew together and seeing us work together, definitely. Team work on this project has been the most fulfilling experience. From building on your script, to drawing the storyboards with Elsa, working with Emma Price on the logo design and refining the movie’s identity, it’s been incredible to see everyone adding their experience and sensitivity to the project. You’ve said it before, the best moment for a comic book writer is when the art starts coming in. Well, for a director, at least for me right now, is to see how everyone makes Room Service their own. And we haven’t even really started! The moment we find the right DP and they start adding their own touch to it is going to be truly magical for me. The mere thought gives me goosebumps.
JT: We’ve been texting about you watching some horror movies over the last few weeks, I’m curious what you’ve seen recently that you feel like has given you the most inspiration that will benefit the creation of ROOM SERVICE
PK: I’ve watched “Oldboy” for the millionth time and it keeps inspiring me with every new viewing. I love the poetry of classical Greek tragedies and Park Chan-Wook masters depiction of inevitable fate like no other. Which now that I think about it, is a recurring motif in a lot of horror movies I’m fond of. Fatalism and determinism might be my biggest fears and “Oldboy” plays right into that.
Also, I’ve just discovered the work of Ti West (“X”) and Remi Weekes (“His House”) and I feel very close to the way they tell stories. Like, for example, how West infused “X” with feelings you rarely associate with horror movies like tenderness and nostalgia. “His House” is a brilliant ghost story that never loses its sense of drama. Weekes wrote characters that go beyond horror movie stereotypes and I dare anyone not to sympathise with them. A migrant’s experience of coming to a new country summons feelings not many of us will ever experience and yet, you feel everything they feel, go through everything they go through. That’s the best kind of horror. That’s the best kind of cinema, period.
JT: We’re making a horror movie! That means blood! Have you been putting some thought in how to achieve what we need to achieve in practical effects, and bringing this film to life in all its bloody glory?
PK: Yes and no. No, because I have no idea how to technically achieve those kinds of practical effects. And yes, because just like with every collaborator on this movie, I’ll make sure to hire the best in town. Suffice it to say, a major part of the budget will go to the VFX department.
JT: Going into this project, we knew the ROOM SERVICE production budget would be scalable based on the success of the campaign. How will these next two weeks impact the production of the film?
PK: Since every single dollar we get from the campaign will go towards the fulfilment of the campaign and the movie budget, every pledge matters. Our final funding number will impact the gear we can afford, the crew’s experience, how well-known our actors will be, how many days of shooting we get, the set, the costumes, the original score, the VFX, everything.
Movies, even short movies, are incredibly expensive to shoot. While it may look like 100,000€ gives us a lot to work with, we also have to keep in mind that there are some fixed costs inherent to the Kickstarter itself and again, everything costs an arm when you’re making movies!
This is one of our most ambitious projects and how far we can take it is definitely in the hands of our generous backers.
And I thought you’d like THIS special treat, too…
I’m uploading the first THREE PAGES of the Room Service script. You’ll notice one big piece has changed from the script to the final project. I described the Caretaker’s mask as Black instead of Red. And there are already so many wonderful things added in the storyboards… BUT, I thought it would be neat for you all to be able to picture how our creepy little horror story opens, so that you can start wondering where it all might go next.
You’ll be able to read the FULL SCRIPT in the art book we’re releasing as a part of the campaign, so if you liked that little taste.
We’re going to be doing one final live chat on Elsa and PK’s amazing YouTube channel tomorrow. I didn’t know what to title it so I jokingly told E+PK that we should just call it “James Tynion IV begs for your money” but we decided against it for some reason. We’ll be talking tomorrow, November 17th at 1PM ET, and can answer any and all of your questions about the campaign, and while we’re at it, you can ask me about ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU WANT! Dark Horse stuff, my convention trips, W0RLDTR33, some of my secret plans for next year… Come join the party! You can sign up to be notified about when we go live at the link below!
And yeah… That’s about it for today! If you’ve already backed this sucker and you’re sick of me banging on pots and pans about it, I promise we’re in the final stretch now. Soon your inboxes will know rest. But please, if you haven’t considered backing, it’s not too late!
Quick note to Onion Club members. I’m going to be using this week to recalibrate a bit, but I’ll be announcing my approach to the Onion Club 2023 before the end of the month, with a detailed Q&A that’s going to answer all of the lingering questions about how the transfer off Substack is going to work. I’ve gotten some of your questions passed along in my final travel days, and I am VERY pleased to say that not a single person has asked a question that I don’t already have an answer to. Just be patient. All will be explained very soon.
For the Onion Club curious - We have limited membership available for the Onion Club in 2023, and previous members are going to have first dibs on slots. But I would keep my eyes peeled on the December Onion Drop (Wednesday, December 7th) as the moment any remaining Onion Club memberships will go on sale to my wider email list. We’ll see how quickly we max out the ranks here, but no matter how many memberships we sell, we’ll be locking the 2023 Club on December 31st, and then the next chance you’ll have to sign up will be the end of next year. So don’t miss out, if you want in!
On the Substack front, I just want to reiterate that I am still going to be running paid content here on Substack, including comics, and some new features I’m very excited about. My plan is to do a membership drive in January, at which point I’ll be laying out all of our offerings for paid subscribers to the Substack in 2023. Might be a few cool nuggets of information there about the year to come, with hints at what could be coming next from that fancy schmancy Dark Horse partnership I announced yesterday.
Aside from that, I’m probably going to dial things back on the promotional front once the Kickstarter campaign is over. Let my brain rest a little until it’s time to start shilling for all of my 2023 books. I desperately need to quit Twitter again. The fun doom scrolling about the death of the app has just become doom scrolling. I am now a full pack-a-day twitter user again and I need to curb the addiction before it has the time to set back in.
Anyways, I’m rambling. GO BACK ROOM SERVICE!
James Tynion IV
Brooklyn, NY
11.16.22
Shit yea! James rules!
Good morning James. I just finished reading Kieron Gillen's substack this morning and he mentioned this Kickstarter for a Vertigo series that never finished (until now!), Saucer Country. It sounded like it'd be right up your alley and I figured I'd share just in case you didn't see it!
https://zoop.gg/c/completedsaucercountry?utm_medium=email