A FILM-MAKER brought up in Cleethorpes has hit the big time after a Hollywood film company acquired the rights to make a movie out of his short film.
Writer, director and visual effects artist Rob McLellan earlier this year took his short film, ABE, to Los Angeles and pitched it to all the major studios.
And it was soon picked up as a feature by MGM, with 34-year-old Rob attached to write and direct.
Now based in London, Rob has made numerous short films and won a competition called Enter The Pitch; his first prize was a £25,000 production budget.
He then made a short film called Rahab, which led Rob to start thinking about feature films, and this is where ABE began.
A sci-fi short, ABE explores the complex relationship between love and obsession through the eyes of a murderous robot.
"The idea for ABE came from another short I did called Love … And All That, which was made for the Colchester 48-Hour Film Challenge," explained Rob.
"I was challenged to create a film with that title in two days and not being a fan of romantic films, I decided to turn the title on its head and try to approach it differently than was I expected to.
"The story originally started off as a basic serial killer story, about a man who, in his own twisted way, just wanted to be loved.
"As the idea evolved, the sci-fi geek in me kicked in and I thought, 'why not make him a robot'?
"Strangely, I found this would be a more effective and chilling way to explore the nature of obsession and love ... and because robots are cool!
"Almost by accident, I had created a great character that had a much larger story to tell.
"Some of that story was explored in the short, but only enough to tease at something bigger, which is something you will see in the feature film."
ABE from Rob McLellan on Vimeo.
Growing up in Poplar Road, in Cleethorpes, Rob would make short films with his dad's VHS camera using his Star Wars toys.
As time went on, he persuaded friends to act in short films for him.
The former St Peter's Primary and Matthew Humberstone School student said: "Both my dad and my step-dad were heavily into film – it was a massive part of my childhood.
"But the biggest influence was probably my mum, who worked at the ABC Cinema, in Freeman Street.
"As a kid I would go there at least three times a week and just watch whatever was on. It was the 1980s, so it was during the rise of the summer blockbusters.
"Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back To The Future are ones that come to mind. It was a great time to be a kid at the cinema.
"The first film I saw at the cinema was Return Of The Jedi and I've been a sci-fi geek ever since.
"As a kid, my love came from the adventure and escapism of it all, but as an adult it's definitely because of the possibilities it opens up to tell very human stories and to explore what it is that makes us human.
"When I was young, mum explained to me that films were actually made and created by other people and I was bewitched by the idea that I could create these things that I loved so much myself.
"But the reality of just how impossible that ambition could be didn't really sink in until I was a teenager, and the world of film-making seemed so far away.
"Today it's a lot easier but back then it was just next to impossible.
"I'd actually began to move in the direction of graphic design because it seemed a more reachable career, when I discovered that the Grimsby Institute ran film-making diplomas.
"That was the first move in the right direction, as suddenly I had the means, the equipment and the mentoring to actually learn how to do it professionally."
Abe is currently in the writing stage and once that's complete, production will go ahead – keep reading your Grimsby Telegraph for updates.
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