Hi Everyone - and thank you to those who have already signed up to say 'yes' to Trafalgar - my quality epic TV series about Lord Nelson, Emma Hamilton and the lead up to The Battle of Trafalgar.
To give a bit of background I was originally commissioned to write a series about Lord Nelson by Working Title Television. This commission was achieved by showing them other screenplays I had already written and delivering an extremely detailed pitch. Like model ship building, screenwriting is a craft - one I have been obsessed with mastering all my adult life.
After being made to jump through a series of hoops, in a process lasting over a year, I was offered a contract.
I recognised that this was a huge opportunity and I threw myself into the project with enormous enthusiasm and a passion for the subject which grew and grew the more I researched. I not only read everything I could get my hands on but visited some of the key locations such as Naples and Norfolk and I spent many hours looking at original logbooks in the Greenwich Maritime Museum. Before I began I had been an amateur whose knowledge of Nelson was perhaps a little more detailed than most due to a family connection (I am a direct descendant of Nelson's sister Susannah). By the time I had finished I was so knowledgable I was hired as a consultant to The Trafalgar Way (the image attached shows me in a costume I wear when I give talks for them).
I delivered four hours of finished screenplays to WTTV who had their sights set on a BBC series, but the BBC didn't go for it. This was not due to the quality of the screenplays but was more of a political decision. Working Title Television are no longer a separate entity from Working Title Films and they are not pursuing Trafalgar. I have negotiated 'turnaround' - the deal whereby the rights in the project revert back to me.
My vision for the series is a grown up telling of the tale of a man who, despite setbacks, and through determination and talent, rises to become his countries foremost naval hero at a time when his country is in an existential struggle with another great power. As he rises he falls more and more in love with a married woman, a scandalous figure with a colourful background. Shock at this liaison causes his rise to be stalled - but still he delivers victories - and by the end his country cannot go to war at sea without him. Worn out, missing an arm, blind in one eye and craving a few happy years with the woman he loves and their little girl - he has to sail out, once more, for his country.
Since completing the screenplays for WTTV I have done more work on the project and it is now a five hour television series.
I believe the world is ready to experience a detailed nuanced telling of Nelson's story that includes the controversial events in Naples in 1799. In my telling, although this is clearly Nelson's 'dark hour', you cannot help but still admire him once you know the full story of his life.
My task now is to prove that there is an audience out there for Trafalgar. I have created the website http://www.trafalgar.tv so that people can sign up and say 'yes' I'd like to see this get made. Companies like Netflix love to see proof that a substantial niche audience exists. Armed with that proof, with my scripts and with my passion for this series I believe we can go all the way. So please sign up - and if you have any thoughts on how I can get the word out let me know. I am happy to write articles, do interviews - anything that helps me reach people who love great period drama - and particularly those who love their maritime history.
Thanks again to everyone who has signed up already and for some wonderful people in the model ship community who have already given some precious time to supporting Trafalgar - including David Antsherl, Allan Yedlinsky, Tom Ruggiero and of course Chuck Passaro. Please click here if you think Trafalgar sounds up your street!
To support the project I have started a new podcast which you can hear at https://shows.acast.com/trafalgar-squared
And if you would like to directly support my efforts to get Trafalgar made please check out :
https://www.patreon.com/adampreston?fan_landing=true
Brian Hanington reacted to a post in a topic:
New podcast/tv series about Nelson and Maritime Britain during the Trafalgar period.
