April Drinks with Jon Croker

If you’re a script editor or development person who also writes then April’s featured guest, Jon Croker, is certainly someone to meet. Jon worked for a number of years as Story Editor at the Film Council, on titles including The Iron Lady, Attack The Block and The Woman in Black. However, he was previously a writer too and since leaving the Film Council has made the transition into screenwriting full time. During April, Variety announced Jon as the writer of the sequel to The Woman in Black, (‘the most successful British horror of all time' The Guardian). We thought we’d invite him to join us and share his experiences on the project and how he made this transition.

Jon told us that he was asked to pitch his approach to the sequel, along with other writers, but the fact that he and the producing team were already comfortable discussing the material together in development terms could not have hurt his case. Obviously everyone wants a writer who understands and is adaptable to the development process, so this is potentially an advantage to us two-hat wearing types. 

Jon also told us about an improvised thriller feature he’s been working on recently, In Fear. He was on set each day with the director providing scenarios to actors who had no idea what was going to happen next! He would then work up material that night in reaction to what was improvised. Certainly sounded like good fun, so look out for that.

 

April's drinks brought another packed evening, with an excellent crowd of development folk to chat with. This included our featured guest for March, Jamie Wolpert; script consultant Marilyn Milgrom, recently back from a four year stint as Head of Development at the New Zealand Film Commission; feature film director/producer Neil Thompson of Formosa Films, who just secured SEIS funding to develop another three features; film director/producer Justin Edgar of 104 Films, currently editing his latest feature We Are The Freaks; director/producer Peter Chipping; script consultant Ellin Stein; development producer Steven Russell of Loves Me Not Films; script editor Lauren Cushman; production co-ordinator Laura Park, currently working on the new series of The Thick of It and down from Birmingham, multiple hat wearing, writer/director/producer, Brendan O’Neill of Stickleback Productions, to name but a few. 

At the time of our drinks Jon was already well into the first draft of the sequel, titled; The Woman in Black – Angels of Death. Now he is one of our In Development clan, we hope he has a chance to join us for drinks in the future and look forward to hearing more about  this and other projects. 

Thanks very much to Jon for being April's featured guest – a writer and developer with plenty of experience and insight to share!

Thanks very much also to director/writer Paul Henry for April’s photographs.

NB - As ever, if you'd like to be a featured guest or can introduce us to someone who you feel would make a great featured guest, please do let us know. 

March Drinks with Jamie Wolpert

It was a busy one this March as we welcomed Jamie Wolpert, the new Development Editor at the BFI Film Fund, as our featured guest. 

In Development members took over much of the Soho Theatre Bar, with a possibly record turnout for our first anniversary drinks. 

Jamie chatted with lots of his fellow network members and shared his first month’s experience in the new job, as well as insight into developing and script editing the upcoming Sky Atlantic series Hit & Miss.

As you might expect, the role of Development Editor is a busy one, with a constant pile of scripts to read, applications to assess, development meetings with the great and the good of the industry and a remit to keep an eye out for the upcoming talent.

If you’re planning on submitting a funding application to the BFI, Jamie shared a few observations from his first weeks: They currently receive something like 20-25 first-stage applications a week. Here, you pitch the project, in all its facets, before they request to read the script. Apparently the odds that they’ll request the script are quite good. However, where people tend to trip up at the first hurdle is if the initial application does too little to demonstrate the track record, experience, planning or strategy to suggest the production is viable. Jamie observed this can happen for quite different reasons, sometimes arrogance; ‘Everyone knows me so I don’t need to explain myself’, and sometimes naivety; ‘Here’s my great idea, now you help me make it’. Clearly the BFI Film Fund doesn't have the time or money to run your production for you, so the onus is on the applicant to make a good case for their ability to carry off this particular project.

