Industrial Scripts is a London-based
story analysis & training organization, backed by major companies,
delivering a range of analysis, and support services to writers, authors
and filmmakers, globally.
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So,
another year in the log books - a surprising lack of box office bombs, a
massive studio hacking scandal, the end of Peter Jackson's love affair
with Middle Earth, and a seriously scientific theme as INTERSTELLAR, THE
IMITATION GAME and THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING look set to battle it out for
the major gongs. Adieu, MMXIV....
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I.S. Year in Review - Stat Attack
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"Looking back, over my shoulder...."
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As you
are doubtless doing, we're reflecting here on our own class of 2014. In a
tough year for the business overall, we're pleased to announce this was
our best 12 months, with significant growth for the company in many
areas.
Thanks
to all our clients, colleagues and followers for their continued business
and support.
Here's
our year in hard (and rather softer) stats:
▪ 1-day Training Seminars Delivered - 22
▪ Biggest Success - A long string of authentic 5 star customer reviews
posted online pay testament to our service and the report
"recipe" we've developed over the past 4 years.
▪ Biggest Success Part Deux - In August we cracked the
mythical 50 script feedback bookings, preserve of precious few script
development companies, globally.
▪ Biggest Failure - The Insider Interviews
gets bumped due to the workload above. We uploaded precisely zero
interviews in 2014. The vow is made to re-invigorate this series in 2015.
▪ Biggest Failure Part II - Our Everything America
course doesn't run either. It's a boutique seminar, but a valuable and
rare one, and we're going to move mountains to fit it into the calendar
next year.
▪ Most Exciting Aspect of the Industry - TV. TV. TV. The
so-called "Golden Age" just runs on and on, with world-class
drama flowing smoothly out of both the UK and US. Just about every UK
writer, producer (see why, below) and director now has a slate split between
TV and film, and that's for a very simple reason: TV is the great
entertainment medium of recent times.
▪ Most Exciting Aspect of the Biz for Writers - the sheer
proliferation of opportunities to get discovered now. Basically, if you
can build it, they'll come. Sure, the competition's more intense than
ever, but there's such a plethora of ways in now, that if you writing
well enough, for long enough, you'll just get there. Period.
▪ Most Irritating Aspect of the Industry - The massive rise
in pay-to-enter screenwriting contests marketed and sold in
quasi-charitable terms. If you're a truly charitable outfit, if charity
is truly your goal in life, why of all the options available would you
dedicate your energies to helping some highly educated, largely
middle-class people create stories? Wouldn't you build a school in Africa
or run the Marathon des Sable for cancer research? Writers need to open
their eyes - these for-profit contests have been identified by the collective as the fastest and
most efficient route to a) building a database b) generating revenue and
c) keeping themselves in the business. Now, there's absolutely nothing
wrong with a for-profit contest that gives writers great opportunities,
but ditch the hypocrisy and call what it is. Don't charge people to enter
then call it a "fellowship". Trans-pa-ren-CY!!
▪ Aspect of the
Biz That Must Change - Producer fees. We know a lot of producers here at
IS, and hardly any of them are making what one could deem a living wage
purely from producing films. 'Twas ever thus, more senior producers might
argue, but with rising living costs and constantly deferred producers
fees are we reaching the point where, basically, if you're not privately
wealthy being an indie film producer just isn't viable? Have we reached
that point already? 10 years from now will producing be for trustafarians
only? Producers are the key to The Game, they're the engine of the whole
thing and by hook or by crook, as a collective industry we have to find a
way to pay them better.
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Thanks
again to all our clients and supporters for making 2014 such a great
year. We hope your 2014 truly excelled.
Here's
your pep-talk for 2015, courtesy of someone who's surmounted far worse
odds than most of us...
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Sony Hack and Screenwriters
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Many
column inches have been dedicated to the Sony hack - the pulling of THE
INTERVIEW - "potential" North Korean involvement - and snarky
emails aplenty. But what were the main screenwriting buzz moments?
▪ Aaron Sorkin didn't know who Michael Fassbender was when
considering him for JOBS.
