Paul Arrowsmith

I have written a novel, three theatre plays, two of which have been performed before the public, ten feature length screenplays. The first three listed have all at one one point been optioned by production companies. One long-form TV drama series that has twice been in development with production companies and one two-part TV drama.

They are:

Novel:

• DA VINCI’S LAST SUPPER: THE FORGOTTEN TALE. When Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint ‘The Last Supper’ he believes it is an act of destiny that will seal his reputation as the finest artist in Italy. Yet all does not go as planned. The Papal Emissary, Father Rodrigo of Salamanca accuses Leonardo of blasphemy over his decision to choose a lowly peasant (Alessandro) to be his model for Jesus Christ. Initially, the impressionable Alessandro’s delusions of possessing a unique connection with the divine, cause Leonardo few concerns. However, as Alessandro takes on quasi-religious significance for the populace of Milan, both artist and model become entangled in a journey of sex, violence, religious and political upheaval, eventually leading to their climatic confrontation.

Follow this link to Amazon where my novel can be purchased.

Feature Films:

• JESUS OF MILAN – My magnum opus. Fintan O Higgins is credited as a co-story by. It is a feature length adaptation of my novel that has in the past attracted a lot of attention and been pitched to the likes of Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Working Title. The screenplay revolves around the life of Leonardo da Vinci, during the time he lived in Milan and painted the iconic ‘The Last Supper of Christ.’ It centres around the tumultuous relationship between Leonardo and the man he chose to paint as the face of Christ, a humble weaver by the name of Alessandro, whom the peasant stock of Milan confer quasi-religious belief that he is some personification of Christ himself. It is a rich tale of religious and political intrigue, bodice-ripping, violence, betrayal, death and redemption as Leonardo must confront his own insecurities if he is ever to complete this most influential of paintings. The screenplay is currently in development with Hurricane Films and they are looking to attach a director.

• THE LAST CHRISTMAS TREE – co-written with Yoav Factor.  A family friendly Christmas animation that has previously been workshopped with Disney writer David Reynolds (Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2.) He said “You have a great tale here Paul, one that is well-written and would make a great Christmas animation. I wish you well with it.” In short… In the not too distant future, all the earths Christmas trees die out as a consequence of global warming, that is apart from one, dramatically rescued and kept for safe keeping by Father Christmas in his secret kingdom of Lapland. Ruby, a socially awkward child believes in magic and after receiving visions, she embarks on a ‘hero’s journey’ overcoming trolls, witches and various others who stand in her way until she is deemed worthy to return ‘The Last Christmas Tree’ to the real world and with it revive the true spirit of Christmas.
• FALLING FOR FRANK – A whimsical, off the wall romantic comedy set to Northern Soul music, with just the odd dance off. Alice has breast cancer, and her wish is to find romance for her socially inept best friend, Frank.  The reluctant Frank is set up for a succession of dates that progress from bad to worse. Alice’s endeavours back-fire and Frank unable to drag himself to be ‘romantic’ flees to India after declaring his love for Alice, which fell on deaf ears. Can Frank ever find love? With the help of a hippie mystic Frank finally overcomes his fears and embarks on the path to true love.
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• TRAPPED IN SPACE – An assisted story by credit goes to my son, Sam. The eight people aboard the RELIANT (5 men & 3 women) consisting of a pilot, a co-pilot, a guard and five high-profile prisoners are on a routine transport to a penal colony on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. For the first part of their journey they are each in a cryogenic pod, which activates at a given date. The crew awake to find that rather than being on route to their destination, a deliberate navigational sabotage has sent them a short, but significant, degree off course and into deep space. To further compound their dilemma, the pilot, Don Swarfiski (Aged 46, American, a jobbing pilot and alcoholic with no career aspirations) awoke from his induced sleep with space sickness and soon dies, leaving the inexperienced co-pilot Heidi Blum to meet the demands of the survivors, find the means to feed them, but more importantly figure out a way to return to Earth.
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• THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS – Adam Wedgwood, a British SAS officer is wounded and captured by an Islamic Terrorist group in a covert operation in an undisclosed middle-eastern country. Because he was initially assumed dead, both government and military sources deny a British SAS Officer has been captured and held prisoner by an Islamic Terrorist group. The plot alters between events in Adam’s home county of Yorkshire and the Middle East in this fast- paced thriller, which has more than one twist up its sleeve.

