STARBURST: That does sound like the kind of writing environment that would produce a Color Out of Space screenplay.
Richard Stanley: Generally, living there is classic expat behavior. What happens is that a couple retires – usually city people – buy a big farmhouse in France that has some structural defect, and they always have some kind of scheme involving raising Angora goats to make sweaters or keeping ostriches.
And you’re not quite there yet?
No, that’s usually folk who are coming out of accountancy or white-collar occupations. Usually, the couples don’t know each other well because they’re not used to spending time together, and on average, drinking problems set in within the first twelve months, then within three or four years there’s some form of domestic violence. Then in a small but significant number of cases, a murder happens within the first decade. The gendarmes are very used to it; it’s a classic battle with British retired expats, drunk and irrational behaviour, then the wife’s body is found in the hydroelectric barrage on the river or something. That was kind of at the back of my mind when I was first writing the script.
It really sounds like you have a whole murder-mystery planned out.
I heard it so often from the gendarmes in the area. It was almost expected that, as an expat, you’d get to the area and start drinking heavily. Somehow there’s always Angora goats involved or a mini-golf course, some kind of ridiculous business venture tied into it.
I guess that sounds kind of relaxing, in a weird off-the-grid way.
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Starburst Magazine.
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This story is from the February 2020 edition of Starburst Magazine.
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