(Originally posted on the Create50 Twisted blog on 2nd February, 2017)

The Create50 initiative has been a boon for me. I didn’t think I could write a short screenplay, but through the process of the Impact50 I learned to. Same with short stories. It wasn’t a medium I had turned my hand to and initially I wasn’t tempted to have a go at Twisted50, even though I’ve always loved horror stories and my first screenwriting success was with a ghost story.

Then Merlin Ward asked me to head on over to the Twisted50 site and read his chilling tale, “The House On Axe Edge Moor”. It had all the elements of a good haunting: a remote location, a lonely child, a cruel institution. That was it: I was hooked – at least from a reading perspective.

The variety and imagination I have found in the stories is impressive by any standard. They more than live up to the brief to be twisted. As with the Impact50 project, the value of the feedback process is evident. There is a wonderful community vibe. Stories improve markedly between one draft and the next.

Finally I took the plunge myself and had fun experimenting with a couple of stories of my own. The first, “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”, is really a children’s ghost story, not nearly twisted enough for Twisted50, if truth be told. The second, “Victim”, is more aligned to what the competition organisers were looking for and has been selected as a bonus track on the recorded version of Twisted50’s Evil Little Sister.

At first it was odd, switching from screenwriting to prose. Screenwriting is a very economical form of writing, focusing on what’s seen and heard, with very little room for description. Prose is a much freer form of expression and may include more lavish detailing of the setting and a character’s interior life, even if there's a word-count limit to respect.

I’m really glad I participated. Experimenting with a new writing form has helped me to become more versatile and skilled as a writer. In both forms it’s important to craft the reader’s emotional experience, rely on subtext, choose your words carefully and avoid overwriting. As an exercise, I rewrote one of my Twisted50 stories as a screenplay, and I found that, although the finished product was very different, it was one of the fastest screenplays I have ever written because the character-work was done and the story beats were in place. So writing in one form has reinforced my ability in the other form.

Having one of my stories chosen as a bonus track for Twisted50’s Little Sister Audiobook is the proverbial icing on the cake – a suitably twisted cake of course; Miss Haversham-style, with rats poking out of it. The recordings are very high quality. The actors do a terrific job reading the stories and the use of music increases the sense of foreboding.

​Listen to an excerpt here.

The Create50 team is still accepting entries for the next volume of Twisted50. So why not have a go? Whether you are predominantly a prose writer or a screenwriter, it will help your writing and you never know what it may lead to. Merlin Ward is just now putting the finishing touches to a full-length novel version of his story, “The House On Axe Edge Moor”. There’s no reason why you couldn’t tap into a new vein of inspiration too.

(Originally appeared on Bang2Write website on 20th January, 2017)

Whether you’re pitching in London or Hollywood, it’s all about getting a great story across in a way that engages and captivates the person you’re in the room with.

Still, there are a few cultural differences between the two that it’s worth knowing about. Here’s what I learnt …

1) Agent Representation is a whole different ballgame

Here in the UK, if we’re lucky, we have an agent and they’re a tremendous support to us on the business side. They may help us develop a strategy for our writing career, read and give notes on our work, send our work out and maybe get us some meetings, put us forward for commissions, negotiate deals, handle the contract and chase the money.  For this they charge us 10-15% of our earnings plus VAT.

In Hollywood, this work is divided up between three different specialists: the manager; the agent and the lawyer. They charge 10%, 10% and 5% respectively, and yes, you do need one of each. Begin with a manager. They take the time to nurture and bring on new writers. Only when you’re ready to do your first deal will you get an agent (by law only agents can make deals) and that’s also when you’ll bring a lawyer on board.

Here’s the really big difference: in London they say take your time, because choosing your agent is like choosing your spouse – this may be a career-long partnership. In Hollywood, the situation is more fluid. You may get dropped if you don’t bring in enough commission, or you might be the one to switch if your team isn’t helping you win enough work. 

MORE:  5 Things Agents Do
 
2) Don’t drift off and get lost in the weeds when you pitch
Hollywood pitches are really short. They basically consist of the logline + “what this film is” + the unique selling proposition(s).

By “what this film is”, producers mean the concept. It’s the concept that sells the film to investors. Producers get on the phone to potential investors and say, “I’ve got this great movie. It’s this [your concept].” 

You’ll know when you’ve got a good one because they’ll say, “Yeah, I can sell that.” 6-10 words is ideal. Legend has it that ‘Alien’ was sold with just these words: “It’s ‘Jaws’ in space.”

The unique selling proposition is the hook for the audience. Try to describe your film in 15 words or less – not the story, more what it’s about. If you were selling, “Hidden Figures,” you might say, “It’s about three black women working at N.A.S.A. during the space race.” Now that sounds absolutely fascinating, doesn’t it?

In addition to this short pitch, you may be asked to go into more detail about the turning points in the story, because that’s where the emotion spikes, or perhaps the characters, especially if you discuss casting, but more of that anon …

3) Know your strengths and hone in on 1 genre – to begin with

On our small island, to make a decent living, a writer needs to be versatile across a range of formats and even genres. Not so much in Hollywood. Managers and Agents will want you to focus on one genre – at least to begin with. This is because their job is based on networking and there are so many people they have to get to know and market you to in any given genre. You make their life difficult if you genre-hop, as they have to start all over again building up your reputation with the folk who deal with that different genre, and that makes it harder for you to get traction.