Once you get to the script request stage, the fall-out rate is obviously higher. According to the BFI Film Fund guidelines, 90% of applications are ultimately unsuccessful. However, if there’s potential in the project, there may be an opportunity for a meeting to discuss it, (even if the ultimate answer on funding is no). It's useful, of course, to put a human face to those assessing applications, get their input and open lines of communication for the future. 

Thanks to Jamie for coming along and sharing these insights. We look forward to welcoming him to future drinks get-togethers, (when he has the chance, amid busy evenings of plays and screenings!).

Onto April’s drinks, and our featured guest is Jon Croker – former Story Editor at the UK Film Council, who's worked on projects including Attack the Block, The Iron Lady and The Woman in Black. Jon is now a full time screenwriter and was just announced in Variety as writer of the sequel to The Woman in Black (currently 'the most successful British horror of all time' The Guardian). He’s joining us to share insights from his experience on this hit project and others and to chat on the subject of moving between feature script editing and screenwriting. Should be another great night! See you there.

(Read more about Jon and Jamie on our profiles page)

The Woman in Black UK Trailer

February Drinks with Lucy Scher

“The secret of making movies is having the strongest possible script.” - Harvey Weinstein

It has been almost sixteen years since The Script Factory first came into existence, and, in that time, the company has been instrumental in promoting the importance of script development in the UK – and internationally - working with writers, developers, producers and distributors, among others; to train, educate, inspire and support the industry.

As Co-Director of the Script Factory, Lucy Scher joined from its earliest days in 1996, arranging performed readings and heading up their development and training programmes. She devised the UK's first ever course for script readers over a decade ago, and her illuminating approach to evaluating screenplays has swept the industry, been taught in countries throughout the world and led to the Script Factory's Diploma in Script Development ("the only comprehensive vocational programme in script development in the UK"), which she heads up in conjunction with the National Film and Television School.

The core of Lucy’s reader training is now available in a book, the highly recommended Reading Screenplays: How to Analyse and Evaluate Film Scripts. We were delighted that Hannah Patterson and Ion Mills from publishers, Kamera Books, joined Lucy to talk about Reading Screenplays; and further discussion was had with Lucy about her work in development and the future of the Script Factory, as the industry landscape evolves. A huge thank you to her! 

Lucy and the Script Factory helped us to launch (and co-hosted our launch party) back in March last year, as In Development originally grew out of our experiences on the Diploma in Script Development. In addition to established developers attending our February drinks, our guests included graduates of the Class of 2012, Paul Bryan and Sophie Mitchell. Congratulations to them and their fellow graduates!

Our March drinks are almost upon us, and this month’s special guest will be Jamie Wolpert, whose development credits include Sky Atlantic’s upcoming Hit & Miss, created by Paul Abbott and written by Sean Conway. Jamie also recently script-edited the tragic demise of Pat Evans (formerly Butcher) on Eastenders, and is the newly appointed Development Editor at the British Film Institute.

With today’s announcement of the appointment of Ben Roberts as the new Director of the BFI’s Film Fund, this is a great time to find out more about what is happening there, so we are very much looking forward to insights from Jamie, in his first month in the job. (And it seems very relevant to note here that Ben did the Script Factory's reader training years ago with Lucy!)

We agree with both Mr Weinstein (a happy sixtieth birthday to him!) and our very own Ms Scher, that it is ultimately all down to a brilliant script - and at In Development our focus remains on both movies and television drama. On that note, here’s the trailer for Hit & Miss, coming to Sky Atlantic in May…

January Drinks: Slate Development (and Raising Finance!)

One of the joys of meeting up every month is that our ‘new faces’ quickly become ‘old regulars’. It is great to have the opportunity to meet and get to know the many talented people working in our field of expertise.

This month again, it was a case of so many people to catch up with (or introduce ourselves to), so little time! With possibly our largest turnout yet, we’re starting to overspill our corner of the Soho Theatre bar, and the very real buzz at our first get-together of the year was in no small part down to the welcoming friendliness of our two special guests, producer Sascha Hecks and screenwriter Simon Bates (and interest in this hot topic!). Both Sascha and Simon were quickly surrounded with eager ears, and we are incredibly appreciative to them both for the time they took in talking to us all.

