Meetings

Today I had meetings with three writers to discuss our possible collaboration on writing a feature script which I want to shoot as a low budget movie next year.

Let me tell you about my first meeting.


It was almost 1pm, I finished my cigarette and walked into the coffee shop in Soho that we arranged to meet in.

I glanced around and I couldn't see any girls waiting on there own. So I figured I had beaten her to it, I knew she worked nearby so she would be there on her lunchbreak and would probably arrive a few minutes after 1pm.

I sent her a text message to tell her I had arrived and then I ordered myself a coffee.

I had never met this girl before so I was watching out for somebody who was obviously watching out for me.

I saw a girl walk in, look around and go upstairs, she then came down the stairs and glanced around. From her body language it was obvious she was the one.

"Leila?" I asked.

"Yes hello. Hi, how are you."

I introduced myself and then offered her a coffee. She was well presented, probably a bit over dressed - but so was I. She went upstairs, I said I'd follow.

A few minutes later I sat down to join her. From her surname I knew she was foreign so I broke the ice by asking where she was from.

"Russia."

"Prava" (Russian for Really) I said.

And then we spoke briefly in Russian for a few minutes. ( I have another script idea for a film set in the Ukraine and this could be a perfect connection.)

She offered me a cigarette and we sipped our coffee making small talk.

Anyway, she asked me who I worked for and I explained about my connections and the test commercials and the short films. She was enthusiastic and very positive.

I also apologised for not bringing my laptop and she said to me.

"You never said you'd bring your laptop"

"Yeah, I did, I said in the email."

"Your e-mail never said that."

I realised that I must have sent that e-mail to another writer that I was meeting and I left it at that because I didn't want to avoid embarrassment.

Then I mentioned the script we were to be writing together.

She looked at me blankly and said,

"I think I am not the person you're supposed to be meeting. What is the name of the person you are meeting?"

"Leila. what's your name then?"

"Yulena."

She has obviously mis-heard me when I first said her name.

Then it hit me. I had just spent 10 minutes of small talk on the WRONG person altogether.

It was funny and we laughed about it, but it was pretty damn embarrasing.

"So, if I am not the person you are supposed to meet, and you are not the person I am supposed to meet. Where are they then?"

Then we looked around, looking for the 'right' people to turn up for real.

My new friend even offered to help me write a script anyway.


Anyway, in the end the right people did turn up - but it was way more fun having a meeting with the wrong person.