If you don’t already know, figure out what your genre is. It’s OK to have one of your scripts be outside of that genre, as long as you can connect it to the rest of your body of work by theme – but only one.

​MORE: 14 Things I Learned Pitching In Hollywood
 
4) Producers want to work with writers who are competent and confident

Any meeting is as much about you as a person as your work. Before I went to Hollywood the first time, I was lucky enough to be mentored by Julian Fellowes. One of the best pieces of advice he gave me was, “don’t do the British self-deprecation thing”.

He told me about an experience he had when he was up for an acting job in Hollywood that he really wanted and that he was eminently suitable for. They asked him if he was good at a certain thing, which of course he was, and he answered, “Well, I’m quite good at it”. That “quite” killed his chances dead.

Use positive statements to describe your skills. Banish “quite”, “a bit” and “a little” as qualifiers. But don’t be too cocky!

 5) Set aside some dreaming time to work out your dream cast and crew

​The rule of thumb in the UK is: don’t mention the actors you’d like to bring your work to life, unless you’re specifically asked to give suggestions. Casting is the director’s prerogative, so you may never be asked.

In Hollywood, you absolutely have to be prepared to discuss casting and potential directors. You’ll find that it’s one of the most fun parts of the meeting when whomever you’re talking to gets all excited and says, “this would be perfect for [insert big-name director or actor]!”

Make sure you’ve thought about your cast and crew, and have something interesting and relevant to say to back up your suggestions.
​
Ready to take Hollywood by storm? The best of British luck to you!

Tim Bevan is a rock star of the British film industry, responsible for some of the greatest films of the past 30 years. Charles Harris and the Euroscript Team hosted him in the BFI’s Blue Room on Wednesday last, and I was privileged to be in amongst the jam-packed audience. Tim was forthright and generous with his answers, launching into asides and entertaining anecdotes. We were hanging on his every word…
 
Everybody begins in obscurity
 
Tim started as a runner for John Cleese’s corporate video production company, which made training videos. From there he went into music video production, which really took off in the early 1980s with the rise of MTV.
 
The Early Days of Working Title
 
In 1983 Tim founded Working Title (WT) with Sarah Radclyffe. In this early phase the company was what Tim calls “properly independent”. It benefited from the confluence of several external factors:

• energy injected into the entertainment industry by music videos
• founding of Channel 4, which had money to invest in content
• Thatcher smashing the unions, filmmaking having been heavily unionised

 
In this brave new Britain, Tim approached established directors to make music videos. The results weren’t all that great, but he built a network of relationships. One director he got to know this way was Stephen Frears.
 
Then Channel 4 approached all the resident writers at theatres in the UK and asked them to write a script. Hanif Kureishi, writer in residence at the Royal Court Theatre, submitted “My Beautiful Launderette”, a tale of an inter-racial homosexual relationship set in a launderette.
 
Nobody had ever seen anything like it before. Kureishi’s script, Frears’ directing and a star turn from Daniel Day-Lewis delivered WT’s first major hit. Originally intended as a TV movie, it enjoyed a six-month run in UK cinemas and was Oscar-nominated for best original screenplay.
 
Lessons Learned from Stephen Frears
 
Stephen Frears insists on the writer being on set and being available to him. He sees himself as the interpreter of a script. After working with Stephen, WT began to accord more importance to the script and to make it central to everything they do. Tim learned that the films that work best are where there’s a strong collaboration between the writer, the director and the producer.
 
Meeting Richard Curtis
 
After the success of “My Beautiful Launderette”, one of the next seminal moments in the development of WT came when they decided to make a feature film written by TV comedy writer Richard Curtis. Financed through London Weekend with the help of Harvey Weinstein, for whom this was the first foray into the British market, “The Tall Guy” starred Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson, and despite a memorable apartment-smashing sex scene, didn’t do great business at the box office.
 
One day, long after everyone had given up on the film making any money, a royalty cheque arrived. Tim could have used some creative accounting and found a way to keep all of that money in-house, but he decided to be honest and sent Richard his share. Richard was so pleased to receive the money, he called up and offered Tim his next script: “Four Weddings And A Funeral”. Since then they’ve gone on to make several successful films together.
 
The Polygram Deal
 
By the early 1990s, Tim and Sarah’s vision for the company had diverged. Tim was more commercial, while Sarah was more indie arthouse. Then in 1992 WT came to an agreement with Polygram, intended to free them from financing and distribution, so that they could focus on with the business of making films. Sarah left and Tim struck up a new partnership with Eric Fellner.
 
The company had always been comfortable coming and going between London and L.A., but now they decided to be properly ambidextrous and set up development teams in both markets. There’s no getting away from it. Hollywood is the centre of the film industry. If you’re financing a film, at some point that money is going to go through Hollywood. Same thing if you’re distributing a film; at some point Hollywood is going to be involved. The difference between the two markets from WT’s perspective is that in London they have to be more proactive in finding material, while in L.A. they are in reactive mode because there is just so much of it.
 
Working Title’s Development Process
 
A project will either be assigned to Tim or to Eric. They will of course be aware of what the other is working on, but this allows them to cover more ground and avoid ‘divide and rule’ stratagems by other parties. Each project will also have one of the heads of development on it, Liza Chasin in L.A. or Amelia Granger in London, plus a junior development person.
 