• SKIN – A feature length horror screenplay. Matt is a medics student with the world at his feet. His fiancé, Grace is a pampered young lady and something of a control freak. Matt is unhappy in the relationship and sleeps around. Grace finds out and sets off to confront Matt, however she drives too fast along the coast road and careers off the bridge at Whitby and into the sea and drowns. Her body is never recovered. Almost immediately the women whom Matt had cheated with all die in gruesome ‘sea related’ accidents. One, a nurse is attacked by maniacal seagulls, another takes a bath and jellyfish come through the faucet and she dies of anaphylactic shock and so on, until only one woman with whom Matt has slept with remains alive. Furthermore ‘skin’ from each of the victims is removed from their bodies. There is a chase to solve the mystery of who the murderer is with a classic Hammer House of Horror twist at the end.
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• THE KIELDER CONSPIRACY – A feature length horror of a ‘Cabin in the Woods’ type jeopardy tale. A group of students from Leeds University head off for some star-gazing at the renowned Kielder Observatory and hire a wood lodge. Unbeknown to them the previous night an alien spacecraft crash-landed in Kielder Water. Now, two relentless aliens are on the hunt and will kill everyone in their way, including our students. Hemmed up in their lodge with no means of communicating to the outside world, they are reliant upon their wits and every tool at their disposal as they fight for their lives.
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• WHITBY – co-written with Robert Endercott. What if Dracula, in Bram Stoker’s original fable, had remained in Whitby rather than fleeing back to Transylvania, and instead became the ‘master’ of a travelling troupe of Victorian freaks? In this post-modern gothic tale, the story of Dracula is given a revamp (pardon the pun) only to prowl once more the famed streets of Whitby, where blood and mayhem ensue until that famed Austrian Van Helsing once more comes to the rescue.
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• TWELVE –  In 1215 POPE INNOCENT 3rd presides over the historic Twelfth Ecumenical Council, which declared the ground-breaking doctrine of Transubstantiation, confirming the great mystery that during the Eucharist the bread and wine transform into the literal body of Christ. The Pope addresses Guillaume De Chartres, Grand Master of the Knights Templars and commissions him and his order to seek and find the Holy Grail, the actual cup of Christ. In the twelfth month of the twelfth century twelve Knights Templar’s embark on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Their destination the church of San Isidro in Leon rumoured by many to be where the Holy Grail resides. Their journey is not an easy one; King Philip of France is hell bent on finding the Holy Grail and orders the death of Guillaume De Chartres and all with him. While in Moor held southern Spain,  Caliph Muhammad Ibn Sa’d  also looks to find the Holy Grail and use it for leverage against His Holiness.

Title:              ALL SHALL BE WELL

Logline:          ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.’

Format:          Feature Film.

Based upon:   ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ by Julian of Norwich and her life.

Premise:         In May 1373 aged thirty and whilst on her death bed, Julian receives sixteen visions over the course of three days and nights. Upon the death of her husband ten years later she becomes an Anchoress, and spends the next twenty years reflecting upon her visions. The book she wrote ‘Revelations of Divine Love,’ was the first written work in the English language to be published by a woman, albeit two hundred years after her death.

Working title:             Leopold and Leonardo.

Genre:                         Animation

Format:                       90-minute feature film

Tag-line                      Even a mouse can be a genius.

Premise:                      What if the real genius behind some of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions was a mouse.

The story synopsis:    Leopold may be a mouse but he is no ordinary mouse. Ever since he could open his eyes he has made things, things that no other mouse before or since has made. One day he hears of another genius who all Milan is talking about, Leonardo da Vinci, a painter who is also an inventor. Leopold decides that in order to achieve his true potential he must leave his home on the outskirts of Milan and make his way to the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci.