▪ Bond film SPECTRE has gone through multiple screenwriters
over third act concerns - apparently "there needs to be some kind of
a twist rather than a series of water chases with guns" - specific
exec notes there from MGM hotshot Jonathan Glickman.
▪ 50 screenplays
leaked from studio chief Michael Lynton's inbox, including a LITTLE HOUSE
ON THE PRAIRIE update and an alternate early pilot for BREAKING BAD.
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Awards Season Kicks Into Gear...
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Unheralded genre screenplay - Jennifer Kent will likely
be overlooked for one of the year's smartest screenplays
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The
calendar turns to another new year, as the awards season bursts into
life.
The
British Independent Film Awards - BIFAs - saw PRIDE take Best British
Indie Film, whilst BOYHOOD won the international prize.
The
Golden Globe nominations are out - the following up for Best Motion
Picture Screenplay;
Wes
Anderson - THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Gillian Flynn - GONE GIRL
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris,
Armando Bo - BIRDMAN
Richard Linklater - BOYHOOD
Graham Moore - THE IMITATION GAME
So which
screenwriters will be snubbed in this year's festivities? THE BABADOOK is
a prime example of a phenomenal genre script - horror - fleshed out with
amazing characterisation and pitch-perfect thematic work - but which will
be passed over. Shame for writer-director Jennifer Kent - but big things
await if she can repeat the quality on show in this Aussie Gem.
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Read, Read then Read Some More...
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Never miss an article - add our RSS feed to your browser
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Our site was designed
with content
in mind - and we roll out articles on film, TV and story craft on a
regular basis.
Never
want to miss an IS article? Add our RSS Feed to your
internet browser or email client, here.
View all
our articles here.
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Whether
they produce films, direct them, write them, or star in them, these
iconic figures all agree on one thing: the importance of the screenplay.
Here are thirty quotes about screenwriting, from people who really,
really know best....read the full article.
“Will
you read my script for me?”
Five
words to strike fear into the heart of anyone with eyes. As a former
Development Exec, it’s something I hear an awful lot and, sometimes, I
have to punch myself alive to remember that, indeed, it had been my
chosen career path and there may just be that undiscovered gem lurking in
the ripped down forests of paper I’ve just been handed. read the full article
Like it
or lump it, the role of the industry script reader is becoming
increasingly important in film and TV. With the volume of scripts being
written, increasing year-on-year, the challenge for those in power
becomes one of filtration – everybody wants great writers and everyone
wants hits, right? But hardly anyone has the resources or manpower to
fully “cover” (read and get a report written on) the amount of material
they’d like to. read the full article
For new
screenwriters, the sheer avalanche of advice and information available
now can be overwhelming. So we thought we'd boil it down, no messing
around, into a succinct 30-step guide. You want to learn how to write a
screenplay. You think about it constantly. Whenever you watch a movie,
you annoy your friends by going on and on about how you could have
written a better script. read the full article
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Get 50% off our Script Reading Course
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The
course is on a short-term Creative
Skillset list of industry training that will fund 50% of
training costs for film employees. If an individual/freelancer wants to
do the training they need to have a company to be eligible. The fund will
cover the 2 course dates (see below) that complete by the end of March
2015.
The
course is ideal for all employees, assistants and interns who assess
scripts in any capacity, and helps improve script analysis skills,
coverage-writing and project assessment. The course also contains a
post-course exercise in which attendees write a test report which is then
marked by Industrial Scripts staff.
Eligible
course dates:
Saturday
24th January 2015
Saturday 21st
March 2015
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The "Testimonial" Is Dead...
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We
formed Industrial Scripts to provide producers, writers and directors in
the independent TV and film sector with high-quality, industry-standard script development services
not usually available to them.
We take
what we do deadly seriously. Industrial Scripts is the 1st – and only –
story analysis organisation in the world to sign up to independent,
impartial, specialist reviews websites in order to allow its clients to
publicly reveal what they think of the company’s products and services.
We are unique in that we rely on “verified” reviews
rather than testimonials from friends and colleagues which, as most
people realise, are ultimately meaningless in a crowded, competitive
marketplace.