They source their material from three areas:

• Books and articles (e.g. “Bridget Jones’ Diary”, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”)
• Ideas that arise from talk and banter amongst themselves (e.g. “Elizabeth”, “French Kiss”, “The Interpreter”)
• Pre-existing creative relationships

 
If something needs to be written, they will put together a list of writers. Given their firm belief that it is important to champion new writing, this list will include one or two new writers as well as more established writers. The brief will be sent out to five writers and WT will meet with the ones who respond. Writers who are bold and have a take on the material are the ones that get hired.
 
Part of the selected writer’s job will be to write a two-page beat-sheet, which may go through several iterations. Only when this is right will the writer move on to do the script. The beat-sheet will tell them what the story feels like, where the act breaks will come, and so on – it’s essentially about story structure and emotions. They may even card the movie on the wall so that they can see its shape.
 
Once this work is complete, the writer will do the first draft of the script. This is where the character work is done. The writer creates characters the audience can empathise with and who can carry the story.
 
Tips for Writers Who Want To Work With Working Title

• If you want to get onto WT’s roster of writers, make sure the junior members of the company know you. Theatre is very important – junior staff members will go out to see plays two or three times a week. TV is also important. Nevertheless, the company will take on a new writer via other routes if they have a truly outstanding idea.
• Another way in is through their Writers’ Room initiatives. They did one for the last Bridget Jones movie and they intend to run another one for the next Johnny English movie. The idea is that writers spark off one another and come up with fresh and funny situations to feature in the final script.
• As with any production house, it is essential to be aware of what WT likes. Tim has a preference for clear genres. “So many things today are feathered fish,” he says, by which he means cross-genre.
• Also bear in mind WT is commercial. It’s not all about the deal, but they are in this business to make a return so that they can carry on and make the next film. A WT film has to have a compelling hook and a star part. Tim gave the example of “Legend”. When Tom Hardy told him and writer/director Brian Helgeland that he wanted to play both of the Kray twins, Tim immediately knew he had his hook – that’s the reason people will pay £10 to see this movie.
• These days releasing a trailer is almost as big as releasing the film itself, so think about those trailer moments and be clear what they are when you’re talking about your script.
• One of the most valuable things a writer can do is to spend room in the editing suite. A movie is made three times: once when it’s being written; again when it’s being shot and the final time when it’s being cut. In the editing suite, the script doesn’t matter any more – image is paramount. You have actors who can cover five pages of dialogue with just one look.
• When you’ve got momentum on a project, don’t stop. Maybe it’s only 70% ready, but keep going, because you can catch up on the other 30% as you go. If you stop, you may never be given the chance to make the project again.
• Final tip: CONFIDENCE. Nobody knows anything. Nobody can really tell what will work and what won’t, but they may just give you the money if you’re confident. 

Sharpen your writing skills by attending London Screenwriters' Festival, September 2-4, 2016.
Apply discount code KTPARKER-16X to receive a £23 reduction on your ticket!

BFF Symposium, YouTube Space LA.

On Thursday, February 25th last, I was privileged to attend a screening of “Jack Of The Red Hearts” in the company of filmmaker Janet Grillo, screenwriter Jennifer Deaton, producer Lucy Mukerjee-Brown, leading lady Famke Janssen and special guests Geena Davis (founder of the Geena Davis Institute and the Bentonville Film Festival), Oscar-nominated screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, A+E Networks SVP Danielle Carrig and “The Wrap” Founder/CEO Sharon Waxman. These wonderful women all participated in the post-screening panel.
 
“Jack Of The Red Hearts” is a film about what it is like to live with an autistic child. There were several things I LOVED about this movie – above all, the authenticity. It was clear the screenwriter and director had either had first-hand experience of autism, or else had done their research. The writing was great. There was not one dull or cliché character. Even the supporting male characters were complex and memorable. How I wish supporting female characters were written with the same generosity in male-centric stories.  The colour palette Janet Grillo chose for the film was so bright and sunny, it brought a cheerfulness to a topic usually treated in a sombre way, and that served to place the emphasis on all the love inherent in the story.
 
Speaking about the strength of the mother-daughter bond depicted in her film, Janet Grillo said: “On an airplane we are told in the security drill to put masks on our own face first and then on our children, but no mother would ever do that. For me, the mother was my way into the story of “Jack Of The Red Hearts”. It was originally a secondary role, but we beefed it up.”
 
The film won last year’s inaugural Bentonville Film Festival (BFF), founded by the Geena Davis Institute, to promote greater diversity in filmmaking. One of the exciting aspects of this new festival is that it guarantees distribution for the winning film. Janet Grillo joked that getting distribution is even harder than making a film, so BFF’s focus on that aspect of the process is particularly welcome in the filmmaking community.
 
Geena Davis set up her institute years before the #OscarsSoWhite debacle; a decade ago, in fact. During the panel discussion she recounted how motherhood made her more sensitive to the both the lack and the type of female representation on screen. Wanting something better for her children, she decided to do something about it. The Geena Davis Institute lobbies the studios to reflect the population in their films and proactively supports diverse talent in the indie sector through such initiatives as the BFF.
 
Every woman on the panel had something fascinating to share, which gave me new insights into the film industry and left me inspired. Here are some of my personal highlights:
 
Geena Davis: Why haven’t there been more movies like “Thelma & Louise”? Because Hollywood does not believe men will watch women. Every time a landmark female-centric film comes along, the press showcases it as the harbinger of change. But then things stay the same. Despite all the evidence that women buy 51% of tickets and make up 51% of the audience, Hollywood still caters almost exclusively to a male audience.
 
