Words of Wisdom JULIAN FELLOWES Gosford Park, The Young Victoria I think one always has to remember when you’re writing a script, if some of you are writers who haven’t yet been produced, when you’re writing a script it isn’t necessarily going to be that script that gets made, but what it may do is be an audition that opens the door.
ABI MORGAN The Iron Lady, Shame I never know whether I am the builder or the architect. The role shifts all the time. But what I have come to conclude is that the script is the muse. For producer, director, actor, director of photography and designer, it is the point of inspiration that everyone must think of as their own.
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If our Screenwriters’ Lecture Series has revealed anything it’s that there’s no set rulebook to screenwriting. Every writer has their own approach, as these thoughts from past lecturers reveal…
PETER STRAUGHAN Sixty Six, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy I think the real function of those books, that say they can teach you how to write a screenplay, is to fool you into thinking you’ve learnt how to write a screenplay, so that you go away and start writing a screenplay and, therefore, actually begin to learn how to write a screenplay.
SCOTT FRANK Minority Report, Out Of Sight It’s OK to write something for the money. It’s OK to write something just because you want to. The writing process is hard enough without the added burden of having to locate your movie ahead of time in some arbitrary historical context.
The BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series