At 5pm today writer Chris Chibnall and producer Richard Stokes held a Q and A on Twitter about Broadchurch for about ninety minutes.
Some of the questions were things that have been asked in several other interviews with the cast and production crew but most of the questions were new ones:
What was the relevance of the clocks being wrong in the first episode?
Chris replied that it was a metaphor for death/lives now being in stasis.
Chris was asked what was the most difficult part of the creative process? Whether it was realising horrendous emotions, keeping killer below radar, etc.?
He answered that it was probably keeping all the plates spinning emotion, plot, character development, reality vs thriller. A cocktail of stuff.
They do not know yet whether Broadchurch will be released on DVD in the US.
Richard was asked whether Steve was really a psychic?
He replied that it was very deliberately left open. Always written and played that it could go either way.
When asked which were his favourite scenes, Richard replied that there was a lot to choose from; the dinner scene with Hardy and Ellie, the interview scenes in ep 8 David Bradley's death.
Chris's answer to the same question was that there were too many to choose. I do love the Hardy/Miller dinner scene (& invite!)
About casting, Richard said that Chris always had Olivia in mind for Ellie! David was cast very soon after from a very short short-list!
Chris was if there was a difference writing for David Tennant in Broadchurch vs. Doctor Who?
He replied: Very different characters so yes!
Chris was asked Did you write the scripts so a different resolution was plausible?
He replied: I had a contingency up my sleeve, yes.
When asked why there is no blu ray release?
Chris answered: Not our choice. We made it in HD so would love a BluRay.
Chris was asked Was it difficult filming something so emotionally devastating in a place near to where you used to live?
He replied: t was certainly a bit stranger than I had anticipated. But the West Bay & Clevedon communities were ace.
Chris was asked Which scene did you enjoy shooting the most?
He answered: I felt very proud & sad (& cold) the night of the beach bonfire.
Another question for Chris was Do you completely map characters out in advance or allow them to expand as they go along?
Chris responded: Genuinely, both. Map everything out, have a plan, then change and expand if a better idea occurs!
Richard was asked When and how did Joe Miller get the keys to the hut?
He replied: The keys are under a stone by the door. We showed this but cut the scene for time in the edit.
Richard was also asked Was there a hidden metaphor in relation to the now deceased slug?
He answered: There was always something in the house that was unwelcome. The slug is the killer under Ellie's nose.
Richard was asked what was the relevance of Danny arguing with the postman?
He replied: It was how Jack remembered it but it was a red herring. Again - scene cut from last ep helped explain this.
When asked about difficult filming conditions
Richard answered: The December storms prevented us from shooting the boat out at sea. Wish we could have done that.
Also, we were hit by hurricane Sandy on its way back from NY. That wasn't a great night shoot!
Chris was asked: Did you ever get to the stage where you thought something was too emotional to be written, or a step too far?
Chris replied: I asked that question all the time, many days had to step away, take long walks & deep breaths. Eps 1 & 8 esp tough.
Chris was asked: At what point of having the idea and developing it, did you feel like you should spread it and show ITV?
He replied: When I had ep 1 script, a set of series storylines, ideas of casting, some images & a mouldboard!
Chris was asked Upon reflection, is there anything at all you would change about S1? Even the smallest thing?
Chris answered There always is on every show. But less on this than most. We had to cut some (not many) scenes with great acting in.
Chris was asked How true was the final to your spec idea?
Thanks to an AMAZING, collaborative team and extraordinary actors, the finished show was better.
Richard was asked Was the accused Jack storyline in effort to prepare us for what happened with Danny and Joe?
His answer was: More a parallel - a story of how Mark could end up emotionally (grieving for his lost son) and how press speculation can spiral.
Chris was asked: Was it Killer first and then story? Or Story and then pick a Killer?
He responded: Characters first, then story, then killer evolved out of the mix.
Asked about his favourite moments Richard replied: A few as the cast/crew were great to be with. Filming on the beach, meals at the Bull. Wrap!