Janet Grillo: The Hollywood business model is predicated on an audience of teenage boys, but teenage boys are fleeing the cinema for gaming. Hollywood does not have much product for women!
 
Catherine Hardwicke: I am interviewed on the topic of diversity in filmmaking every other day by journalists from all over the world. Nobody wanted to make my first film, “Thirteen”, so I just had to will it into existence.
 
Jennifer Deaton: I was told by a male producer that my writing wasn’t any good. I believed him and shelved my work. It took time to develop self-belief. As a writer you have to learn to discern good notes from bad.
 
Phyllis Nagy: While it is difficult to make your first film, it is often even harder to get the second one made. It’s taken ten years and an Oscar nomination for me to get to make my second film. “Whirlpool” is the story of the last 18 months of Welsh actor Rachel Robert’s life, leading up to her suicide in 1980. Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz will play the lead, but all I am ever asked about is who will play the male roles. There is a perception amongst investors that female actors don’t drive sales.
 
Famke Janssen: Awards come at the end. We need to fix things earlier on in the process. The ultimate goal is to be able to say we are a writer / director / producer without having to say “female” in front of it. Part of the problem is the lack of role models. We should be role models ourselves and support and inspire one another.
 
A big thank you to all the inspirational women who took part in the panel, and who continue to lead by example, and especially to screenwriting buddy Dee Chilton, who forwarded me her invite. In the UK, London Screenwriters' Festival does a phenominal job of promoting diversity in filmmaking, particularly at the script stage. It's a global event, attracting screenwriters, directors, producers and actors from all over the world. This year's festival runs from September 2nd through to September 4th. You can obtain a £23 reduction on the ticket price by quoting discount code: KTPARKER-16X

(Originally appeared on London Screenwriters' Festival website on 5th February, 2016) 

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X

Part II - Advice on Filmmaking

While chatting to Writer/Director Oliver Parker about his new film, “Dad’s Army”, I was able to put some of your questions to him.

KT – As a filmmaker, does your approach to an adaptation differ from an original script?

OP – It depends at what point I become involved in the process. If I’m involved in the writing, then yes, it’s different. There are some very famous films that most people don’t realise are adaptations, like “Bladerunner”, for instance. I’m currently adapting “Pure”, which sold well in book form a couple of years ago, but is not particularly well-known in the film world. That’s so liberating! The trick is to take the story far enough away from the source material so that it feels like it’s a film in its own right, but remain close enough to what inspires you in the original. You peel away the layers until you find your story.

KT – What would you say are the advantages of an adaptation over an original story?

OP – The obvious advantage is adaptations are easier to get made, because of an existing relationship with an audience. The disadvantage is that you can feel as if your hands are tied. That’s certainly how I felt working on “Dad’s Army” at times. The Daily Mail were there every day! I’m rather bemused by the mixed critical response. My aim was to make a film that entertains people. I hope the film can make it through the filter of criticism and find its audience.

KT – What percentage of scripts do you read from spec writers, if at all?

OP – I do read spec scripts from unknown writers, if the idea interests me, but only those that come via my agent. The percentage varies. If something that comes across my bows appears stronger than what I’ve got on my production slate, then of course I’ll read it.

Actually I read a lot. What’s more, once I start to read, I very rarely abandon a script. I’m currently working on a rough script with a great central idea. As a director, I would rather have an unready script than something that is so polished I can’t bring anything to it.

KT – What would inspire you enough to take on a script from a new comedy writer?

OP – In a way, one can’t prescribe it. Comedy is so tough to get right. When I make a comedy, I know I’m walking into a ring of fire, but I’m a masochist – I enjoy the challenge. It would have to be something fresh and funny that I haven’t seen before. You wouldn’t believe how many me-too “Best Exotic” clones I was sent after the success of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (coincidentally written by a different Oliver Parker, who goes by ‘Ol’). I don’t want to direct another “Best Exotic”. It’s already been done.

KT – Making a film is a very absorbing enterprise. How long do you take between projects?

OP – I like to jump from one project to another with a short break of 2-3 weeks in between, but sometimes things don’t work out that way and there may be 2-3 years between projects! The lack of mid-budget films in this country has a lot to do with me taking a “gap” year every now and again. Of course, I will still be working during any break, since I have my own production company with a slate of film projects.
KT – How do you know when you’re ready to direct your first feature film?
OP – My first film was “Othello” and in many ways, I wasn’t ready. I was an actor who had done a few filmmaking courses and made three shorts. What sealed it for me was the fact that I had written the script and I knew it back-to-front. There comes a time when you feel you are the best-placed person to direct the script. I would say that it’s when you feel you have enough general technical knowledge and a strong vision of the film you want to make. It’s a marriage of self-belief and technical expertise. It takes confidence.

These days there are so many shades of first movies. There’s nothing stopping anybody going out and making a film. So why not make one? No class comes close to teaching you what you’ll learn when you make a film of your own. My advice to you is to try new things out all the time.

KT – Would you consider talking at London Screenwriters’ Festival? Maybe about British comedy films and the challenges in a market full of US rom-coms and lad films?

OP – Yes, if I am free!