He almost drowns in his attempt to reach Leonardo’s home, but mercifully he survives and with the help of a wise old rat he is taken through the sewers to the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci. Once safe inside Leopold demonstrates his genius by correcting Leonardo’s designs for a self-propelled cart, but it is Leonardo’s designs for an airplane that catch his eye. Yet all is not well for Leonardo has a cat; a cat who loves nothing more than catching mice. To further exacerbate matters Leonardo’s adopted son, Salai hates mice and sets traps and with the help of the cat seeks to rid the workshop of Leopold.

                                   Time is running out as Leonardo plans to fly a prototype of his plane, but there is a design flaw; one Leopold must correct before Leonardo tests his invention. Will Leopold succeed or will he be caught by the cat before the plans are corrected and Leonardo succeeds in flying his plane?

Visual realisation:      Like many period animation such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame much should be made of bringing to life the time and period to add flavor to the story. In terms of mood and pace I imagine something along the lines of Ratatouille.

Statement of Intent:    Leopold strives to achieve his goal and in doing so he must prove himself and overcome the obstacles in his way. For children this is an important lesson in life to learn, one that says hard work and enterprise will be rewarded.   

Target Audience/       Leonardo da Vinci is a man who many children will have heard of in school, bringing to life his character and inventions in a family film is one I believe will have broad appeal.

Episodic TV Drama:

• AT RISK – A procedural TV drama set in the world of Social Workers and the lives of children deemed ‘at risk,’ and placed on the Social Work register.  The stories revolve around the various caseloads of four social workers and their female boss (Clare) who doesn’t play by the book. The idea was developed while I was a student at ‘The Northern Film School’ and from there it was picked up by a producer from Tiger Aspect, with whom I spent a year developing eight episodes. The producer met with the BBC who showed some initial interest, but they eventually passed, primarily down to the perception that social workers do not make sympathetic characters.

Short form TV Drama:

• DYING FOR LOVE – A two-part TV drama centred around three heart-broken women of different ages and backgrounds who feel they can’t cope with the hardship they have had to endure from the men in their lives. They all meet late one night on the Tyne Bridge, Newcastle with the intention of committing suicide and how meeting each other changes their lives, but not necessarily for the better.

Theatre Plays:

• BALLS UP – First entered as part of the National Student Drama Festival while I was studying Performing Arts at Darlington Technical College. It is a comedy drama that follows the life of a dysfunctional family who win the lottery.
• FABRICATION – A black comedy that revolves around an allegation of rape. But did she cry wolf? Is it a set up? Are the victim and perpetrator in cahoots and if so who is being conned and more to the point, why? This too was entered into the National Student Drama Festival.
• FATHER BRYAN’S BOYS – A dark, harrowing theatre play about four men who reunite thirty years after they were separated following abuse both physical and sexual in a Children’s Home run by the domineering paedophile that was Father Bryan. Reunited they learn to conquer the skeletons they have long buried and find a way to finally move on with their lives.

As a Script Editor I have script edited four feature films, two of which have had a theatrical release. Script Editor, they are.

• AHLAAM – ‘Ahlaam,’ was the first feature film to be shot in post Saddam Iraqi. It has since been nominated and won over twenty awards in major film festivals around the world. For further information contact Human Film.
• REUNITING THE RUBINS – A black comedy. The film had Timothy Spall cast in the lead role and also stars Rhona Mitra. The film was released in the UK and USA. For further information contact Factor Films.

In addition I have supervised, or script edited Northern Film School projects, too numerous to mention as an additional writer, script editor and tutor.

Alongside the animator and film maker, David Bunting I have been involved in two education projects for young people, both of which won awards.

In the past I have also been a script reader for Premier Films, formally known as Great British Films. Responsible for assessment of scripts as viable commercial vehicles for Premier Films.