After having decided on most aspects of our opening sequence, we were recommended to talk to Matt, as he is the person who has the last word in the issue, at this stage of the process. As our idea had already been approved by Mike, it was easy to explain it with accuracy and efficiency after the slight improvements that we had implemented. We even put together a Power Point to point out more clearly the plot, the props and costumes that we require and the ideal cast, among other details. However, Matt wanted to hear the idea directly from us, so we constructed a quick synopsis making sure that we included everything.
Initially, he thought it was a good idea but had some objections. He explained that it was not advisable to place our characters in a thriller involving a major crime like drugs, as we suggested as one of the reasons why they were being chased as a couple. He also clarified that it would be quite difficult to show a convincing hotel room to the audience because of our lack of resources and budget. Likewise, we were reminded that most twin beds in expensive hotels do not have a gap under them so the credibility would be doubtful.
At that point, we were discouraged and thought that we would have to think of complicated alternatives. Nonetheless, Matt came up himself with a perfect variation of what we had been developing throughout the last weeks. He proposed that we could set the story in a location with extreme weather like Siberia, in a backpackers' sort of hostel with grungy facilities. The protagonists could conform to that stereotype as well and be young globe-trotters and film makers that had recorded something on tape that they shouldn't. This would be shown thanks to the dialogue; the enemies, presumably from the Russian government or a private organisation, consistently ask for the tape, and the girl hides it with her under the bed following her partner's order.
If we used this alternative, the scene could perfectly be filmed in the Studio and the story would be more engaging. Moreover, we would not have to worry as much as before about the appearence of the backpackers as they would not have to look especially old for the roles. We have been thinking of casting Charlie Ridgeway and Louisa Binder as the definite couple, so we will be making them aware of this fact before the end of the week. Their assassins/kidnappers are going to be Russian actors, so we would have more plausibility and we would place the thriller in a more international context, probably involving a complex spy story in a worldwide scale later on.