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X
​

(Originally appeared on London Screenwriters' Festival website on 3rd February, 2016) 

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X

PART I – Adapting A Much-loved Classic

Writer/Director Oliver Parker is an adaptable adapter, having helmed adaptations ranging from Shakespeare (“Othello”), through Oscar Wilde (“An Ideal Husband”, “The Importance Of Being Earnest”, “Dorian Gray”), to the updated St. Trinian’s franchise. I recently caught up with him to chat about his eleventh film, “Dad’s Army”, which is set for UK-release on February 5th.

KT – Last time we spoke you were working on an original screenplay about the Dunkirk evacuation during World War 2… Now here we are, in World War 2, but with the adaptation of one of Britain’s favourite sitcoms, “Dad’s Army”. What happened?

OP – My Dunkirk evacuation movie has been several years in development. I’ve been working on it with terrific writers and Working Title. The original plan was to make it before “Dad’s Army”, but shooting anything that floats is expensive and as “Dad’s Army” only cost a quarter as much, everything fell into place for that one more quickly.

Christopher Nolan has possibly now blown my Dunkirk evacuation movie out of the water, but that’s the way things go in this business. His is a thriller, whereas mine is more of a drama and there is such a wealth of story there, it may resurface in another form – a high-end TV series, perhaps.

KT – When you were first approached to adapt this iconic British TV programme, what was your initial gut reaction?

OP – That it was a bad idea! Of course I was immediately curious when I received Damian Jones’ email via my agent, but I didn’t think it was possible to adapt such a classic. Then I saw it was written by Hamish McColl, who wrote the script of my film “Johnny English Reborn”, and I knew I would have to read it out of politeness.

I expected to give it a pass, but it was brilliant. Hamish had channelled the voices of the original characters and brought them back to life in a new story with cinematic scale. What’s more, he had extended the characters and set the film at a moment in history that gave the story a note of authenticity.

Later I discovered that Hamish had had the same initial reluctance as I experienced, but had been won over by producer Damian Jones, who has a real talent for spotting good concepts. To adapt something like “Dad’s Army” requires a deep commitment and a lack of cynicism. I’m a harsh critic of my own work and I’m moved by it.

KT – As far as you know, what part did ‘theme’ play in the writing? How did theme impact characterisation, or did an inherited characterisation dictate the theme of your film?

OP – I worked closely with Hamish on the final re-writes. I would say we took the essence of the TV Series, rather than any particular theme. The question always is, “Why make this film?” And the answer has to be, “Because it has something to say.” I find it enormously touching that all these characters, despite being bumbling incompetents, would do their bit for their country, given the right situation. The platoon is a community. Its members rely on one another and everybody mucks in. That’s what lies at the heart of this story – a sense of community – a notion we’re becoming increasingly remote from in modern society.
The film has to stand on its own, of course, and Hamish made some bold choices that make the story cinema-worthy. There’s no evolution of characters in a sitcom. Film is different. Every character has an arc. For example, Captain Mainwaring gets the sack, is desolate, but fights back and redeems himself.

Another clever choice Hamish made was to bring forward the women. Personally, I always found it funny that we never saw Mainwaring’s wife in the TV Series, but by having her in the film provides additional dramatic possibilities. The BBC was of course constrained by a low-budget set. Adding the women makes it all so much more three-dimensional.

Operation Bodyguard, where decoy invasion bases were set up with tanks made out of chip-board, really happened. This piece of history was the perfect situation for our characters. It gives them a mission to accomplish in their own charming, catastrophic way. We also made the Germans much darker and more serious than in the television series, to up the jeopardy.

KT – When casting, was it considered a priority to get the look of the original cast to satisfy die-hard fans, or was casting for the characters themselves the priority?

OP – Character trumped physical resemblance in the casting. I wanted the actors to act, not do impersonations, but as it turned out some actors began to resemble their television counterparts once they donned the uniform.

Toby Jones was my only choice for Captain Mainwaring. I didn’t want to make the film without him. He is so adept at nuanced, character-based performances. Fortunately he’s a friend of longstanding, so I was able to convince him to overcome his initial reticence about the project.

Then I had to think about the rest of the platoon. I asked myself who this generation’s equivalent of Sergeant Wilson is, and Bill Nighy immediately sprang to mind. I also wanted to cast somebody age-appropriate for Private Jones, rather than replicate Clive Dunn’s vaudeville approach of a younger man playing decades older, and was fortunate to attract Tom Courtenay.

Arnold Ridley’s character, Private Godfrey – one of my personal favourites in the ensemble – was perhaps the hardest one to cast, as Arnold was the real deal – he had been a conscientious objector in the First World War and still carried shrapnel wounds from the second. Michael Gambon has done a terrific job taking that role on – far surpassing my expectations. I think audiences will warm to him and be pleasantly surprised.

As well as acting royalty, there are cracking new actors in the cast, like Blake Harrison, who plays Private Pike. In general I wanted to avoid big broad comedy casting. I wanted amazing actors who could bring out the pathos of the piece. People tend to think the TV series was stuffed full of jokes, but when you analyse it, there were very few. Most of the humour came from the characters and the satire.

KT – What sort of response to the film are you expecting in international markets?

OP – It’s hard to predict. There are some territories that have a natural connection to the material because they will have seen the TV series – the Antipodes and Benelux for example. Previous attempts to hook American audiences have failed because they just don’t get the set-up. Besides, during the original run of the TV series they had their own Sergeant Bilko.
​
Everyone is looking at how well it does at the UK box office. It has a fabulous cast, which will hopefully be a draw. Dumbledore is in it! What more could you ask? There are shades of nostalgia à la “Downton Abbey”, but the humour is particularly British. Captain Mainwaring is a character in the mould of Basil Fawlty and Blackadder – men who push themselves into positions and situations far above their abilities, creating a lot of humour along the way.

