Hollywood comes calling for Suzanne

2:22pm Monday 17th March 2008

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OFFICE girl plucked from obscurity to work with Hollywood superstars on a new movie - sounds like the plot of a film. But that's exactly what happened to Suzanne Johnston.

The part-time teacher, from Wilpshire near Blackburn, juggles being a mum with writing movie scripts, working with famous actors, and hob-nobbing with some of the movie industry's biggest movers and shakers.

We went to meet her.

ON the surface Suzanne Johnston's life looks pretty normal.

The 31-year-old is married with an adorable two-year-old son, Max, and works three days a week teaching performing arts in a secondary school.

Oh . . . and she also helps develop movie scripts for world-famous stars.

Suzanne's biggest project to date is The Heavy, a new British crime thriller starring Vinnie Jones, Christopher Lee, Gary Stretch and Stephen Rea.

It was Suzanne's job to help develop the characters and "de-Americanise" the script.

The movie is due to hit cinemas later this year and Suzanne can't wait.

"I feel so proud when I see the trailer," she said. "I can't wait to go to the premiere. I worked on the script for a couple of hours every day for three months and roped in my friends to help."

Amazingly, Suzanne - a former St Augustine's and Clitheroe Grammar School pupil - became involved in the film industry after a chance meeting on the internet with American writer/director Marcus Warren, who made his name making pop videos.

"It was 2002 and I was 25 living in Twickenham and working in the marketing department of a whisky company," explained Suzanne.

"I wrote in my spare time and sent several scripts to Mersey TV but none of them came off. I had an AOL internet profile and had written on it that I was interested in writing.

"One day I got an email out of the blue from Marcus Warren saying I'm looking for a writer to adapt a film script for the stage - what are your ideas?' "My dad, Eric Nolan, has been involved with Blackburn Drama Club since before I was born and I've always been in his plays or gone along to watch them, and you get to know how things are laid out and what things should look like on the stage. Marcus liked my ideas and I worked with him adapting his script One Dollar Bill for the stage."

Marcus was so impressed with Suzanne's work that he got her on board with his next movie, The Heavy.

This time it was her job to change the setting of the film to London and to help develop the characters.

"Marcus had had an offer of funding for the movie if it was re-set in London," said Suzanne.

Five years later and The Heavy was finally finished. It will be hitting our screens in the summer.

"I got into this business through chance and a little bit of luck, but what's kept me working is that I'm not what you'd call a 'yes man'," said Suzanne.

"If I think something's rubbish I'll say so and I think Marcus valued that."

For her latest project, Suzanne has co-written a film called Memories in the Wind, with former Blue boy band member Lee Ryan.

"I'd just had my son Max and was still on maternity leave when I got a call from Marcus," said Suzanne, who moved back to her native Blackburn in 2003.

"He asked me to read this handwritten manuscript he had and type it up in the right format. When I got the script he told me it had been written by Lee Ryan, who was in Blue. I started typing it up but there were things that needed addressing so I told Marcus and he said to leave it with him.

"I didn't hear anything for a few weeks and then out of the blue I got a phone call from Lee Ryan - while I was breastfeeding Max! I met up with Lee and he asked if I would come on board to help him develop the script. I think he liked the fact that I was so cheeky with him straight away, even though he was famous.

"He's been looking to get back into acting and they asked him if he had anything, and he'd actually had this idea for a World War Two film called Memories in the Wind.

"We worked on it together and they loved it. As soon as The Heavy is released they're going to start filming Memories in the Wind."

No matter how many stars Suzanne gets to work with, she says she'll never give up her day job at Bowland High School, Clitheroe.

"You never know how long this is going to last and you're only ever as good as your last piece of work - it's a cut-throat business. And besides, I love working at the school.

"I think my pupils find it all a bit exciting. They're always like 'Miss? Miss? Can you get Lee Ryan to come into school?'"