Sascha and Simon first met at a London Screenwriters’ Festival party, which is a great reminder for writers - and the rest of us - that ‘getting out there’ and meeting people you click with is crucial in this industry. We know that work connections have already formed through In Development, and we are very much looking forward to seeing more of these develop, as well as the fruits of these relationships. We pride ourselves on the relaxed, informal nature of our meet-ups, and aim to be the antithesis of the stereotypical ‘networking’ event (with all the negative connotations those can bring to mind!), so we’re pleased that many of our guests have commented that we’re going about things the right way. Thanks to all who have given us feedback so far – we welcome all of your thoughts!

It was lovely to see two old friends of In Development: upcoming screenwriter/filmmaker (and Tisch Asia graduate) Ashish Ghadiali, who has several exciting international projects on the go, and the multi-talented Melody Bridges, whose play, Occupy: The Silent Scream, has just had a reading at the Occupy London Stock Exchange site, outside St Paul’s. It was great too to hear Sascha and Formosa Films’ Neil Thompson, discussing their experiences of producing, working with writers, and the nitty gritty of raising finance. Formosa Films have just completed the Paul Abbott and Jimmy Dowdall-scripted feature film, Twenty8K - so make sure you look out for that.

Thank you to everybody who came along, including development assistant at Parallel Films, Vicki Kisner; director, and National Film and Television School alumnus, Chamoun Issa; assistant at the Blake Friedmann agency, Daniel Nixon; agent, Simon Williamson and script reader/writer, Blaise Hesselgren.

With Jeremiah away in Italy, it was down to us to take the ‘official’ photos of the night – and we just don’t have the lenses… We look forward to his return in February!

Next up: Lucy Scher, co-director of The Script Factory, who helped us launch In Development last March, will be joining us to talk all things development, the Script Factory and her invaluable brand new book. Invites are on the way…

2012 - the year of kicking ass!

Happy New Year! Any resolutions on the cards? To get that commission, or produce that film? Bag a new job, launch a new business or write that screenplay? Now is the time to set some goals and christen 2012 the year of kicking ass and taking names!

At the close of The Screenwriters’ Festival 2011, Chris Jones got us all to tell the person next to us what we were going to achieve over the coming year and to make sure it was something big. Scary perhaps, to set ourselves a big challenge, but how else do big things get done? In the spirit of building a real network, we look forward to sharing our goals, hearing yours and getting on with making things happen.

As for In Development, we resolve to bring you more fantastic industry guests in 2012, discussing all aspects of developing screen fiction, and more great member discounts on courses/events of relevance to you. The group may evolve over the year and if you have ideas for this, or want to be part of it, then please let us know.

Our first meet-up of 2012 is on the subject of raising slate finance and managing a film development slate, with film producer Sascha Hecks. Screenwriter Simon Bates will also join us to give a case study focus on the process of developing his feature project with Sascha and her company Lex Filmed Entertainment. You can read more about both guests on our profiles page.

We closed out 2011 with sessions featuring Industrial Scripts and The Red Planet Prize. In November, we shared a drink with Industrial Scripts founder Evan Leighton-Davis and one of his team of consultants; script doctor, Aaron Anderson. Former Creative Editor for the UK Film Council, Aaron currently re/writes for hire through Industrial as well as pursuing his own projects independently, including a feature in the current Microwave scheme.

With Evan, we chatted about going it alone as a freelancer in an industry where development jobs are few and far between and almost never advertised. Though only established a couple of years ago, Industrial Scripts is now firmly on the map, and keeping busy with its range of report services and training. Evan has also recently established a production arm to Industrial, Takedown Pictures, with a new feature project to be adapted from the sports book The Grudge. We look forward to watching the progress of the project, and getting Evan back in as a guest again to chat about the production!  