Richard also tweeted: It's all about the quality of the scripts. Actors respond to great material.
A technical question was: What sort of camera was Broadchurch filmed with?
The answer was Arri Alexa.
They were asked: Can you believe the critical, cultural and ratings success? Rare for a show to be all 3.
Chris replied: We are utterly stunned. We honestly feel very grateful and humbled. We know how rare it is and appreciate it.
Richard replied: Not so much shocked as delighted. We all aim to be that good - but rarely achieve.
Chris was asked: What was it like to work with David and Arthur again after Doctor Who?
Chris joked: Miserable. Divas.
Chris was asked: Did you have sleepless nights worrying that the ending would be leaked?
Chris answered: Yes, and I love that nobody did.
Chris was asked whether there was a change in how he wrote to David's acting style in Broadchurch compared to in Doctor Who.
Chris replied: DT is so versatile that you hope to find him new things to do. That was part of our initial conversation.
When asked What was it like weaving so many red herrings into the plot? Chris replied A LOT of fun!
Chris was asked: Do you see yourself in any of the characters? Including good and bad traits!
Chris replied: Yes. Especially Ellie & Hardy.
Richard was asked: Was Olivia Colman just as jolly and hyper as she was on the BAFTA night? She seems lovely!
He replied: She is. An utter star who kept coming in to the production office and making us tea.
Chris was asked: Any advice for budding script writers?
Chris answered: Read. Watch. Study. Write. Rewrite. Listen to notes. Write. Persist!
Chris was asked: What made you choose Olafur Arnalds to score the music for the series?
Chris replied: Because he is a genius. Loved listening to his work & he outperformed what I thought he’d bring.
Richard was asked: I noticed a bit similarity with "Twin Peaks", an amazing similarity for me. Is it desired?
Richard answered: It was an influence for sure both editorially and stylistically.
Chris was asked: At the start did you think it was risky having 8 x 1 hour episodes on the same plotline?
Chris answered: Right from the start and every single day. But I kept writing anyway!
Richard was asked: How hard was it to keep the identity of the killer a secret?
Richard answered: Everyone who knew had the goodwil not to spoil it. We also covered ourselves. No advance DVDs.
Chris was asked: Who set out the mood and style of the show? You or the directors?
Chris responded: Broadchurch is teamwork. We discussed what we all thought it should be. Then stuck to it.
Richard was asked: Was there any part that you watched back and thought, "Could've done that better!"
Richard answered: Not much, tbh, but some exterior sequences in the last block were tough to schedule with the weather.
Chris was asked what were his best tips for writing a crime drama?
He replied: Plot it all out. Approach from character. I think.
Richard was asked: How difficult was it to establish so many possible theories and have them all live until the finale?
Richard answered: Very, very difficult which is why you have a good team around you. Our script exec was Sam Hoyle.
Richard was asked: What was Olivia Coleman's reaction when told Joe that was the murderer?
He replied: Initially shocked and then, after a few minutes - realised it was the only place to take the story.
Chris was asked: Do you prefer having creative control over a big multi-part series or to write single eps for existing shows?
Chris replied: I love having responsibility and being able to fully take the blame.
Somebody asked why Tom Miller's phone showed messages at 3.39am and Chris replied that his phone was still on Florida time.
Richard was asked: Are you aware that doing series two is going to be challenging after it's massive success? Expectations are great.
Richard answered: Yes - that had occurred to us. Fortunately God invented gin!
Richard was asked who his fave character was:
He replied: So difficult to pick one. Any team that had great chemistry - Hardy/Ellie, Mark/Beth Karen/Olly.
Richard was asked: Where was the hut where Danny was killed?
He replied: It's a couple of miles down the coast at a place called Eype.
Chris was asked: What is the key to a great script?
Chris replied: Oh, blimey so many things, characters you love & a story that transports?
Chris was asked: Did you have ideas for a 2nd series whilst writing the 1st or was it purely motivated by the success?