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X

(Originally appeared on London Screenwriters' Festival website on 31st January, 2016) 

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X

The story of how an English playwright with only a couple of screenwriting credits to his name found himself standing in line in a waffle shop chatting to a DreamWorks exec about his idea for the then unwritten and even untitled “Bridge Of Spies” is the stuff of legend. Now he’s BAFTA and Oscar-nominated, alongside the Coen Brothers, whom Steven Spielberg brought in to polish Tom Hanks’ dialogue.
 
Wow! Let the names in that last sentence just sink in a moment…
 
When I found out Matt was doing a chat session on Quora a couple of days ago, I had to sign up for it. Here, just for you, are the highlights.
 
On working with Steven Spielberg…
 
Sitting opposite Steven Spielberg, while he turns the pages of your script and talks about each scene as he goes, is about the best film school you can get. I learnt so much that it's hard to boil it down, but here's one thing: he wanted me to embrace complexity and the grey areas in characters.
 
That is a gift of a note to a writer, because it means that you can create roles that actors will truly want to inhabit, roles that have both good and bad qualities to them. And audiences love to be compelled by watching those kind of characters too. Steven pushed me to do that, the total opposite of streamlining and dumbing down.
 
On his screenwriting heroes…
 
It's hard for this not to turn into a list but I love Paddy Chayefsky in a completely different way to how I love the remarkable Melissa Matheson. The films NETWORK and E.T. show the complete range of what cinema can be. I would love to write a movie that stood the test of time like those two screenplays have and surely always will.
 
The screenwriters who inspire me now? The Coens, working with them was a dream come true. Aaron Sorkin, Lena Dunham, Tina Fey, damn you see...? It's become a list!
 
On his writing routine…
 
I write on two projects at a time. I don't know why, I just like to grow two things at once and that way ideas can sometimes cross-fertilise each other.
 
After I give my kids breakfast, I walk to my office and work for four hours on a project. I have lunch and then switch projects and work for another four hours. I do some emailing and then make sure I'm back home for the kids' bath time.
 
A routine is a great way of giving you the discipline you need when times are tough and you feel like you can't string a sentence of dialogue together to save your life!
 
On how he learned screenwriting…
 
I'm a self-taught screenwriter and so I know it can be a long, tough road and a solitary one too, but seeing something you've written being fully realized on screen makes the dark times worth it.
 
I used to sneak into the second acts of West End plays while I was at university in London. I couldn't afford to buy tickets so after the interval, I would slip in behind people who had been outside having a cigarette, wait for the lights to go down and find an empty seat.
 
That's really bad of me (and I should probably advise you not to do it!) but it was an amazing education because only seeing the second acts made me spend the whole night making up what the first act might have been in my head. I didn't know it at the time, but I was learning the art of structuring stories and what you do and don't need to know.
 
On advice for aspiring screenwriters…
 
There's no way to get better at it other than doing it. Ask any screen writer and they will have a hard drive or a stack of notebooks filled with first drafts of plays, movies or pilots that they wrote years ago and will never get made. You need to accrue those flying hours before someone lets you get behind the wheel of a jumbo jet. (I'm aware they don't have steering wheels but you know what I mean…)
 
If you hear a good line of dialogue on the bus or tube, write it down. If you have a good character name in your head, write it down. A good opening image? Write it down. Most writers are like hoarders who find little pieces of 'treasure' and hide them away in a safe place to use later.
 
In your scenes, be where the hottest point of the drama is and make sure the scene you're writing is where the audience wants to be. Don't be in the room next to the action, but with the action itself. That doesn't mean the most dramatic place isn't quiet and still, it just means what we're hearing and seeing is the most thrilling part of the story at that exact moment.
 
If you’re having trouble working out exactly what your story is, tell it to a friend. Then forget about it and a week later, tell another friend. Then wait a week and tell another friend. The tale you're telling will start to find a rhythm the more you tell it, and the bits that don't fit will naturally drop out. You'd be amazed how much you can hone a story this way.
 
I personally found that theatre provided a fantastic foundation in learning how to build character. There is nowhere to hide on stage, you can't cut away or use editing or sound to help you. Stage hones your ability to write for an audience and hear, night after night, which moments land and which don't. That was a great experience for me starting out and taught me to recognise the good bits of writing from the not-so-good.
 
The moral of the story?
 
Have your elevator speech ready. You never know whom you’re going to be standing next to in line for coffee… Dream big!

For £23 off your ticket to LSF 2016, use discount code KTPARKER-16X

(Originally appeared on the Euroscript Blog 25 January 2016)

​Are you undecided about entering Euroscript’s Screenwriting Competition?
Don’t overthink it. Just do it.
 
To my mind it is one of the best British screenwriting competitions, and unique in that it focuses on treatments. True, you must submit ten pages of a script – but not necessarily the script of the story you tell in your treatment. The focus of this competition is very much on story, and on you as a storyteller.
 
Here’s why I recommend you enter this competition.
 
1. Test the viability of a story idea
 
Factoring in several re-writes, a feature film script is going to take at least 6 months of your life to get right – usually much longer. If you’re going to invest all that time, you want to be sure you have a strong premise and enough story to underpin a viable, compelling script.
 
