Hi
Welcome to Morcan Books & Films, the blog devoted to providing a unique perspective and intelligent commentary on books and films. It includes commentary on our own books and films – i.e. novels and screenplays co-written by the Morcans, and feature films produced by, or in development with, Morcan Motion Pictures.
Lance & James
Our thanks to the Florida-based team at the popular Movie Talks & Chill podcast for allowing writer/director James Morcan to discuss our new release mystery-drama ANNO 2020 – the contentious movie some would prefer no-one ever sees.
Meet the amazing team at Movie Talks & Chill podcast.
Spanning seventeen cities and five countries on four continents, ANNO 2020 is a global kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, answers and justice amidst the chaos of Anno MMXX (Year 2020).
This epic movie, filmed around the world during the Covid lockdowns of 2020-21, is suitable for family viewing and can be viewed free on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nr2h-AMV-c
Hi all, I have been working on this book-film creative project ever since lockdowns began in early 2020…This has been my attempt to make sense of, or mentally process, our strangely altered reality…
And I’m feelin’ blessed to be working with New York actor/rapper Andre Doc Williams who starred in and wrote the music for this promo of our film Anno 2020…
La Rivers, Shaun Huff, Dilia Corujo, Adryanna Elmendorf and Sharod Giles also star in the Rochester, NY plot.
This Rochester section is one of half a dozen plots set all over the world in this beast of a production I’m directing – and which is based on my recently published novel. As the title suggests, Anno 2020 is set during last year’s global meltdown and explores intense relationships in this chaotic and uncertain period of time.
I’m also very grateful to have other award-winning actors including Australian cast members Erin Connor (Occupation, Dino King 3D), Greg Poppleton (Narnia, Moulin Rouge), Brett Partridge (Water Rats) and Audrey Nitschke (who I highly recommend if anyone needs a child actor). Plus Americans Kevin Scott Allen, Sheila Ball and Jessica Castello, Israeli Lital Luzon and Italian Adriana Moccia.
The entire cast has been pushed to their absolute limit as the rare performance style we are employing is emotionally raw, semi-improvisational and mostly shot via close-ups…And each actor is also bravely infusing their own real-life experiences that evolve their characters into something very genuine, almost like a docu-drama.
Simon Carter is our director of photography – and inspires me every day with his ideas and enthusiasm for the story.
And my long-time Sydney-based collaborator Gil Ben-Moshe, of MoneyShot Productions, is lead producer and is also one of our main actors. And I must say it’s wonderful to work with an actor/producer who is very respectful of all involved and trusts a director’s storytelling process – so thanks for your faith in me, Gil!
We are 80% thru shooting Anno 2020 and will soon be in post. Our whole team appreciates your support!
Our Author of the Month this month is American writer George Shaddock, author of a number of published titles including the acclaimed Georgie: An Unexpected Life, The Interpreter and An Interim Assignment.
George Shaddock…Author of the Month
A former salesman and company troubleshooter, George founded London Circle Publishing, one of the first eBook publishing firms. Now retired, he spends his time writing.
Books by George Shaddock:
Georgie: An Unexpected Life
The story of a beautiful and brilliant young woman, Georgianna, who has been raised from birth by an adoptive mother, Ann Fallon. Ann groomed her to take over her successful fashion design business. She saw that Georgianna was well educated and mentored to handle the business. However, at no time during her upbringing did Ann share any part of her life with her adopted daughter. When Ann suddenly passed, Georgianna discovered that Ann had been her true birth mother. Through clues lift by Ann, she is about to find the family life she has longed for. What she finds is totally unexpected, and a life she could never have imagined.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I7I1OGU/
The Interpreter
A story of love between two women who meet by accident in front of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. One woman is an instantaneous interpreter at the UN. The other is an aspiring and talented singer, looking for stardom in a Broadway musical. Both women appear to be in their early 30’s. They fill a mutual need for company and support and begin to share an apartment in SoHo, Manhattan. The Interpreter has an exotic background and is entirely familiar with twenty-to-thirty languages. She is on a personal mission that could threaten their lives. Both attend weekend gatherings held at the estate of a wealthy widow in Southampton, Long Island. One woman desires only to become the star of a Broadway musical. The Interpreter wants a child sired by the most intelligent man she can find.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W38C1M/
An Interim Assignment
The old SNJ Navy trainer made a perfect wheels-up, dead-stick landing in Lake Winnebago. As it came to a halt 25 yards from the beach, the pilot’s desperate effort to open the canopy proved useless. The canopy is locked. A moment later, he watched a woman with a rock in her hand, smashing the canopy to bits. She continued to pound the Plexiglass and throw the shards away while shouting for him to remove all restraint straps. The moment the opening in the canopy was large enough, she pulled him out of the plane just as it began to sink to a watery grave. She then had to help him swim to shore.
