Tweet On Sunday night, 8pm UK time, I am going to be a guest on ScriptChat, the online Twitter chat for screenwriters – and anyone with a Twitter account can get involved. The way it works is very simple. You can use your normal Twitter client, like Tweet Deck, or you can surf into the […]
I recently filmed this terrific interview with Chris Vogler as he could not make it to the Screenwriters Festival this year. His work on ‘The Hero’s Journey’ through his workshops and books has transformed many screenplays. In the interview, Chris offers insights into screenwriting today, shares ideas on how the Hero’s Journey can be used […]
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 […]
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, […]
It’s been a frantic weekend for me, given that it’s supposed to have been a bank holiday. On Saturday, I ran a seminar at the Roundhouse in Camden, for the London Film Makers Convention, part of the Portobello Film Festival. It all went very well and we enjoyed a very lively conversation about the nature […]
NEW – Watch this video on iPhone or other mobile device by clicking here We are just making up clips and getting ready for this Sundays workshop with UK screenwriter Dean Craig, on how he went from short film to UK feature to Hollywood feature, bypassing Bollywood cash in… and we had to share […]
Script To Screen Event With Dean Craig – Read The Script, Meet The Film Maker, Watch the movie…* ‘Death At A Funeral’… But which version!?!? And just £12.97 Sunday, May 30, 2010 from 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM (GMT) (*Note – we are unable to supply a DVD of the film, but you can pick […]
Following on from yesterdays blog about writing a screenplay, but writing with a deep and intimate understating of ‘who the audience is…’ Let’s go one step further. Seth Godins excellent Ted presentation here really nails it. If you haven’t watched it, you should do so now as he speaks about building ‘tribes’ with great insight. […]
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 […]
Date: Sunday March 28th. Time: 12.00pm Place: Odeon Panton Street, London. (Seating is limited) Tickets £19 (plus booking fee and inc VAT) Meet Eran Creevy, one of this years BAFTA nominated film makers, for ‘Shifty’ (in the category of best first feature). We interviewed him for the new ‘Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook’, and were […]
I have just read some pages of a screenplay that looks both exciting and very well put together. Of course, it’s in ‘development’ and so there are going to be problems and further work needed – the biggest problem being the one that we come across so often when reading other peoples scripts. It’s over […]
We just heard the terrible news that American writer, teacher and guru Blake Snyder died yesterday. He was 53 and suffered a cardiac arrest. Blake’s best selling writers book, ‘Save The Cat’, was an instant classic, and his enthusiasm for great stories well told resonated through those pages, and bounced off the walls whenever you […]
Tonight I am hoping that I will get hold of the very first draft of a screenplay for a feature film we will be shooing in February, which for now we are calling Project Nightwatcher (the name will almost certainly change). The idea is simple. It’s micro budget, using what we have to hand (namely […]
I spent most of yesterday planning the 1 day course that the £100 ‘Gone Fishing’ contributors will receive, some time in January 2008. I have also been cutting a trailer which I plan to put up on the site in the next few days. I have decided to make the course a kind of chronology […]
Last night we held out first test screening for ‘Gone Fishing’. Blimey. What an evening. We had about ten people round and we watched it on my big video projector. This was an offline cut, with temp music and sound. After the film played, I asked a number of questions and we entered a three […]
I am suffering right now (well actually last night to be specific, but past it this morning) from one of the symptoms I discuss on my two day film makers course. It’s a common problem and it can be quite crippling. When you set out on any creative venture and think up some kind of […]
Something I have been very fortunate to have in my life is a group of experienced and passionate film maker friends. I cannot stress how vital this is both to the execution of my own personal ambitions as a film maker, but also on a nitty gritty story development level. I just had a short […]
As we hit the tarmac running today – Monday – just a recap on where we stand money wise. Over the weekend we received a further £500 in donations. So thank you to Paul Nugent, Huw Jenkins, Hazeley Wilson, Jurgen Wolf, Rod Duncan, John Basham, Steve Payne and Simon Reglar. Splendid. We are in the […]
I am working on the screenplay for Rocketboy today, and going over my notes from the reading last weekend. Two further things have since struck me. I can’t express just how valuable it was to hear my dialogue read out loud. It really does take on a new life – on the page and in […]
I got my first set of notes on the screenplay for Rocketboy, from Marc Samuelson today. I suspect this is an amalgamation of thoughts from himself, associate producer Jessica Parker and a number of readers. It’s five pages in length and very detailed. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the incisive, detailed and empathetic content of […]
