ProcrastinationTom Copland; from Brit Grit Horror toSocial Realist Comedy 

Released -December 20th

Certificate -PG

Director -Tom Copland

Cast -Tom Shaw, Sam

Thomas, Bethan Her

bert.

Screenwriter -Tom

Copland

Running time -5mins

Plot -Leeds, 2009: as the

end of Leeds bin strike

makes front-page news,

not everyones bin has

been emptied. Poor

Michael Johnson is left

with the difficult task of 

trying to get rid of it.

Sat waiting for the

screening of Tom Copland’s

brand new film ‘Procrastina-

tion’, I feel a sense of worry

for the quality of his new

film. Previously, being part of 

‘Monkey Funk Productions’,

and now making his solo de-

but as writer, director and

editor for his brand new film.

I hope my worry wont be

 justified, doing the vast ma-

 jority of this by himself, could

allow cracks to show, the un-

known cast may flop and the

time limit may inhibit the

quality.

“We know where westand and we are all confi-

dent of the script and itsquality.” 

Roughly a month ago,

on a cold October day, I went

to see how Copland was get-

ting on, on the set of ‘Pro-

crastination’. I managed to

get a word with the actor

playing Michael, Tom Shaw,

whilst taking a breather from

shooting, he told Movie

 Watch that “Tom’s [Copland]

authority over the cast really

shows, we know where we

stand and we are all confident

of the script and its quality.”.

Despite the endorsement of 

the cast I was not convinced.

 At the Movie Watch offices

we cover a vast range of up-

coming movies, video games

and music, and we’ve seen

our fair share from flumping 

debut films to stand out de-

buts such as Danny Boyle

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with Trainspotting. Having 

meticulously observed Co-

pland and with the amount of 

preparation that has been

done I am starting to warm

towards his truly unique crea-

tion. Having been able to

grab a few words with Co-

pland backstage at the BAF-

TAs prior to the filming, he

hinted that union striking 

could make him a fortune.

Now I know why, the 13 week 

long bin strike in the heart of 

Leeds was the catalyst for this

creation. There are clear ref-

erences throughout to that of 

the 1993 Joel Schumacher

film; ‘Falling Down’, to Vince

Vaughn and even an unlikely

reference to Hilda Ogden

(Jean Anderson) who ap-

peared in the soap, Corona-

tion Street, from 1964 to

1987. With all the strong 

characters involved they have

all gelled together unusually

well. From the characters to

the plot-line this film oozes

uniqueness. The film has

something to offer everyone,

from the short tempered,

every guy, Michael (Tom

Shaw), to the irritating, yet

endearing tramp, Jerry (Sam

Thomas). Copland has cre-

ated a solid platform for his

debut and the bar has been

raised considerably. I think 

that there is definitely more to

come from Copland whether

it be in the form of a his

 vastly growing reputation, or

the reunion of Monkey Funk 

Productions, you need to

watch this space.

Interesting facts about

the film...

• Michael Johnson (the

main protagonist) isnamed after Michael

Douglas.

•  The Leeds bin strike

ended the day shootingcommenced.

• Shooting had to be

postponed three timesdue to the weather.

Below; Tom Shaw playing 

Michael and Tom Copland,

writer, producer and director,

reading through the script.

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