‘Downton Abbey’ creator Julian Fellowes admits filming the upcoming movie has felt like a very "happy" school reunion.
The 69-year-old screenwriter is thrilled to have been reunited with the cast of the hit TV show, but he concedes that transforming the programme into a movie isn’t going to be a straightforward process.
He explained: "In life you can’t let yourself be daunted by the fact that it doesn’t work out for some people.
"You just have to keep charging on and have a go and do your best … I don’t think one should expect everything to be a triumph.
"I’ve done my best, I know the cast are doing their best and I think it will be fun. But I won’t count any chickens, thank you, until it is out, until we know how it is doing."
Julian has already enjoyed success in the movie business, with his 2001 film ‘Gosford Park’ winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
But he’s admitted that transitioning from TV to cinema does present some big challenges.
He told the BBC: "[In a series] we usually give the big stories to maybe three characters a week … By the end of the series everyone would have big stories and it would all be plaited together.
"In a film you can’t do that. Every character you include you must have their own story. The viewer can judge whether or not I have been successful, I wouldn’t make any claims.
"I had to make sure every story of every character was completed within the movie. That did take a certain amount jiggery-pokery, but I am pleased with where we came to and very pleased with the reassembled cast."
Julian recently reunited with the cast on the set of the movie, and he’s admitted it was a "very happy" moment.
He said: "It was a very happy time for us all. It was a big hit all over the world. It was a very nice cast and I think they made a lot of good friends among them so there was something of a reunion like the first day back at school… a very happy school."
Julian Fellowes says Downton Abbey movie feels like a ‘happy school reunion’
