‘I remember him clearly – unassuming chap, in his sixties but looked younger. ‘Surely that’s what really mattered, the glimpses into the every day lives of the common citizen.’ ‘Oh.’ She seems a little put out here but she compensates again. ‘Was it a man on his last legs, confiding his deepest regrets to his taxi driver – they say they do that. ‘Was there something strange about him?’ the reporter asks, and in a conspiratorial tone, she adds, ‘Were you taking him to a mysterious late-night rendezvous?’ It was much earlier, quite a long time ago, in fact, probably four, maybe five years ago now.’ ‘No,’ he says after a moment. ‘That wasn't it. Has a mind of its own that one but then, that’s the thing. Joe wonders if the bot will be able to compensate for the dodgy clutch on the Saet. ‘Who were they? What was it like, that final ride?’ ‘Would this be your last passenger?’ she asks. The reporter hasn’t been expecting this but she’s professional, you can’t fault her there, and there isn’t a single chink in that smile of hers. ‘I keep thinking,’ Joe says, ignoring his boss or ex-boss or whatever and he pauses with what almost could have been practiced aplomb. And that’s not even a human operating the camera over there, Joe thinks it’s one of them, plain as day.īeside him, Speckles is wearing the fakest smile you ever saw and he begins feeding Joe lines from the side of his mouth. Somewhere, in the corner of his vision, someone’s fitting the AI pilot to his car. It’s the obvious question, the one they’ve been rehearsing for but here, at this moment, Joe’s forgotten it all. ‘How does it feel,’ she repeats, ‘to be Britain’s last licensed taxi driver?’ He looks up the camera is on him now and a mic drone hovers over him. There’s an A5 envelope prodding out just a few centimetres. Speckle’s jacket flaps open as he speaks and Joe glimpses the inside pocket. And so it is that we sign off proudly from this service.’ Now we look forward to our bright future and a future with our fully automated taxi network. ‘It is with mixed emotions - regret, sadness but also excitement and even awe - that we sign off Britain’s last human taxi driver today. When I look back on our proud history – as a nation – the London cabbie with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the city well –’ someone important is making the “hurry it up” gesture, ‘–they’ll be remembered with much nostalgia, I am sure. Speckles puts a hand on his shoulder and so it begins. ‘Best get this over with,’ Joe says to himself. Thud thud – Rob tapping on the passenger window. Joe switches off the engine, and for a moment he just sits there. He stops the car between two other retirees and there’s his boss, Speckles, fake smile and actor’s make-up – the full works. ‘The magical bloody moment,’ Joe mumbles, and he just about manages a smile as the reporters get close. Flash, flash, flash go the cameras as the drones buzz overhead. His boss, former colleagues, press – they seem pretty confident in his driving as he steers the compact Saet through each. Screening Challenging and Exciting Film From Around the World and Around the Corner.They’re all ready for Joe Gardner as he drives down Chesterfield road in Britain’s final human operated taxi. © 2011-2023 Queens World Film Festival, Inc. Most fun ever on a set! Filmed in three days during six different weather patterns – but we ended on time, and on budget. I thought it was horror – turned out it was comedy. Her other directorial projects include: Chosen, By Blood, Leaving and The Last Taxi Driver. She was awarded an Outstanding Advocate for the Arts from the Long Island Arts Alliance, and received the George Estabrook Award for Outstanding Public Service from Hofstra University. She has been featured numerous times in the press and on television for the multiple hats she wears and has been listed twice on the Long Island Press's Power List: One of the Top 50 Long Islanders that Control our Lives. She is also the author of the Karmic Wind Trilogy (Naked in the Rain, Sarah and Caleb and Karmic Wind), and is an award winning writer, director, producer and casting director. But sometimes the remaining humans are less predictable than the zombies.Ĭreator of the Nassau County Film Commission and still holding the position through 29 years and three administrations, Debra is also one of the Founders of the Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE) celebrating its 20th year in July 2017. He refuses to give up his taxi route when most of the inhabitants left in post-apocalyptic America are zombies. Producers: Debra Markowitz, John Marean, Intention Films and Media, The Majors Productionsĭorman O'Merain is pissed. Robert Clohessy (Blue Bloods), Deborah Twiss (Kick-Ass), Emily Jackson (Incarnate) FILM LIBRARY » 2016 » SHORT NARRATIVE » FILM DETAILS
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |