Interview with Gavin Scott :: Part 3

Thanks for playing along with my little April Fools prank yesterday. Hope I didn't scare anyone too badly! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.


Welcome to Part 3 of my interview with Gavin Scott, creator of The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta. Be sure to read Part 1 of the interview by clicking HERE and Part 2 by clicking HERE.

TR: The current storyline is still developing, so this question may be premature; but can we expect any character specific spin-offs in the future? Like The Further Adventures of Yellow Nose William, or The Troublesome Mustache Strikes Back?

GS: Possible, but what I'm really enjoying is creating a world where these characters can spin out of the story and then back in again at unpredictable intervals. So although Yellow Nose or Sheriff Lionel may reappear, I don't want to lose sight of Ed and Hen, and the Smoking Sailor or Captain Nemo won't be very far behind.


TR: Do you have any bigger or broader plans for The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta beyond the webisodes, ie television or movies? Or do you see Ed and Hen as a story that can only be told in the precise medium it is now being told?

GS: Books are the natural next step, because it's based on still photos. But I'd love to make a TV show!


TR: In addition to The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta, you are also currently publishing (and reading) your work The Adventures of Toby Wey on your Wordpress Blog. Will chapters of Toby Wey continue on your blog until the story is completed, or do you have bigger and broader plans for that story as well?

GS: Toby Wey has its own narrative arc, and I plan to publish it as a book on the web.


TR: Ed and Hen and Toby Wey are both great stories and are undeniably marketable, yet you have chosen a free forum in which to present them to the public. Is your decision to freely present these stories to the masses a response to the Hollywood marketing machine, the compulsion of an artist who has stories that just need to be shared, the experimentation of new media in the age-old art of storytelling, or something else entirely?

GS: I make my living as a screenwriter and sometimes director. Making a film is such a complex process that there are compromises at every step. Part of the pleasure of Ed and Hen for me is that fact that I can do any damn thing I want! I'm in control. And being able to tell stories without commercial constraints is very good for the creative process: it keeps you fresh.

(It was tough deciding whether Mrs. Robinson was a real toy by Gavin Scott)

TR: Finally, are there any last thoughts you would like to share with Toyriffic readers about toys, storytelling, the stock market, gardening tips, or life in general?

GS: One of the reasons I enjoy sculpting with toys as my medium is that toys carry such a wonderful freight of meaning. The people who make toys simply want to sell them - but in order to do so they have to be in touch with the zeitgeist of their era. So every toy or game, quite unintentionally, captures the ideas and attitudes of its time in plastic, metal, wood or printed cardboard. I love to create juxtapositions where these hidden meanings spring out at you in unexpected ways. And make you laugh along the way!


TR: Thanks so much Gavin Scott for your time and generosity in granting Toyriffic this interview. We look forward to many more episodes of The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta and to further chapters of The Adventures of Toby Wey!

GS: My pleasure! And very good questions, too! Best regards, Gavin.

Be sure to watch Episode three of The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta below, and go to EdandHen.com to see the rest of the ongoing story!


The Adventures of Edward and Henrietta, Episode 3 from edandhen.com on Vimeo