Park Village Originals
In Development — Scripted Series

“My Weird Eye” - a 6 - 8 part fictionalised dramatic adaptation of the book by the same name, written by acclaimed pop-video and film director Tim Pope.

Robert Smith of The Cure said of Tim:

‘As soon as Pap walked through the door, I thought, ‘Brilliant,’  because he had on a really horrible shirt and a really horrible, ill-fitting pair of trousers. One eye was going up there and one eye was going down there and I thought, ‘This man must be a brilliant video director to get away with it.’ We’ve been with him ever since.'

It was Smith who gave Tim Pope his “Pap” moniker and in this series, Pap is our hero.  Based loosely on the real Tim Pope, we use Tim’s life, access and anecdotes to bring the augmented version, Pap, to the screen.

This is not a biopic, either of Tim himself or the key names that stand out from the cast. 

We follow Pap through three key decades with the series, walking the audience through the 70’s, 80’s and into the 90’s. Social and economic upheaval, shifting cultural landscapes in art, music, politics, war, along with technological advances are all interwoven. We come to mourn the loss of tribal fandom in music. These three decades are littered with an array of genres that all had their own vibe. Pap walks freely among them - apart from the occasional beating from the skinheads. Throughout the journey, Pap’s own identity, somewhat in crisis, provides the spine of this piece. He is the observer, the conduit and the lens through which the audience experiences the narrative. 

Growing up in sixties London, his experiences at the hands of the sadistic teachers at a private boarding school kick off the story. Not to dwell too long there but these are important formative years. The need to express, to be heard and to create are all fostered here - in part rebellion but also the start of a life-long search to understand people and ultimately himself.

As he heads into late adolescence and early adulthood, Pap is somewhat adrift and comes to find film, the making of it, the tactile, physical nature of it, the magical processes involved, to be the way to start his own form of self-expression. He wants to do this properly, to learn this as a craft. His natural curiosity finds him smuggling his 8mm camera into gigs, stuffed down his trousers or up his shirt like a bad poacher. He begins to meet musicians and they ask him to shoot videos for them.

But it is his mates, early romances, family, business associates etc. who are the real cast here. We are almost following two parallel narratives. One is that of a sensitive, warm and curious young man finding his way in the world through three incredible eras of change. The other is the one that maybe feels closer to our own dreams of fame and success - we root for Pap as he gets closer to the inner circles of some of the most famous people on the planet.

The cast of legends and villains depicted make it hard not to see this as a biopic, but it's an interpretation of a life well lived. Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Iggy Pop, Freddie Mercury, Thatcher, Callaghan, Dennis Healey, The Weinsteins etc. - the list goes on - all have their moment in the story, some are even key players.

The films he makes for these characters are truly original, as is the way they come to life. Pap moves through the eras, it’s the artists who seek him out through word of mouth. This creative ascendency feels positive, the audience root for Pap, they come to love him. Pap’s own experiences mean he has come to settle in himself, he has confidence, he’s holding down relationships and friendships. He experiments but never becomes addicted, and he has the privilege of becoming a cultural changemaker. Hollywood beckons and he’s made it... or has he?