Via Sherlockology:
Hi, Sue Vertue here.As many of you are aware, we’ll soon be embarking on our first London leg of filming for series 3. I’m also aware that there is quite a lot of speculation about where we’re shooting when. I can’t stress how much we the Producers and Benedict, Martin and the rest of the cast appreciate your love and dedication to our show – we’ll endeavour to live up to your expectations for Series 3.
What I am nervous about is that our London shooting schedule is punishing and will really give us very little time to interact with you. The actors really hope you understand that.
Also, and I know this is probably asking a lot, the majority of fans and indeed ourselves would REALLY appreciate it if you didn’t post pictures or spoilers or ideally our daily locations.
Thanks for your understanding. Sue x
That is as close to “pretty please with sugar on top” as it gets, and very clearly speaks to the great thoughtfulness of the Sherlock production staff.
The courteous way to go would be to honor this intention… and not to start thinking of ways around it. The father of transactional analysis, Eric Berne, used to say that every human mind contains an ego state called “the Little Lawyer”, which always tries to weasel its way around any restrictions it doesn’t like… and as one browses the #setlock tag at the moment, one can already detect signs of people’s Little Lawyers trying to convince them that Sue’s request applies to other people, not them: that what’s been done at other shooting sites and gotten away with will be okay this time too, because there’s no law against it: that they “respect Sue’s wishes” but in the very next sentence make it plain that they don’t, really, and think that what they’d like to do instead is just fine and won’t hurt anything.
Here actions will speak loudest, and here is the way that fans with access can make plainest to the Sherlock company how much they’re truly valued: by honoring both the spirit of Sue’s wishes and the letter of them. For a producer (and the cast and crew for whose safety, emotional/physical comfort and best operation she / he is responsible) there is no worse nightmare than an out of control shoot, where there’s no way to tell who’s watching or what they’re doing, and how it will affect the story you’re trying to tell. London is chaotic enough to shoot in already without worrying about who’s in a position to phonecam something crucial or reveal something that everyone (including the actors, who sweat blood to make this stuff work) will be happiest not having revealed. Not to mention the endless tension inherent in such a situation, which really does wear on the actors (and Benedict Cumberbatch has already spoken of this at least once. You’d think that would be enough, and no one’s Little Lawyer should be allowed to convince them that he only meant that night). Please help solve this problem for Ben and Martin and everyone else, the best way, by doing as Sue’s asked.
I am just a Sherlock fan with some experience at both the writing and production ends of TV and film, and desperate as I too am for details, I have to feel for these guys even more… so all I can say is: pleeeeeeease. Honor Sue’s request and make everyone at Sherlock ecstatically happy with you, so they can meet up with other production entities and say, “Sorry, but our fans are the best on the planet,”
Thanks.
