Writing for the screen is a dream job for many creative writers. Alongside the artistic challenges, it also means working in a notoriously hard-nosed business. Scriptwriters need to know the rules of the game, including what audiences want from a script, what studios are looking for in a project, and how to negotiate both the creative process and the pitfalls of the industry. From plotting your first draft to pitching your final script to a producer, this large-scale one-day seminar provides unique insight to aspiring screenwriters.
Our panel of world-class expert speakers includes renowned producer Kevin Loader (Nowhere Boy/Alan Patridge: Alpha Papa), screenwriter William Nicholson (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom/Les Misérables), writer-director Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant), and leading talent agent Nick Marston (Hossein Amini/Simon Donald), with the event curated and hosted by leading film journalist and critic Dave Calhoun (Time Out).
This course is for you if...
- You’re an aspiring screenwriter who wants to understand the ingredients of a great script, and the best ways to get it noticed by the industry
- You’re an aspiring director or producer who wants to understand more of the role of the screenplay in the film industry
- You’re a curious film lover who wishes to learn more about the craft of screenwriting
Course description
This one-day seminar explores all angles of the screenwriting process, from writing to pitching to working with agents. The event includes ample Q&A time with a variety of expert speakers. Scheduled sessions include:
- An in-depth talk from Kevin Loader – one of the UK’s most celebrated independent producers – on the importance and role of the screenwriter in today’s film industry
- In-depth interview and Q&A sessions with leading screenwriter Peter Straughan and writer-director Clio Barnard, offering practical advice on scriptwriting essentials such as character and dialogue,and exploring the realities of working as a screenwriter
- Leading talent agent Nick Marston provides a candid overview of the role of the screenwriter in today’s film industry, including advice on how to get your work noticed
Tutor profiles
Kevin Loader is one of the UK’s foremost and prolific independent film producers. He has a long running creative partnership with the director Roger Michell, with whom he has produced films including The Mother, Venus, Le Weekend and, recently for TV, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. Kevin’s other films as a producer include The History Boys, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Nowhere Boy and In the Loop. He has worked with writers including Steve Coogan, Alan Bennett, Hanif Kureishi and Peter Morgan.
Clio Barnard is the writer-director of two celebrated British independent feature films, The Selfish Giant and The Arbor. She teaches at the University of Kent and in 2013 won the inaugural Wellcome Trust and BFI Screenwriting Fellowship. In 2010, she won The Guardian First Film Award for The Arbor.
Nick Marston is chairman of the Theatre, Film and Television department at talent agency Curtis Brown and one of Britain’s leading agents of writers and directors. Nick’s clients include the writers Rowan Joffe, Enda Walsh and Hossein Amini.
William Nicholson is a screenwriter whose films include Gladiator, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Les Misérables and Shadowlands. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award and he has been nominated for a Bafta film award four times. He is also a novelist and a playwright. His latest film, Everest, opens in cinemas in September 2015
Dave Calhoun is the global film editor at Time Out London. He has written on film for publications including the Guardian, the Observer, the Times and Sight & Sound. He regularly broadcasts on Sky TV and BBC Radio and TV, and hosts film events at cinemas across London for public, BAFTA and AMPAS audiences. He was previously deputy editor of Dazed & Confused magazine.
Details
Date: Sunday 29 March 2015
Times: 10am-4pm
Location: Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE
Price: £129 (includes VAT, booking fee and refreshments)
Event capacity: 300
To contact us, click here. Terms and conditions can be found here.
Returns policy
Tickets may be refunded if you contact us at least 14 days before the course start date. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