The pilot is Captain Josh Wiley, the best Navy fighter pilot the Navy has ever produced. Captain Wiley has recently been given complete control of the Top Gun School in Fallon NV. The woman who saved him is Sidney Davies, a retired commander of a Marine ground-support helicopter squadron.
Captain Wiley’s assignment has been to check F-15 fighter jets for compliance with a sales contract…a contract signed by the President with the Saudis. The Captain has uncovered a serious problem.
Captain Wiley’s survival from the crash make him a target for assassination and, by assisting him, Sidney has also become a target. Their struggle to remain alive and stop delivery of the aircraft is finally brought to the attention of Admiral James Fenimore, Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, DC. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GXKXLZN/
Some of our co-written fiction and non-fiction books have now been translated as French, Norwegian, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish publications.
The translated books are available across a wide number of book retailers internationally including Amazon, iBooks (Apple), Google Play, Kobo, Nook, Scribd, Nook, Overdrive, Chegg, 3M, axis360 (Baker & Taylor) & Follett.
These include:
Italian, Portuguese & Spanish translations of The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1) :
This weekend — June 6-7 (US time) — a selection of our books, including our most recently published non-fiction and fiction titles, are free to download for Amazon Kindle users worldwide. Listed below, they include our new release The Catcher in the Rye Enigma.
INTO THE AMERICAS (A novel based on a true story):
This epic historical novel is a gritty, real-life adventure based on one of history’s greatest survival stories. It’s a tale of two vastly different cultures – Indigenous North American and European civilization – colliding head on in the early 1800’s in the Pacific Northwest. Into the Americas is also a Romeo and Juliet story set in the wilderness. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2… http://www.amazon.com/Into-Americas-n…
The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy Book 3):
A frenetic spy thriller that follows a desperate father around the world – from Tahiti to America, Germany, Greenland and the Congo – as he hunts those he suspects have kidnapped his young son. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1…
The following books are free for Saturday June 6 (US time) only:
The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel)
Set in the 19th century, this 2-book fictional series follows the fortunes of three young travelers. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with Native American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world – from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji. http://www.amazon.com/World-Duology-O… https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2…
The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, Book 2)
A coming-of-age spy thriller that begins with 23 genetically superior orphans being groomed to become elite spies in Chicago’s Pedemont Orphanage and concludes with a political assassination deep in the Amazon jungle. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1…
Kindle Unlimited subscribers can also borrow the above books for free any time.
Above is a poster for the dystopian adventure movie After Armageddon which I recently finished filming.
Logline:Two men, who are polar opposites, must come to terms with being the last two humans on Earth in a post-Apocalyptic world.
The film was directed by my long-time collaborator and buddy Stanley Joseph (pictured directing me in a rock-climbing scene ABOVE) and my lead co-star was one of Australia’s great actors Berynn Schwerdt of Wyrmwood fame (pictured BELOW).
Stanley Joseph’s production company (World Pictures Australia) produced the film which we shot in rural NSW, Australia.
My good friend and versatile actor Gil Ben-Moshe (pictured BELOW far left) also features in the main cast.
After Armageddon is now in post-production and being edited. It will be released in cinemas later this year.
