Filmmaker and actor Daniel D. Newman chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about directing and starring in “Shanghai Sherlock.”
On his inspiration to direct this vertical, he remarked, “I’ve actually wanted to make a Chinese-speaking Sherlock Holmes story for decades because I lived in China for 13 years.”
“I knew that Chinese audiences were really interested in Sherlock Holmes,” he admitted. “If you go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, it’s full of Chinese tourists. I was also reading the Sherlock Holmes novels and discovered that, after Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes, he actually got bored of writing about him.”
“There was so much demand, and so much money being offered, to bring Sherlock Holmes back that, three years later, he wrote a new story called ‘The Adventure of the Empty House,’ in which Sherlock returns and scares the living daylights out of Watson by revealing that he didn’t die,” he elaborated.
“Sherlock explains that he had been traveling around Asia and Africa. So, I thought, well, perhaps he spent some of that time in Shanghai,” he noted.
“Of course, I couldn’t afford to make a film in China, and getting permission to film there can also be quite difficult. So, instead, we made a film about what Sherlock and Watson do after Sherlock returns from Shanghai,” he said.
“Maybe one day we’ll get to make a prequel feature film about Sherlock’s adventures in Shanghai. That would be great,” he added.
Playing Sherlock
On playing Sherlock, he said, “The fact that I speak Chinese was helpful. Normally, I don’t act. I’m usually behind the camera: I write and direct, but I don’t normally perform. There aren’t many people who are roughly the right age to play Sherlock and can also speak Chinese. So, I decided to do it myself. It was almost quicker and easier that way.”
Working with the cast and crew
On working with the cast and crew, he shared, “It was great. Some of them I’ve worked with before. Alex Crockford, for example, was in one of my previous films, ‘How Not to Write a Rom-Com,’ which we’ve also since made into a vertical. I’ve also worked with the cinematographer and sound recordists before, so it was great working with people I was already familiar with.”
“We actually had four directors in the end,” he noted. “Two of them are friends of mine from university who are BAFTA-nominated directors, so they’re quite prestigious. It was really nice getting to work with my friends, who are much more experienced and knowledgeable than I am.”
Lessons learned from the screenplay
On the lessons learned from the screenplay, he reflected, “Initially, I wrote it myself. Then we started casting and rehearsing online, and I was trying to get everything ready. The BAFTA-nominated directors I mentioned, Alex Kiel and my other friend, said, ‘We think the screenplay can still be improved.’ Essentially, we had four separate short stories—four separate murders to solve—but they weren’t connected. They wanted all of the murders to be connected somehow.”
“Then my friend Gareth Arnold came along. By that point, I was panicking and freaking out because I was trying to organize everything at once in time for the shoot. Gareth took over the screenplay, improved it, and connected everything together,” he noted.
“He is actually helping me right now with another screenplay. He’s very good at coming in at the last minute and saving me from myself. So, I guess I learned that help is great when you can get it,” he added.
Message for the fans
For the fans, he said, “Thank you for supporting us and for watching our films. We really appreciate it. Without you guys watching, it doesn’t mean anything, right? You bring these films to life.”
“People have also been incredibly supportive over the years. They’ve helped me with crowdfunding for films, and lots of my friends have helped with productions, whether it’s turning up to help or lending me a car that we use in a video. My friends have been very supportive, and I really appreciate everyone,” he elaborated.
“We’re continuing to make more,” he revealed. “We have another vertical that we’re going to shoot in October, also with Alex Crockford, along with some quite well-known vertical drama actors. That’s going to be exciting.”
“It’s a very different type of vertical from ‘Shanghai Sherlock.’ It’s going to be more sports-oriented, so I can’t say too much yet. But if there are any fans out there, watch this space. We’ve got more exciting things in the pipeline,” he added.
Closing thoughts on ‘Shanghai Sherlock’
Newman remarked, “I suppose one of the ideas was to make something that would be popular both in China and in the West. Generally speaking, there are two markets: the Chinese vertical-drama market and then everybody else. China also has the Great Firewall, so audiences there can’t easily watch the content that we make in the West.”
“This is something different. The first six episodes, the pre-paywall episodes, are available in both China and the West. I’ve also built up a bit of a social media following in China. So, one of the ideas was: Can we make a vertical drama that people will enjoy both inside China and in the Western world?” he elaborated.
“I think we’ve been somewhat successful with that. I lived in China for a long time, 13 years, and I still go back there frequently. So, I’m still hoping to help bridge that gap,” he concluded.
“Shanghai Sherlock” is available to stream on ReelSho, DramaDash, and Inverted.
Read More: Rave review of “Shanghai Sherlock.”
