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

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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!