New You The Movie

New You is Neilson Black’s debut feature film, produced by his production company Pattern Maker Films. It is a self-raised, micro budget full-length production targeting the fashion community. Neilson aims to entertain his audience with a story about a mid-twenties waitress whom desires to become famous and sets out to achieve this with a modelling career. The story and production is based in London, England.

Neilson had the idea for New You in 2008. The first draft was  completed that year. Originally it was about a woman with an eating disorder; starting with obesity and taking a full turn to anorexia. The themes of modelling and fashion were always present. Revisiting the project ten years and six short films later, Neilson focused more on the themes of fame and celebrity and how that is brought about through modelling, and the eating disorder aspect became a side-note.

Having an interest for fashion and an admiration for the modelling scene, Neilson felt it was a  suitable setting. However the real driving themes of the film is the pursuit of fame and cutting all ties to get it, where an everyday ‘nobody’ wishes to become somebody in the form of a celebrity. A rise and fall story. This is the heart of New You.

Neilson feels there is an audience for the film because there are people who want to be famous and interested in tasting the ‘fame game’. Its protagonist Janine happens to be a very beautiful, living on her own in St John’s Wood, London. She uses her beauty as her weapon to achieving her dream. She has no real care for fashion itself, her objective is purely to become famous. This obsession is rooted from two childhood facts: 1) she lived in her best friends shadow; 2) she was overweight – a deliberate opposite to how she looks and acts in the present day.

The want of one pursuing a better life is clear in this film, but equally important is how one deals with success when it is achieved. It is common when success is tasted, it has a tendency to change the person as well. There are plenty of cases where success or coming into sudden money can actually ruin people e.g. Lottery winners. This is Janine’s dilemma: can she keep both feet on the ground or will the new life change her?

The competition modelling brings suits Janine’s dangerously competitive nature and brings the worst out in her. The fact Janine has an eating disorder relates to a lot of models as well because eating disorders exist in that industry.

Black comedy is the style Neilson has been on a run lately, and playing to his strengths he wanted to continue this with New You. Even though competition is serious and some perceiving fame as shallow, fun and humour can still be found in it. This is the story Neilson wanted to tell: a silly in parts and serious in others take on the subjects, rather than a serious drama or a shocker like the recent The Neon Demon by Nicolas Winding Refn (which is a huge influence to New You being made.)

New You was put into production early 2017 and will be released Spring 2018. Its premier screening is at Stanley Halls, 12 South Norwood Hill, London on Friday 18th May 2018. Its journey from then is to attempt the festival circuit and hopefully find distribution. The film sets out to entertain an initial target audience of eighteen to thirty year old women and then reach out to a secondary audience. It wants to stay true to people working in the fashion industry, people in the public eye, and anyone who has tasted or still seeking their fifteen minutes of fame.

Premier Screening: Stanley Halls, 12 South Norwood Hill, London SE25 6AB, Friday 18th May 2018, 7pm – 11pm

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