Our
consultants all have considerable experience working for and with the
very best companies, and are currently very active in development (we
don't believe in trading on past glories). We offer 20 different types
of script development service, some are listed below, but you can visit our website to
view them all...
If
you're developing scripts, in any capacity, you'd be hard-pressed to find
a more transparent service
than ours. Just sayin...
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Talk is Cheap. We're all about the hard data. Click to
read verified customer reviews about us.
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"Which Logline?"
Service - £40
"Should I spend 6...12...18...months of my life developing this
project?" is a question that haunts many writers, who have more
ideas than time. Here writers submit 10 loglines, and we put them in
order of excellence, advising writers to channel their efforts into
promising ideas rather than wasting time and energy writing developing
dud projects.
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Film Coverage Report
- £135 * eligible for TALENT CONNECTOR
This report on feature-length scripts consists of 4+ pages of notes and
feedback to help the writer move on to his or her next draft.
Film Forensic Notes
- £300.00 * eligible for TALENT CONNECTOR
Our Detailed Development Notes service delivers an extremely detailed
analysis of your feature script, together with lengthy suggestions on how
to move forward to the next draft. These reports run to 14+ pages, and
offer a truly forensic analysis of your script.
Script Doctoring -
Fees Vary * eligible for TALENT CONNECTOR
Through our resident Script Doctors we offer writers, producers and
directors the opportunity to have their project re-written, doctored,
polished, re-structured and significantly improved according to their
requirements.
View all 20 Script Development Services HERE.
Read 475+ verified customer reviews about us HERE
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Who's Hot & Who's Not - December
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Who had
a month to remember? Who’s ready to call it a year and look ahead to
2015?
Here’s
our run down of how industry figures fared in December.
GOOD
MONTH
1) Justin Lin
With Roberto Orci dropping out of helming STAR TREK 3, the long time FAST
& THE FURIOUS director steps into the ring.
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3) Michael Fassbender
The Fass attached to Aaron Sorkin - Danny Boyle Steve Jobs biopic -
despite Sorkin's initial assertion that "I don't know who Michael
Fassbender is and the rest of the world isn't going to care"
(another gem from the Sony leak).
4) Kim Dickens
Actress nabs lead role in WALKING DEAD spinoff show set on the West
Coast.
5) Paul Reubens
Pee Wee Herman star set for a comeback as Judd Apatow produced reboot
heads for Netflix.
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BAD
MONTH
1) Sony
Was there ever any doubt who would take the top spot here? Hacking
revelations, the delayed and kind-of released THE INTERVIEW and no end of
public embarassment.
2) Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin
The most infamous losers from the Sony fallout after emails leak with
such nuggets as calling Angelina Jolie a "minimally talented spoiled
brat".
3) The Sandler/Barrymore Coupling
BLENDED tops Time Magazine's list of Worst Film of the Year - and
features in the top ten of most 'worst of year' film lists.
4) Will Gluck
Director sees ANNIE film leaked in Sony hack, before opening to poor
reviews and weak box office.
5) War Pics
Both Angelina Jolie's UNBROKEN and Clint Eastwood's AMERICAN SNIPER go
away empty handed from Golden Globe nominations - a foreshadowing of the
awards season fate of these pictures?
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Amusing Snippet of the Month
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As the
excitement after the release of the long-awaited STAR WARS: THE FORCE
AWAKENS trailer died down, it was time for the internet to do its thing -
relentless parody! Home editors took to the trailer with glee, carving it
up into inventive alternate versions... Special Editions if you will....
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Opinion: The Sony Hack - Lessons For Aspiring
Screenwriters
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As
the shockwaves reverberate from the Sony hack, aspiring screenwriters
should be taking note of how the industry really works.
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Who is this man? If anyone knows, please tell Aaron
Sorkin
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The Sony
hack revealed what many of us already knew - that Hollywood is a Roman
hotbed of backstabbing, plotting, manipulation, deception and double
dealing. No surprises there. Whilst many screenwriters may be aghast at
what they've seen - along with the phony apologies and half-hearted
reconciliation efforts - they need to know that this is what they're
signing themselves up for.
