Veronica Mars closed their Kickstarter campaign with 91,585 backers and a whopping $5,702,153 pledged. HOLY COW! It’s yet another colossal sign of the cultural and economic revolution into which we are living. Is this bad for the industry as the big players move into indie finance town? Or is it good news? What do you [...]

Roland Moore, Chris Hill, Mark Pallis and Kevin Hood joined Stephen May for a discussion of writing period drama, and whether it’s a staple of British product or becoming a cliché of our drama capabilities. One of the main things people talk about when discussing writing period drama is the cost of then getting it made [...]

Psychiatrist Dr. Raj Persaud is both an accomplished and entertaining speaker and also knows an intriguing amount about writers. For instance, he tells us that while on average, actors who win an Oscar live four years longer than those who were only nominated for an Oscar, writers who win an Oscar on average live four [...]

Julie Gray steps out on the stage with a huge smile and a halo of golden hair, she’s funny in her introduction, has done some superb work, “been around the block a few times” she calls it, and when she gets down to talking about character she is tough love all over! “Nothing is more [...]

When an Oscar winning screenwriter walks into a room and says, this is not going to be about me and what I want to tell you, it’s going to be about you and what you want to ask me, that is not a common occurrence but is a revealing attitude of humility and thoughtfulness that [...]

When David Yates, famed for directing Harry Potter began his talk by saying how as a kid he’d make movies in his head using a swan vesta box as it was anamorphic, I knew I was in for a treat with this session. In the earlier part of his career he took some rejection and [...]

The festival opening is a part of the festival that some people skip, thinking it’s not a ‘learning’ part of the festival. Indeed, some of it is about what to expect at the festival (for about two thirds of the people in the room this was their first time attending) and how the festival has [...]

Hey everyone! It’s time again for the London Screenwriters Festival to kick off and as I take over Chris’ blog for the duration I look forward to being in lovely Regents Park College for the next three days in and around the people, seminars and activities (of which there are plenty!) and sharing the experience [...]

How to pitch your movie or screenplay, by the gal who has run Pitchfest for a decade! Yesterday I posted a podcast about pitching with Bob and Signe – I got asked for more pitching information by some readers, so Signe sent me this fantastic guide to pitching… I hope you enjoy it and find [...]

I wrote a Tweet today about how I felt. It said… ‘Success is so often a mirage. The journey is so much more important than the destination.’ In response I received an anonymous message today that put into words with more eloquence than I can muster… (note the YouTube clip above is from the soundtrack [...]

News is rippling through the film world about the apparent suicide of Tony Scott, brother or Ridley and director of a mounting of pop culture movies, some of which were iconic, some were crackers, some a little forgettable and a few stinkers. Thank you for ‘Top Gun’, True Romance’ and ‘Crimson Tide’. In time we [...]