In December our guest was TV screenwriter, Robert Thorogood – hot from his success as creator of the BBC’s Death in Paradise. The show was produced through Red Planet Pictures, and Robert’s relationship with the company was born through the Red Planet Prize. As a finalist of the competition, he became part of the Red Planet family, able to pitch ideas to Tony Jordan and his team and this is where the project took off.

Despite a long career as a screenwriter, developing numerous projects, this prime time commission is actually Robert’s first TV screenwriting credit! He chatted with us about the realities of the business and lessons learned along the way, and offered some reassuring insight.

Getting a commission is ridiculously difficult, and as seemingly unlikely for anyone. You have to understand what people want to watch, have that great idea that chimes with a commissioner at the right time and the evidence that you’re the right person to deliver it. Once you’re in of course, if you want to stay, you just have to keep having those great ideas! We’re pleased to say that Robert will be staying, as a second series of Death in Paradise has been confirmed. We wish him best of luck with shaping the second series - and hope to welcome him as our guest again to discuss that second adventure!

Thanks again to all our guests in 2011. We look forward to sharing more great evenings with you in 2012; celebrating successes, making connections, sharing experiences, building our networks and getting some great projects in development and ultimately to the screen. See you out there.

Sarah and Hannah x

Reading Screenplays - Lucy Scher’s Brand New Book

Exciting news from The Script Factory…

Back in 1999, Lucy Scher pioneered the first training course for script readers. Since then, The Script Factory has built a worldwide reputation for teaching workshops on how to effectively analyse screenplays.

The teaching has been constantly updated and evolved in line with industry practice over the last ten years and we are delighted to announce that all the research and thinking that Lucy and the rest of the Script Factory's training team have done has now culminated in a book.

Reading Screenplays, published by Kamera Books, offers a practical approach to evaluating scripts and assessing their potential as movie ideas.

With chapters on Storytelling and the Principles of Genre, Script Report Writing, Writing and Assessing Treatments and building a Career in Script Development, the book contains sample synopses and a script report, a useful list of resources and helpful ‘good reader’ tips from producers. It’s a great read and an invaluable companion for anyone involved in the script development process; equally useful as a guide for those who are new to script reading, and as a refresher for more seasoned developers.

Not only did Lucy conceive the UK’s first script reader training course, but she also developed the Script Factory and National Film and Television School’s Diploma in Script Development - the only comprehensive vocational programme in script development in the UK – out of which our group, In Development, was born. Lucy was also instrumental in helping us to launch this year, so we’re thrilled that she will be joining us as a special guest in early 2012. More details coming soon!

You can read more about the book from Lucy, here - and it’s available at a special offer price of £10, here.

Linda Aronson Screenwriting Masterclass Offer!

Thanks to our friends at the London Screenwriters' Festival for another great In Development discount. The course happens this weekend, so snap up your places quickly! Hope to see you there.

Anyone who has heard Linda Aronson speak about screenwriting knows that the insight that she can offer YOU, about YOUR screenplay, is extraordinary. This 2 Day Workshop on advanced screenwriting technique and Parallel Narrative will show you how you can become a 21st Century Storyteller.

Linda Aronson is the world's leading expert in new story techniques and tools such as Flashback, Time Jumps, Tandem Narrative, Multiple Protagonists, Double Journeys, Consecutive Stories and Fractured Tandem (used in films like Pulp Fiction, Inception, Atonement and 21 Grams)... She has created robust and powerful frameworks from which you can build those stories you want to tell, stories that feel limited or underdeveloped in a linear three act structure.

'Linda Aronson is one of the great and important voices on screenwriting' Linda Seger Making A Good Script Great

You can get a full break down of the workshop and buy your tickets here… 
http://www.21stcenturyscreenwriter.com/

The workshop takes place over the weekend of Nov. 12th and 13th at Regents College. It costs £119 but you can get it for £65, nearly half price, as a In Development member – use the code INDEV to get your discount