So
what's the biggest takeaway from the leaks? In a nutshell - WHAT CAN YOU
DO FOR ME?
Across
the many emails, this is a common theme. Michael Fassbender - acclaimed
actor of indies HUNGER and SHAME and the Young Magneto in X MEN FIRST
CLASS - inspired the line from JOBS screenwriter Aaron Sorkin "I
don't know who Michael Fassbender is and the rest of the world isn't
going to care". That's Michael Fassbender ladies and gentlemen, one
of the shining lights of his acting generation - dismissed as a nobody
who isn't going to help Sorkin's project find an audience. Forget the
acclaim, forget recognition from his peers - Sorkin has a need - to get
his project to the widest audience possible, to secure funding, to secure
marketing money - so Fassbender's credentials go by the wayside if they
don't help Sorkin achieve his goals.
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Scott Rudin - what can you do for him?
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Similar
sentiments seen elsewhere - because Angelina Jolie dared to go off and -
gasp - direct a film - she is labelled a "spoiled brat" by
producer Scott Rudin whose quotes include "I’m not remotely
interested in presiding over a $180m ego bath that we both know will be
the career-defining debacle for us both. I’m not destroying my career
over a minimally talented spoiled brat who thought nothing of shoving
this off her plate for eighteen months so she could go direct a
movie."
Humans
are animals, and as a chemical sack of genetic code, self-preservation is
high on our agenda. "What have you done for me lately?" and
"What can you do for me?". Jolie went to Universal to put
together UNBROKEN, and if CLEOPATRA flops it could take down Rudin and
Pascal. They're looking at the bigger picture.
And this
is exactly how everyone will look at your script. What can it do for me?
If I'm an agent, can it help me to attach talent? If I'm a producer, can
it help me reach a broad audience? If I'm in development, can it help me
bring something to the company round-table discussions which will excite
my colleagues? If I'm an agents assistant, will your script help me get
in the bosses good books?
No one
really cares about your education. No one cares about your personal
inspiration for the project. No one cares what draft you're on. No one
cares about keeping your favourite scenes in the script. No one cares
what you "want" the project to be (the biggest problem for
Industrial Scripts in script-editing past writer's initial vision for a
piece). They care what it can do for them - and often that doesn't
involve months and months of script polishing - it requires moments of
inspiration at the design stage.
Industry
people care what your product (not script, product) can do for them. If
you can solve their problems, you'll do well. If you cause them more
problems, you won't do well. It's that simple. Approach agents before
you're ready? You're a problem, not a solution. Pitch a rehash of last
year's films? You're a problem, not a solution. Got a thematically strong
character study without much plot? How can an agent sell that over the
phone? Got a taboo arthouse piece with a great piece of controversy to
rile up audiences, but you can't write to discerning audiences'
standards? Then small producers can't waste their time developing your
screenwriting craft.
Underneath
the exterior of the snippiness and in-fighting of the Sony email leak,
sit self-interested players looking to advance their own agenda. If you
can help them fight their battles, you give yourself a much better shot
in this industry. So before you even set pen to paper, or fingertip to
keyboard, think about what you and your script offer to the people who
you need to say 'yes'.
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Unheralded Scene o' the Month: THE MACHINE (2013)
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In our
"Unheralded Scene of the Month" section, our consultants
nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn't received
the admiration it deserves.
It might
be a scene from a classic movie, which has been crowded out by other,
more "showy" scenes and set-pieces. It might be a deleted scene
which is outstanding in its own right but wasn't quite in-sync or
critical to the final cut of the film. Warning: plot spoilers below.
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The
film: THE MACHINE - proving
that the Brits can pull off ambitious science fiction, as writer-director
Caradog W. James delivers an AI inspired tale of a scientist and his
robot. The trailer can be seen here.
The
plot: In a near future where
the UK is crippled by a Cold War with China, the MOD turns to
technological solutions to bring about the downfall of China - with
research scientist VINCENT MCCARTHY (Toby Stephens) conducting Turing
tests on applicants' artifical intelligence programs - can they pass for
human? When scientist AVA's (Caity Lotz) program impresses Vincent, he
brings her onboard into a secretive world of military experiments, fusing
AI with injured human soldiers. But when Ava is killed, he uses her
features - and her program - to spawn a robot - can it pass for human?
