Over the last week or so I have been doing some soul searching, as well as building the curriculum for Talent Campus. By chance, during research an idea I came across resonated with something I did over a decade ago and have done many times since (I even posted about it here in 2010!) Three […]
Last month we shared that we were quarter finalists in the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. We were delighted as there were 6,915 scripts entered. This morning we received this email… ‘Congratulations! You have advanced into the Semifinal Round of the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. Your script is one of only 149 […]
Hitting ‘save’ for the final time on the latest draft of Rocketboy and I am pretty sure we have nailed it. So much has changed in this new draft, but the one big note I want to share is just about using fewer words. I posted on Facebook recently, in the midst of the redraft, […]
I just wanted to mark this day on my blog by posting the Space Oddity video, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. For me, it’s cool on so many levels. Cool that he did it where he did it. Cool that he chose that track. Cool that he takes it […]
We recently completed the new draft of Rocketboy, by far the biggest reworking of the script ever undertaken. We sent the script to a handful of trusted people for feedback and we are still waiting from a few to come back. Waiting for feedback and getting feedback can be a nerve wracking experience, so I […]
Yesterday, we wrote the final few words of ‘Rocketboy’. It was an emotional moment to get to the end, but also an emotional moment to see what happens to these characters we have fallen in love with. To write those final few scenes that you have been dreaming of, structuring and planning for so long, […]
Judy and I are closing in on the final few pages of ‘Rocketboy’ and I thought I would share our rather unusual writing process. You may know that I have been writing ‘Rocketboy’ on my own, on and off, for many years. The truth is I have lost count of the drafts, probably around 17 […]
So having been in a bad mood all day, it hit me tonight why. We spent most of the afternoon dealing with writing the death scene for a major and much loved character in ‘Rocketboy’, and then discussing how best we can inflict huge amount of angst, grief and pain on our hero. We literally […]
Last week I posted about Rocketboy and how another movie, ‘The Bridge To Terabithia’ had been an inspiration for the current redraft. I found the whole film on YouTube and embedded it into the blog. At the time I did think twice as it is unusual to find an entire film on YouTube, especially when […]
So Judy and I have begun week 2 of redrafting ‘Rocketboy’ Regular blog readers will know that Rocketboy has been on the cards for many years – it was in fact the genesis of ‘Gone Fishing’. Over the years and between other projects, we have written draft after draft, attempting to nail it – each […]
Recently I laid out my plans for the movie we will spend the next two years making. It began with a decision, and ended with a choice. These two words may sound similar, but they are for me, profoundly different, operating on different mechanisms inside our heads. How The Decision Was Made First, the team […]
Well, we did get it down from 145 pages to 127 pages. But by that time, Judy and I had gotten ourselves so lost in the ‘wood for trees’ that we needed fresh eyes on the script. It was time for some feedback on ‘Rocketboy’. The script was sent off to about six close and […]
Yep that's Wilbur. More on him at the end of the post. Big news for us though. It’s time for us to make a change. For years now our email user group has been growing and it's time to move to a new home, to a shiny email system which delivers a much better service […]
Human beings are meaning making machines – as screenwriters it is our job to guide and manage the meanings that our audiences make, but in such a way as they are unaware that we are in full control. I just rewatched ‘Inception’ last night and I am still reeling from the experience. Every five years […]
As I have been rewriting Rocketboy, I have also been re-reading some of my favourite screenwriting books. I have been looking for tips, tricks, insights and wisdom on the screenwriting concept that writing is rewriting. But it’s also about being tough in those rewrites. Killing your darlings. There are a few very good books on […]
Judy and I have quickly found a routine that works efficiently where we read a chunk, discuss changes at length, spitball new ideas, plan and re-structure, then Judy writes. As Judy is such a terrific writer, this is usually the fastest part. But it does give me the chance to do a few chores before […]
To me, it’s amazing just how hard writing can be. It looks so simple. When written well, a good movie flows so effortlessly. It looks so simple that most people, who have never written a script, think that it can’t be that hard… ‘why all the madness, complaining, ranting, late nights, early mornings, compulsive behaviour, […]
When I am watching a movie that is brilliantly written, it leaves me kind of breathless. Because I know just how much hard work goes into writing a screenplay that breezes along effortlessly, with no friction, without a single scrap of waste, simultaneously surprising and obvious at each turn (‘how is he going to get […]
I am just organising my pass for the Cannes Film Market / Festival right now. This year I am going in through the Short film Corner, which is basically a way to ‘buy’ your way in very cheaply (75 euros). All you need to do is sign up, pay, and send your film in. You […]
I had just about mastered the final DVD’s for Gone Fishing, in both PAL and NTSC, with both Dolby Digital and DTS sound, with perfect picture (even the NTSC thanks to a great system trascoder called Canopus Procoder 3)… And then I got the dreaded email. We had missed a person off the credits. And […]
With dread in my heart, I approach now, the writing of the next project… And I take the first step… While I can write, I find it very hard. Much harder than I think many other writers do. I find it extremely draining, emotionally and physically. And there is a maximum of about three to […]
Having just completed the Masterclass in Vancouver, I decided to head up to the hills (Rocky Mountains actually, and nothing like a hill) and rest before starting work on my redraft of Rocketboy – with a view to possibly resetting the film in North America. My redraft is the second part of the ‘Gone Fishing’ […]
I flew into Vancouver, BC, Canada a few days ago, with a dual remit. First off, I am running my two day Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass here at a film makers conference called FTX West. Second, I am location scouting for Rocketboy and plan to spend a week looking for amazing places to shoot the […]
Here is the second and final part of Ivan Clemments report from the American Film Market… I like the picture here, it’s Ivan, a producer (left), being a grip! (from Gone Fishing). I'm now back at LAX waiting for my flight and half rack of ribs to stuff my fat face with if I have […]
Gone Fishing is still coming along well, but now I must turn my attentions to the BIG project, on eof the main reasons Gone Fishing was made. That is Rocketboy. Producer Ivan Clemments is now at the American Film Market working with a friend of mine, who for political reasons, has to remain anonymous. We […]