I use this competition to road test ideas. I have entered it four times, and placed twice. “Dowl’s Mill” came third in 2013 and “A Face To Paint” came second in 2015. Both of the scripts that grew out of those top-three treatments then went on to win awards.
 
The other two treatments that didn’t place still need re-thinking to turn them into stories that work as feature films. Fortunately, because of N°2 below, I’ve got an ace up my sleeve that will help me to re-shape and improve them…
 
2. Receive valuable feedback
 
Writing is about communicating to an audience, but when we are creating our stories, we are sometimes so immersed in them that we are blinded by their minutiae. It’s the proverbial “can’t see the woods for the trees” syndrome. Getting feedback gives us a sense of how well we are doing in conveying our intentions.
 
The beauty of the Euroscript Screenwriting competition is that every entry receives a structured, bullet-point feedback report. This includes an estimation of the budget (high, medium, low); a brief synopsis of the story; a list of positive points; suggestions for improvement and general advice for the writer.
 
I’ve found the synopsis very useful, as it helps me to verify that the reader understood the story as I thought I’d written it. Also, the reader’s synopsis often contains a turn of phrase that helps me improve my logline or one-page synopsis.
 
Outlining the positive points of the treatment is helpful because it tells a writer what doesn’t need changing - what to hold on to and build on. The suggested changes can be taken at face value, or, as happened with one of my stories, can prompt a re-think to help come up with an alternative that is even better.
 
Ultimately, it is your story and so it is up to you to learn to filter out any notes that will harm rather than enhance it. That said, given the high professional standard of Euroscript’s notes, you will probably want to take each and every one on board.
 
3. Exposure to film executives
 
It is notoriously difficult to break into screenwriting. You not only compete with established writers, but also with the tens of thousands of wannabes who take to their computers each year. Winning a major screenwriting competition is one of the best ways to get noticed. It's a validation: this person can write!
 
Euroscript list the twelve finalists of their competition on their blog and then announce the winners live at a “meet the producers” event held at the BFI in London. Here’s the thing: if you place in the competition you stand out amongst all the other writers clamouring for the producers’ attention on the night.
 
Robyn Slovo (producer of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, “Two Faces Of January” and Thomas Alfredson’s new film “The Snowman”) gave me a recommendation of a producer to send my script to, while Judith King, Head of Development at Red Planet Pictures, requested to read my script as a sample. An extraordinary result for an unrepped writer like myself!
 
This year, it could be your turn. So what are you waiting for? The competition is open for entries until March 31st.

(Originally appeared on Bang2Write website 24 January, 2016)

Screenwriting Competitions can be an excellent way to ignite your screenwriting career. Benefits may include:
 

• Circulation of your script to producers/agents, garnering industry attention
• Networking opportunities with industry professionals
• Script analysis with an overview of the strengths and weakness of your script
• Marketing soundbites to include in cover letters or on your website
• Strengthen your writers’ CV
• Boost you confidence in your abilities as a writer
• The motivation of a deadline
• $$££€€ cash prizes

 
BUT… there are now so many screenwriting competitions, preparing submissions is time-consuming and can set you back quite a bit of $$££€€. So what’s a writer to do?
 
Have a competition STRATEGY covering the following four elements:
 
1. Selection
 
Anecdotal evidence suggests industry executives only take notice of the really big competitions, but these typically receive upward of 7,000 entries so odds of success are extremely low. Vince Gilligan of “Breaking Bad” fame got his break from entering a small, local contest, because one of the judges was so impressed he took him under his wing.
 
Moviebytes is a useful site for information on the various screenwriting competitions, but it is very US-centric. Use your favourite search engine to find out about more local screenwriting competitions. Then draw up a list of those you may be interested in entering this year.
 
This is likely to be a very long list! Narrow it down by working out what it is you want to achieve, from the list of possible benefits above.

• Looking for networking opportunities? Select a competition attached to a festival, or with a swanky awards ceremony.
• Looking for feedback? Select a competition that incorporates a free or paid script analysis service.
• Looking for $$££€€? Select a competition that gives cash prizes.

 
You get the picture…  Some of the competitions I personally recommend include:
 
UK-centric
BBC Writers’ Room submission window
BAFTA-Rocliffe Forum submission windows
Euroscript Screen Story Competition (for Treatments)
Shore Scripts Screenwriting Competition
Screenwriting Goldmine Awards
 
US-Centric
Nicholl Fellowship
Page International Screenwriting Awards
Final Draft “Big Break” Contest
Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition
Blue Cat Screenplay Competition
 
Note: all of the above competitions are open to international submissions, as long as they are in English. Also consider competitions related to Film Festivals, especially Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Austin and Nashville, and genre-specific competitions, such as the various Screencraft contests.
 
A new competition I like the look of is Jameson First Shot. It gives you the opportunity to make a short film with Kevin Spacey’s Trigger Street Productions, starring an A-list actor. Last year it was Adrien Brody. This year it will be Maggie Gyllenhaal.
 
2. Budget
 
Few competitions are free. Those that are typically have a nationality or residency requirement, often because there is some form of subsidy from taxpayers’ money. The BBC Writers’ Room submission windows are an example of this.
 
Other competitions have a sliding scale of fees, with the amount you pay increasing as you get closer to the deadline. These fees can quickly add up to a substantial sum, especially if you submit several screenplays in the ‘late’ window.
 
