Hello everyone!
Fran here, co-writer. This is my first ever bash at blogging so
here goes…
I want to begin by talking a bit about the script development that
Kristina and I embarked on back in January. Here we are having a break from writing to create our own snowy Miss Todd!
Starting out with three very different stories, we quickly
came to realise it was Miss Todd’s tale we had to tell. Delving deeper into our
research we soon discovered two other characters that were demanding to be
involved. They were American philanthropist Mrs Russell Sage and French pilot Didier
Masson. It is worthy of note that these central three characters are all historical
figures and that only Grandpa Joe is a creation of our imagination.
In our research we stumbled across some fantastic little
tales about our characters. One of the most surprising was discovering just how
horrible Mrs Sage’s husband must have been. An exceptionally wealthy man, he
died when his wife was 78, leaving her with $1.5 billion. But before his time
was up, he rubbed one individual up quite the wrong way.
It was just a normal day in the office for Mr Sage before a
man with a homemade bomb burst in. The old man reacted with sinister speed, using
his assistant as a human shield. The employee was seriously wounded and would
later take the billionaire to court when he refused to pay him adequate compensation.
The skinflint must have rolled over in his grave when his wife began fervently donating
her inheritance to various charities a few years later.
We also discovered more about Didier, who lived a colourful
life as a pioneering aviator, barnstormer (performer of stunt tricks) and war
hero. While fighting in World War One, his plane’s engine cut out during
battle. However Didier not only managed to save himself, while taking down his
German foe but also miraculously survived enemy artillery fire raining down
upon him. After a glamorous post-war period as a performing pilot he died in
poverty in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico in June 1950.
Shown below are Mrs Olivia Sage, Miss Lilian Todd and Didier Masson:
We were off to a roaring start. Our detailed character
biographies in place and the creation of lovely Grandpa Joe, who we decided
would raise Miss Todd alone in their eclectic home of inventions, we began to
carve our story around the factual 1910 Mineola Aviation Meet. This was the day
when Didier Masson flew Miss Todd’s plane that was sponsored by Mrs Sage: A perfect bringing together of these three
peoples’ worlds.
A quote from the New York Herald, Nov 8, 1910
“A good sized crowd was on hand to witness the first attempt
to fly the biplane. Mr. Didier Masson was the aviator. He ran the machine
across the ground, then went to the air for twenty feet and made a turn at the
far end, returning to the starting place, where he was enthusiastically
received by Miss Todd and the crowd.”
Seen below is a slightly blurry Didier and Miss Todd sat in her flying machine:
We had our characters, location and a burning sense of
injustice that Miss Todd, because of her gender, had not been allowed to fly
her own plane. We then set about to make our own version of history… and much
fun was had in the process! TBC soon!
For now,
Frances Poletti
Writer