To create an intense realism, we shot the movie in a spontaneous fashion and about 90% of the dialogue was completely ad-libbed. This free-flow acting approach was partially inspired by Marlon Brando’s groundbreaking improvisational performances of the 1970s including The Godfather, The Last Tango in Paris and Apocalypse Now.
Stanley Joseph’s style of directing is also very improvisational and he came up with quite a few additional scenes/sequences on set which were not in the original screenplay. Stanley designed the shoot to be an extremely creative storytelling/acting experience – the only problem was this unique style stretched our cinematographer to the absolute limit (see below!)
Noel Evans (pictured BELOW on the left) was our cinematographer and did an amazing job under pressure. In fact, Noel was probably under the most pressure of any of us and I am in awe of just how hard cinematographers work.
Here is some random behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot:
The top rating conspiracy thriller THE NINTH ORPHAN (The Orphan Trilogy, #1) is amongst five of our critically acclaimed ebooks reduced to sell at 99cents on Kindle this week only.
The Ninth Orphan, a controversial, high-octane thriller that merges fact with fiction, currently dominates several Kindle bestseller lists on Amazon.
Our other books currently on special are The Orphan Factory and The Orphan Uprising (books two and three in The Orphan Trilogy), World Odyssey and Fiji: A Novel (books one and two in our historical adventure series The World Duology), and our non-fiction book THE ORPHAN CONSPIRACIES: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy.
All these books have been extremely well reviewed and several have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists in their respective categories.
Our soon to be released Indian-Australian feature film MY CORNERSTONE – which will screen in cinemas Australia-wide from October 9th and then internationally later this year – recently featured in the Inside Film (IF) Magazine, the Down Under film industry chronicle.
The article, by IF Magazine columnist Don Groves, follows (unabridged):
Producer-director Stanley Joseph is aiming to bridge the cultural gap between India and Australia by making mainstream films shot in both countries.
The Indian-born founder of World Pictures Australia is preparing to launch My Cornerstone, a romantic comedy which explores multiculturalism and spiritual faith, in Australia in late September.
It stars 24 year-old Indian-Australian Zenia Starr (above) as an Indian nurse who moves to Sydney where she’s hired to care for the ailing matriarch of a wealthy Indian-Australian family.
New Zealand-born, Sydney-based writer-actor James Morcan (below), who wrote the screenplay based on Joseph’s story, plays an enigmatic neighbour named Chris who enters her life. The film was shot in Mumbai and Sydney, with 90% of the dialogue in English, the rest in Hindi.
Reel to Deal Pictures, a newly-formed New Zealand-based distributor, will launch the film on 16-18 screens in Australia, Joseph tells IF.
Via sales agents the film will be released theatrically in Fiji and Singapore but Joseph, who migrated to Australia 17 year ago, plans to bypass cinemas in India and go straight to DVD, due to piracy and traffic logjams which make getting to cinemas a challenge in the big cities.
Seeking distribution in the US, he’s had talks with a US cinema chain and an online company.
Morcan says, “My Cornerstone is the first Australian-Indian crossover film. Our storyline reflects many of Stanley’s own experiences as an Indian migrant in Australia.”
Joseph’s follow-up is Love You Krishna, a romantic comedy drama now in post-production. Scripted by Morcan, again based on Joseph’s story, the plot follows the Chopras, a wealthy Indian-Australian family who are subtly influenced by a mysterious stranger’s visits to their Sydney mansion.
Starr, who also appeared in Mark Grentell’s Backyard Ashes, and Morcan are among the cast, and there is a similar split between English and Hindi.
Both films were financed by an Indian investor and were shot back-to-back in an economical 37 days. Joseph envisions a mid-2015 release for Love You Krishna.
His first film, actioner Newton’s 3rd Law, was released in 2011.
Since Amazon rolled out its Kindle Unlimited initiative, enabling subscribers to borrow as many ebooks as they desire for just $9.99 a month, debate has intensified over whether the scheme is good or bad for participating authors.
As participating authors – all our eight book titles are registered in the scheme – we have followed the debate with interest. And we know we are not alone: social media is full of author speculation on the merits or otherwise of Kindle Unlimited.
