The Screen Arts Institute (London) launched its “Storytelling for the Screen” programme in February this year. Based in central London’s Portland Place, the programme is designed to help emerging film talent develop, package and sell their movies and TV programmes in the most efficient manner possible. Ten filmmakers joined us in February to develop feature…
Yesterday, Amy Ricker (class of 2010/11) won the EU’s 3D Film Mart Competition with her film “Billy and the Goblin Rebellion”. The script was developed as her major project on the MA Screenwriting & Producing programme.The win guarantees her a Euro 3,000 further development deal and links her to financiers, sales agents and distributors. http://www.3dstereomedia.eu/en/film-festival-mart/3d-film-mart …
So here’s the thing. Has Robert McKee (McKee, R, Story, Methuen, 1999) and all his work made one bad writer a good one? Or, indeed, a good writer a better one? Has his work helped one film script, one movie, to be better than it would have been without his influence?I’m a huge admirer of…
The writer/director Joanna Hogg has cemented a reputation as an auteur after just two movies (“Unrelated” & “Archipelago”). Working with no script and muttering a “When you’re ready…” rather than screaming “Action!” she’s putting actors at the centre of the creative process. She’s made a fully-fledged star of Tom Hiddleston (“Thor”, “The Deep Blue Sea”,…
Ryan Gosling in “Drive’, 2011 Hossein Amini’s script for “Drive” helped Nicolas Winding Refn to this year’s Best Director gong at Cannes and Hoss is not slowing up. This month his script for “47 Ronin” (Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi) goes into post, and he’s presently scripting “Snow White and the Huntsmen” (Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth,…
Bogdan Mirica (Class of 2007) has won the Best Short award for his film, “Bora Bora”, at the Transilvania International Film Festival – the film continues on around the festival circuit. Bogdan’s first feature, “Ho Ho Ho”, was distributed by MediaPro in 2009 and the same company is in post on Bogdan’s latest script, “Las…
Jeff Nottingham (Class of 2010) has received Arts Council funding for his urban musical, “Lost in Mozart”. The stage show is a high-drama bromance set in the, factually-based “postal code wars” between the Mozart and Kilburn estates and pitches classical music head-on with the “spitting” scene of North West London. “Lost in Mozart” will premiere at…
“Condemned” Paul Joseph (Class of 2010) has optioned his graduation feature script, “Condemned”, to multi award-winning team, John and Shannon Jennissen, at Seeing Pictures. Earlier this year, Paul won the Raindance Pitchfest with his horror story about a condemned building that fights back. “Great script,” says John, “Can’t wait to get it out there.”http://www.seeingpictures.co.uk/index.htmlhttp://paulbjoseph.tumblr.com/
Julio Bonet (class of 2006) was post-production producer on Rocket Pictures/Disney’s “Gnomeo and Juliet” (James McAvoy, Emily Blunt), shepherding the movie to a number one spot at the UK and US box office. He also provided the voice of the Mankini Gnome. This May he returns to the bosom of David Furnish and Elton John’s…
Gemma Pascual (class of 2006) has just moved as Head of Development at Factotum, Barcelona, to be Head of Development at Desert Road in New Zealand. “Out of the Blue” from Desert Road Desert Road is an award-winning film and TV company with features and docs being distributed worldwide by the likes of Sony, Lionsgate…