Chris responded: The second series is motivated purely by story! I have another story. Never chase success!
Richard was asked: What's it like working with David Tennant?
Richard replied: He is an utter joy. Charming, brilliant, professional.
Chris was asked: For how long had Broadchurch been in the works before being picked up?
Chris answered: About nine months of work, very roughly. Unusual route, though, being written on spec.
Richard was asked: Who was the postman and was he just a massive red herring?
Richard replied: Yes - a red herring. A scene from last episode helped explain but cut for time.
Richard was asked: What extra features will be included on the DVD?
Richard answered: A great behind the scenes doc including the lead up to the read-through.
Chris was asked: How did you feel when Jodie dislocated Olivia's knee filming?
Chris replied: It was our first day of location shooting on the beach. We were in a script meeting.
When asked about the location, Richard replied: Location was hugely important as Chris embedded the story into the South Coast geography.
Chris said that they had four or five whiteboards going at times writing the script.
Chris was asked: How much did you write before it was picked up?
Chris answered: Episode one, character biogs and storylines for the whole series.
Somebody tweeted: I don't remember the detectives ever investigating Danny's life at school, would have thought that necessary.
Richard replied: So many scenes are discussed, written, sometimes even filmed, that don't make the final cut.
Chris replied: Lots of procedural scenes you didn’t see. Multiple points of view, so we couldn’t show every piece of investigation (deliberately).
Richard was asked: What was the weirdest thing which happened on set?
He replied: Probably Olivia dislocating her knee and filming being stopped because of the December storms.
Chris was asked: What is the one piece of advice you would give to new writers?
Chris answered: Finish the piece. Write another. Repeat!
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
FilmNewsWeb has a longer plot synopsis for What We Did On Our Holiday.
BBC America has added a trailer (which plays worldwide) of The Doctors
Revisited: The Fifth Doctor (which includes a clip of David Tennant) to YouTube.
Broadchurch will air on BBC America from Wednesday 7th August at 10pm EST.
BBC America has added a trailer (which plays worldwide) to YouTube.
The
day of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode (the day David Tennant
returns as the Tenth Doctor) is trending on Twitter tonight
(#23rdNovember)!
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
The BBC have added the interview with David Tennant and Matt Smith about filming the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode to YouTube.
A SPOILER for anyone who has not seen the Doctor Who episode The
Doctor's Name (which premiered tonight), but the voice of the Tenth
Doctor was heard in tonight's episode.
The Guardian have a spoiler-free quiz about Broadchurch today.
There is a RUMOUR (and we stress RUMOUR) that David Tennant MAY be shown
in the Doctor Who Series 7 finale tonight. Regardless of whether David
does appear or not, after Doctor Who (7.45pm), the special David Tennant
/ Matt Smith video is expected to be posted online as promised.
It's the UK premiere of David Tennant's episode of Dragons: Riders Of Berk today.
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
Anglophenia
has an interview with Stephen Moffat from BAFTA last weekend. When he
was asked about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode he said "Matt
and David together was quite special. They really, really, really got
on with each other and adored working with each other. It was properly
funny. The two of them together in particular are really, really funny."
London24 have a review of the Broadchurch DVD (which is released on Monday) which includes the comment 'top-notch acting, namely from Tennant and Colman, who are stunning in the lead roles.'
An interview with Joe Sims (who played Nige in Broadchurch) has been added to Facebook which includes a lovely story about David Tennant and Joe's mother.
An interview with composer Olafur Arnalds has been posted to Facebook including a question about clues to the killer in the Broadchurch soundtrack.
According to a recent RSC job advert for stage staff, rehearsals for
Richard II start on Monday 26th August (which is a Bank Holiday)
WhatCulture! have an interview with Joe Sims who played Nige in Broadchurch.
CrimeTime Preview gives the Broadchurch DVD four and a half stars and the Extras four stars in its review.