Decide how much you can set aside to spend on screenwriting competitions this year. Depending on how much you have to spend, you may have to prioritise which ones you enter, which will further shorten your list.
 
3. Calendar
 
Screenwriting competitions take place throughout the year. The ones you select will depend on whether you have polished material ready to submit or not. Ask yourself, “Will I be able to complete my screenplay and put it through a rigorous review and re-drafting process in time for the deadline?”
 
Set yourself stretch goals, but be realistic.
 
4. Preparation
 
By now, you should have a shorter list of competitions to submit to. It’s time to put your best foot forward.
 
- Polish your script
Don’t fall at the first hurdle by presenting a script that is full of typos and in non-standard format. You may think you’re too much of a storytelling genius to bother with such niceties, but the readers you have to get past certainly won’t. Preferably you will have gone through several drafts and even employed the services of a script reader such as Lucy V. Hay herself (whom I wholly endorse and recommend!)
 
- Check the rules
Don’t let your entry be disqualified on a technicality. Competitions vary as to whether cover pages should include personal details or not and the naming conventions of files. If the rules are silent on this topic, then include your personal details and include both your name and script title in the file name.
 
Make sure you know what you’re signing up for. For example, some competitions have exclusivity rules – if you win another competition while your entry is under consideration, that may disqualify you from further advancement.
 
- Technology
Don’t leave it to the last minute to find out if you can fulfil the format requirements or not. A writer I know missed a deadline because they could not convert their script into a PDF file.
 
- Additional Requirements
Most competitions require your logline, and some may require a short synopsis or writer bio. Have these written in advance, rather than cobbling something together as you go through the process of uploading your script.
 
Ready to submit? Go for it. Good luck!

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS...
Out of 7,000 entries, I am one of the top 5 grand finalists of Final Draft’s “Big Break” screenwriting contest. I won the period/historical/war genre with my screenplay, “A Face To Paint”, and I have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at Paramount Studios in Hollywood on February 11th when the Grand Prize Winner will be announced. 
Although the trip is at my own expense and I’m penniless, it’s such a fantastic opportunity to meet with movie executives and break into the industry, I would be barmy to let something like money stand in my way... 

I plan to spend the entire month of February in L.A. marketing my portfolio of screenplays, but I need your help to get me out there. All last year we heard about the lack of women screenwriters, with less than one in five films written by women. Here I am, ready to be part of the solution to that problem, if you help put me in the heart of Hollywood.

WHY I NEED YOUR HELP
I’m a screenwriter with proven talent, ambition and no money. Over the past 4 years, I have thrown everything at learning screenwriting craft. I have written, attended classes and festivals, written some more, studied numerous books, written yet more, networked, and then gone on to write deep into the night... 

Now, just as something is about to come of all that effort, my savings have run out. With airfares, airport transfers, insurance, accommodation, transport, living costs and US sales tax to cover, I estimate I need to find upwards of £5,500.
Openings like this simply don't come around all that often. After participating in last year’s exhilarating BFI-Creative Skillset Talent Campus at London Screenwriters’ Festival and benefitting from a 90-minute mentorship session with Julian Fellowes and his lovely wife Emma, I am confident I can make a go of it in Hollywood if given the chance.

ABOUT ME
When I was little, I wanted to be the next Beatrix Potter. Then I grew up and bought into the idea that the most important thing was to be sensible, get a steady job and aim for stability. Although I travelled far and wide, and had many adventures, I was trying to force-fit myself into a lifestyle the real me was at odds with. 

One day in 2012, I jogged past a row of uniform beach huts in Bournemouth - the first town to construct these glorified sheds and now home to the nation’s first wedding beach hut. Their use and appearance is strictly regulated, so I was surprised when I saw the hut at the end of the row was breaking all the rules… 

I began inventing a story about the owner of that beach hut, and the next thing I knew I was putting pen to paper… The resulting screenplay, “The Beach Hut”, has gone on to be a quarterfinalist in the Shore Scripts Competition and a semifinalist in the Screenwriting Goldmine Competition. 

Since then I haven’t looked back. I’ve written a number of full-length feature scripts, including a multiple prize-winning ghost story, “Dowl’s Mill”, and a drama inspired by events I witnessed when I was caught up in Ivory Coast’s revolution, “Africa As You Like It”, which has also received excellent feedback.

I’ve got an entire portfolio of scripts ready to go. Irrespective of talent and dedication, nobody makes it alone. Everybody needs a break: please - let this be mine.

WHAT DO YOU GET?
In return for your generous support, there are some great perks! From shout-outs on social media, to tickets to the play I am currently producing as part of the Page To Stage Festival in Liverpool (4th-16th April 2016) and even feedback on your own script. After reading and reviewing well in excess of 1,100 short scripts in the Create50 “Impact” project last year, and the numerous scripts that writers then sent me outside the project, I have become adept at script analysis.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
My future is in your hands. Please help by:-
·  donating and/or 
·  sharing the link to this funding page and/or 
·  offering me advice (via private message). 
​
All donations, even the smallest ones, will be gratefully received.  Thank you in advance for anything you feel you can contribute. You can check out my campaign here.

​I am so excited about the prospect of this visit and the chance to do something hands-on to convert my dream of earning my living as a screenwriter into reality. I commit to paying this amazing opportunity forward, and helping other writers in whatever ways I can.