Can it go undercover to destroy the Chinese from the inside? For Vincent,
does it hold the key to helping his sick daughter overcome neurological
problems?
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The
scene: As Ava gets to work in
the military compound, she is warned by an injured soldier about the
mysterious 'Area 6' and tries to investigate - but is interrupted.
Vincent sits Ava down for some A.I. testing - mapping her emotional
reactions to help develop authentic robots. As the two humans converse,
Ava's face is projected on a video monitor between them - pulling happy,
sad and surprised faces. Ava makes Vincent promise he won't copy her face
for the machine - something he promises, but later reneges on. As
conversation between them turns tense - Vincent warning her not to snoop
in the facility "Mind your own fucking business" - the camera
slowly zooms in on the monitor between the pair, the argument playing out
on Ava's digitalised face.
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Why
it's unheralded: With limited
release and little buzz, the film has been overlooked - check it out on
Netflix.
Why
it's great:
The scene serves important plot functions - two allies coming into
conflict as Vincent asserts his authority and warns Ava off from looking
into the base's dark secrets, and Vincent making a promise he will later
go back on. The scene is a great visualisation and dramatisation using
logistics from the core concept - the need to map human reactions. Rather
than stalling plot to go over boring tech details, the scene incorporates
techie work with plot work. The scene also foreshadows later events, as
Ava goes from human to machine - and crucially, Vincent has captured a
wider range of emotions through antagonistic methods - did he mean to do
that? Some great character ambiguity. Though only a brief scene, it is a
perfect marriage of character, plot and genre.
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Spec-Spotter - Development Intel
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Information
is power in the film & TV industries, so here is our vital burst of
screenwriting-related intel for your mainframes!
Comedy Duo Sell Pitch for Big
Money
Six figures against seven - every agent's dream! Matt Allen and Chris
Borrelli sell closely guarded action-comedy tentpole pitch to Chris
Morgan productions.
Robin Hood Franchise Sells....
Again
Brandon Barker sells NOTTINGHAM & HOOD to Disney in the hopes of
launching a Medieval Midlands universe - shortly after Sony picked up a
similar fanchise spawning spec - let studio battle commence!
Sony Spaihts Spec
Amidst the hacking chaos, Sony picks up science fiction love story
PASSENGERS from scribe Jon Spaihts.
Director Attached to Pitch
Matt Reeves signs up to direct bank heist pitch from hot London based
writer Matt Charman, with Fox producing.
Jim Carrey under DEEP COVER
Johnny Rosenthal - hot off IRON JACK and THREE TENORS sales - continues a
rich vein of form with sale to Red Granite for Jim Carrey led project.
Packaged Project Helps Sell
Script
Paramount picks up screenplay by first timer Zach Frankel, with director
Justin Simien and actor Anthony Mackie attached as American Football
player who tries to help a dying youngster fulfill their last wish.
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Anyway
that's about all from us for another month, but just scroll down for
details of our script development services and upcoming training courses,
not to mention our exclusive Insider Interviews series.
The
Industrial Scripts Team
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Industry Training Courses
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At
Industrial Scripts we run premium, high-quality training courses
which deliver serious value to participants. Our courses are tailored to
suit the requirements of the industry, and are led by professionals with
proven track records of success in their own individual area of the
business.
For 4
years we've been running training courses in
script reading, low-budget filmmaking and screenwriting. We currently run
3 courses:
HOW TO WRITE A SCRIPT - SCREENWRITING FOR
BEGINNERS is our first screenwriting course and has
been designed for creative individuals who possess great ideas for films
or TV shows, but don’t know where to begin. It delivers a huge amount of
information, condensed into one intense day, to participants new to
screenwriting, new to writing, or both. Focussing on both the writing
process, and the industry writers find work in, the course aims to
heavily de-mystify the process by which people become professional
screenwriters, and help new writers navigate the sometimes precarious
early years of the screenwriter.