Television station ARTE will start broadcasting Spies Of Warsaw tonight in both France and Germany at 8.15pm.
Watch start a new repeat of Series Four of Doctor Who from today. The episodes are at 8am and 5pm.
The UK premiere broadcast of David Tennant's episode of Dragons: Riders Of Berk is shown today on Cartoon Network at 10.30am and is repeated at 6.30pm tonight. It will also be repeated on Monday.
As well as reading and providing the voices for all the characters in the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III audiobooks by Cressida Cowell, David Tennant also voiced Spitelout in the movie How To Train Your Dragon which was released in March 2010 (although David only had about 3 lines).
This episode of Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk is episode 12 of the series and is called Thawfest. It was broadcast on the Cartoon Network in the US in November 2012.
David Tennant voices a character called Spitelout.
50 Years: The Daleks special souvenir magazine from Doctor Who Magazine is published. It includes David's era Dalek stories.
InsideMediaTrack has an interview with Chris Chibnall about Broadchurch series one and two.
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
The Independent
says in an article about Olivia Colman that the second series of
Broadchurch goes into production in early 2014. No cast has been
announced yet.
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
CinemaSauce reports that the company Transmission will distribute What We Did On Our Holiday in Australia and New Zealand.
Chris Chibnall will be interviewed by Phil Williams on Radio Five Live at 11.30pm on Tuesday 21st May about Broadchurch.
On Monday 20th May at 5pm writer Chris Chibnall and producer Richard Stokes will do a Q&A about Broadchurch on Twitter and give away some DVDs.
The Telegraph looks at Jodie Whittaker's eating habits while filming Broadchurch. (Please note the DVD is released next Monday.)
It was 2 years ago tonight that David Tennant and Catherine Tate played their first performance of Much Ado About Nothing.
A new photo of David Tennant has been posted to Tumblr.
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
MP3 of Jodie Whittaker interview today on Lorraine about Broadchurch.
Exepose have some speculative guesses about what Broadchurch Series Two COULD involve.
SeenIt
says that What We Did On Our Holiday will be filmed in Glasgow and the
Highlands. It also says that the main characters are called Doug and
Abi.
The Drum compares the adverts for Taggart 3 years ago and for Broadchurch.
A short clip of the Behind The Scenes DVD Extra for Broadchurch has been posted to YouTube.
BBC Films have confirmed via Twitter that they are backing What We Did On Our Holiday starring David Tennant.
The French site AlloCine
reports that David Tennant will be at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in
June to represent Broadchurch. An English translation of the article has
been posted to Tumblr.
David Tennant Treat 4 Today.
TV Ratings have a graphic of the Top 25 Watched Programmes in 2013 up to 5th May and the final episode of Broadchurch is at number 7.
David Tennant was also in the fifth most watched programme - Comic Relief.
Metro lists Broadchurch #1 in Olivia Colman's Career Highlights.
Anglophenia
have a video interview with Andrew Buchan and Jodie Whittaker from
BAFTA last night where they talk about Broadchurch and working with
David Tennant.
The David Tennant Daily Photo.
Today Chris Chibnall tweeted that the Broadchurch DVD (released a week
today) will include a behind-the-scenes documentary with footage of
first read-through and 'many nervous faces.'
The Telegraph has an interesting article about the arts / theatre / football / Broadchurch / funding.
ScreenDaily
lists Ben Miller in the cast of What We Did On Our Holiday in an
article about Lionsgate UK securing the theatrical distribution rights
to the movie. This is the first time that Ben Miller has been associated
with the movie outside of IMDB.
Tickets for each performance of Richard II on The RSC website are now
sold out! Some are still available for most performances on The Barbican
Centre website.
BlogtorWho has a video of Steven Moffat from BAFTA last night talking about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special and some rumours.
Starting on Friday 17th May the satellite station Watch are starting a new run of repeats of Series Four of Doctor Who.
The Politician's Husband DVD is released in the UK today.
