Meet the team...
Presenters: Ahmed | Nikki | Rebecca
Researchers: Caroline | Isabel | Lydia |
William
William Mager
Tell us a little about your education.
Started off being taught at a fairly tough mainstream hearing school
in Sheffield (think Kes meets Grange Hill and you're
half-way there), then a sixth-form college, then a degree in English
literature at the University of Durham, followed by an MA in writing
for film and television under Andrew Davies and Steve Attridge.
What do you like most about VEE-TV?
It's something a bit different to the usual deaf TV fare – it
focuses on young people and interesting stories, and the whole programme
has an energetic, fast-paced style which makes it interesting to watch.
This year will be even better than previous series, I think.
What do you do when you're not working for VEE-TV – for
money and for pleasure?
I have to pay the mortgage somehow! I've got a few extracurricular interests – script-reading
for production companies, scriptwriting for film and television, and
even the occasional bit of acting in films like Intuition and Text
Batteries and Earwax. For pleasure I watch DVDs and enjoy meeting
with friends to watch a film at the cinema or the occasional football
game in the pub.
Had you always wanted to work in the media?
It was always my overall aim! The only question was which sector of
the media? I started off on a nine-month traineeship at the BBC, then
did a one-and-a-half-year tour of duty at Children's BBC online. Seeking
a new challenge, I moved to the British Deaf Association for one year
as a video production co-ordinator, then worked freelance on several
projects including a short TV drama and an information video for the
Arts Council – and am now at VEE TV to get some experience in the
fast-paced and sometimes not-so-glamorous world of television! After
that I'll have to decide what the next step is. Ever since I chose which
A-levels I wanted to do, I've been keeping my options open – but
now the time is coming to make a definite career choice.
What do you think is the most important issue facing the Deaf community
at the moment?
Education, education, education. Should deaf children be taught in mainstream
schools or in deaf boarding schools? Which approach is best – oral,
BSL or total communication? It's a question that they've been debating
for a long time, and no-one has yet found the perfect answer.
What are your ambitions?
To write something that wins friends and influences people, and allows
me to move to a nice house where the weather's warm and the surf's always
up.
Who's your hero or biggest influence?
Charlie Kaufman – one of the most brilliant, quirky and original
screenwriters in the business. He can't write a decent third act for
his films, but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind may well
be the exception to that rule. He always seems to work well with Spike
Jonze and Michel Gondry, but I'm sure he's got a postmodern Hollywood
blockbuster in him somewhere. Possibly starring Nicolas Cage or John
Cusack.
Can you recommend something that you really enjoyed recently – book,
show, film, website, whatever?
Books – anything by Douglas Coupland or Chuck Palahniuk is always
going to be worth reading. I'm a comic-book freak too – writers
like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Kazuya Kudo are a seal of quality.
If you're interested in DVDs, check out films by South American filmmakers – Nine
Queens, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, City
of God.
What's your perfect day?
It's always on a Sunday – espresso coffee, OJ, Sunday papers and
the Hollyoaks omnibus in bed with my loved one. After that, what
else do you need in life? Apart from a job, money and food in the fridge
that is!
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