Next course date:
Saturday 31st January 2015
Our EFFECTIVE SCRIPT READING 1-day
training seminar continues to go from strength to strength, winning
consistently stellar feedback from participants...:
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The
course includes comprehensive contacts documents detailing all the paid
script reading outlets in film and TV in the UK, and also offers
attendees indefinite, ongoing email and phone support once the course is
over. We can't turn you into a great script analyst overnight, but we can
speed you up and save you a lot of time and effort in the process. Click here to book.
Next course date:
Saturday 24th January 2015
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Industrial
Scripts brings you The Insider Interviews
- exclusive FREE content from leading industry professionals that you
can't access, anywhere else. Click here to listen to
these free interviews:
STORY
Guru Robert Mckee
"Charlie Kaufman...what an as*...he's Mr. Theory! He's not an
anti-theorist!"
Listen to the podcast...
Screenwriter
Kevin Lehane (GRABBERS)
"I think the horror-comedy is a really tough genre...I wanted to
write a monster movie, like TREMORS, or GREMLINS".
Listen to the podcast...
Head
of Development Sophie Meyer (Ealing Studios)
"If I had to boil it down to one thing it would be "does it
make you care?"
Listen to the podcast...
Writer-Director
Ben Wheatley (KILL LIST, DOWN TERRACE)
"Short films are a waste of time...I thought if I was going to put
in that much effort, I may as well try and make something I can
sell..."
Listen to the podcast...
Screenwriter
Jack Thorne (THE FADES, THIS IS ENGLAND '86, THIS IS ENGLAND '88, THE SCOUTING
BOOK FOR BOYS)
"I wrote 12 plays before I had anything produced..."
Listen to the podcast...
Producer
Richard Holmes (RESISTANCE, EDEN LAKE, WAKING NED, SHOOTING FISH)
“I thought to myself "this is filmmaking: doing something you don't
want to do and for which you will probably be punished by God!””
Read more...
Film
Journalist Nev Pierce (Editor-at-Large, Empire magazine)
"Interviewing directors is my favourite thing...it can be thrilling
if you're meeting someone you admire...to sit down for 2 hours with David
Fincher...I feel incredibly blessed to have that kind of
opportunity".
Listen to the podcast...
Producer
Gareth Unwin (THE KING'S SPEECH, EXAM)
"I'd done something a bit daft just through eagerness and I said to
someone within The Weinstein Co. - "I hear I'm not in Harvey's good
books anymore" and she said "Harvey doesn't have good books,
there's just people he hates less that week!"
Listen to the podcast...
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Actor
Tom Hiddleston (THE AVENGERS, THOR, WAR HORSE, ARCHIPELAGO)
"(when the THOR call) came in I was just about ready to sing and
dance...it was the longest audition process I've ever been
through...".
Listen to the podcast...
Literary
agent Rob Kraitt (Casarotto Ramsay)
'I once sold a book to Tom Cruise - it was before he and Michael Mann
made COLLATERAL. It was a big six-figure deal and doesn't happen very often.'
[at the time of recording Rob Kraitt worked for AP Watt]
Listen to the podcast...
Literary
agent Nick Marston (Curtis Brown Group)
'There are these moments in agencies when one generation wants to leave
and the other generation has to somehow find the money to take over...
and in our case that came from the 'honey pot' of the Winnie the Pooh
estate.'
Listen to the podcast...
Ex
Studio Executive Alexei Boltho (Paramount Pictures)
'A typical working day for me? Smoking cigars, that's about it really!'
Read more...
Screenwriter
Stuart Hazeldine (EXAM, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, KNOWING)
'I had to keep the faith, and finally the phone rang and it was a big
agent from ICM in LA saying he had read my two scripts and wanted to take
me on...'
Read more...
Screenwriter
David Scinto (44 INCH CHEST, SEXY BEAST)
'GANGSTER NO.1 is one of the best scripts we ever wrote, sadly in other
hands it was ruined. Bastardised. Mutated. Amateur.'
Read more...
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Industrial Scripts is
a London-based script development and training organisation, founded by
some of the UK's leading script analysts, delivering a wide range of
script development, information and support services to writers and
filmmakers from around the world.
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