His first major project was "Something for the Weekend" (1996), which he wrote and produced. Initially called "The Barber Shop", the title was changed to avoid a clash with another film. His directorial debut, the short "A Secret Audience", centres on a meeting between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII. His second short, "Bring Me Your Love", was based on the short story by Charles Bukowski, and stars Ian Hart as a journalist bringing flowers to his wife in a mental hospital. It was screened in front of "Some Voices". An "Independent" critic wrote that "Bring Me Your Love" "holds out great promise" for Morrissey and "The Observer" reviewer wrote that it was worth seeing but was not as impressive as "A Secret Audience". "Bring Me Your Love" was produced by Tubedale Films, a studio Morrissey formed with his brother Paul and wife Esther Freud. In 2001, Morrissey directed "Sweet Revenge", a two-part BBC television film starring Paul McGann that got him a BAFTA nomination for Best New Director (Fiction). In 2004, Morrissey reunited with Tony Marchant to direct the two-part television film "Passer By", about a man (James Nesbitt) who witnesses an attack on a woman (Emily Bruni) but does nothing to stop it. Morrissey was brought onto the project after reading the first draft of Marchant's script. The script went through five more drafts before being filmed over 30 days. Morrissey developed his directing techniques by watching the directors on films and television series that he acted in; he took the minor role of Tom Keylock in "Stoned" so that he could watch Stephen Woolley at work.