One of the best summaries of the new initiative (in our opinion) is offered by American author and publishing veteran Michael J. Sullivan in a recent contribution to DigitalBookworld.com’s excellent site. In an article headed “Kindle Unlimited’s Two-Tier System Makes Some Authors Second-Class Citizens”, Sullivan summarizes the scheme and then perceptively dissects it.
Author Michael J. Sullivan…critical of Kindle Unlimited.
Excerpts from Sullivan’s article follow:
… Historically, Amazon has been good about treating self-published authors and traditionally published authors equally. There are some exceptions…but for the most part both self- and traditionally published authors have enjoyed equal treatment. They share similar exposure on best-seller lists and top-rated lists, and Amazon’s “cut” from sales have been the same for both groups (30% under the agency model). In fact, when the agency model went into affect, Amazon raised self-publisher’s royalty from 35% to 70% to match what traditional publishers were getting. But now with the roll-out of Kindle Unlimited, we see two very different treatments:
Self-published authors MUST be exclusive to Amazon (except for a handful of best-selling authors) and can’t sell their books on other sites. Traditionally published books have no such exclusivity requirement and can be sold wherever the publisher wishes.
Self-published authors are paid from a pool set by Amazon each month. They have no idea how much they will be paid per book. Traditionally published books get paid exactly as they would if a sale were made. They know exactly what the unit price will be for each book and are not relying on the Amazon’s whim as far as what their unit price will be.
Why the difference?
Whenever I speak about a situation where an entity (retailers or publishers) treat authors poorly the answer is always the same: “because they can.” The publishers would never agree to the terms the self-published authors are getting. What Amazon is offering traditional publishers (full wholesale price without exclusivity) is a pretty good deal…
…They are giving publishers such a fair deal because there is no way the publishers would agree otherwise. Even with such attractive terms, I suspect the big-five won’t opt in their titles. But the self-published authors can be had for much less. They have been conditioned through several years of Select and those in Select are more than willing to give up other venues for higher visibility on Amazon…
…To add insult to injury, the current payout system has self-published authors subsidizing the payments of the traditionally published titles, much the way best-selling titles subsidize books that aren’t commercial successes. By this I mean that one party is getting less to offset the costs of someone else’s works.
I’m disappointed with Amazon for not offering the same terms to both self- and traditionally-published authors. Authors have grown accustomed to poor treatment from Publisher’s, and because of the way Kindle Unlimited has been rolled out, they can add Amazon as just one more multi-billion-dollar company taking advantage of them.
Amazon’s announcement that customers who subscribe to its new Kindle Unlimited initiative can borrow as many ebooks as they want to from a library of over 600,000 titles is exciting readers and authors alike.
While not quite a revolutionary idea – previously subscribers enrolled in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) could borrow one ebook per month – the new system means there’s no limit to the number of ebooks subscribers can borrow – provided they pay the $10 monthly fee.
For those avid bookworms who regularly read one book, or more, per week, Kindle Unlimited represents excellent value. It also means they can ‘try out’ books by new or unknown authors by borrowing the books in stead of having to shell out valuable dollars and hope they (the books) justify their investment.
For authors, like us, who still receive a payment – albeit a reduced payment – from Amazon for every book borrowed, the scheme provides additional access to readers who may not readily buy our books; it’s also likely to create excellent word-of-mouth, leading to more sales.
It’s a win-win for readers and authors.
All books currently enrolled in KDP Select with U.S. rights will be automatically included in Kindle Unlimited. KDP Select books will also continue to be enrolled in (KOLL) available to Amazon Prime customers in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Japan where authors will continue to earn a share of the KDP Select global fund when their book is borrowed.
For those Amazon customers enrolled with Kindle Unlimited, you may come across our books available in the unlimited downloads scheme…
The above books can be found on our Amazon author pages at:
![Georgie: An Unexpected Life by [Shaddock, George]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Sj-Hk62DL.jpg)
![The Interpreter by [Shaddock, George]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51L4j3FZVmL.jpg)
![An Interim Assignment by [Shaddock, George]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mfa80wk-L.jpg)
Morcan Books & Films 
