The Hardest Cut: The Unmade Film Script That Inspired Porcupine Tree's Deadwing
Mike Bennion, a TV creative, collaborated with Steven Wilson in the late 90s to write a film script that has yet to be made into a full-length movie. The script inspired Porcupine Tree's 2005 album Deadwing, but the film project never materialized. The concept album drew inspiration from the script but did not fully explore the story's depth or structure.
Bennion and Wilson's friendship began in 1989 when Bennion, a graphic designer and TV commercial director, worked with No-Man, a band that Wilson was associated with. They shared a passion for music and movies, particularly arthouse and horror films. Wilson even composed music for commercials directed by Bennion for companies like Lego and Kellogg's. In the late 1990s, Bennion decided to venture into writing and directing a feature film, leading to the creation of a script called The Hardest Cut.
The script revolved around a film editor named David who had escaped a religious cult before its members perished in a mass suicide. The story took a supernatural turn when David encountered a ghostly figure in the film he was editing. Despite their efforts to refine the script over several years, they struggled to garner interest from agents or producers to bring the movie to life. The lead role was envisioned for actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
Facing challenges in getting the film project off the ground, Wilson proposed using the script as a basis for Porcupine Tree's Deadwing album. Bennion agreed to the idea, suggesting that the album should hint at the script's themes without revealing too much. While only a few songs on the album were directly inspired by their plot, the script continued to intrigue them.
In 2020, Bennion and Wilson released a teaser for the script, now titled And No Birds Sing, featuring a cameo by Wilson. Despite their efforts to revive interest in the project, it did not progress as hoped. Bennion remains optimistic about the script's potential and believes it is not entirely abandoned. The collaboration between Bennion and Wilson, though not resulting in a film, left a creative legacy in the form of the Deadwing album and the enduring script of The Hardest Cut.