2.Main Content
Training
Serious Screenwriting 2010
Cock and Bull Story, penned by Serious S/W tutor Frank Cottrell Boyce
Co-presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Friday 4 & Saturday 5 June 2010
BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London W1
Serious Screenwriting is the annual Screenwriting Forum presented by The Script Factory in partnership with BAFTA. Launched in 2008, previous Serious Screenwriting attendees have been treated to a glimpse of Simon Beaufoy's Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, had the chance to co-write a scene with Wall-E's Andrew Stanton, been inspired by the genius of Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), and heard from the horse's mouth what film ideas excite the UK's top decision-makers at Working Title, BBC Films, the UK Film Council and Film4.
Casino Royale - written by Serious Screenwriting masterclass subjects Neal Purvis & Robert WadeWhile morning sessions are largely dedicated to training, the afternoons see us play host to a fantastic array of guests who will offer lessons from the frontline of film-making. The line-up of guest speakers for this year's programme is an 'A' list of talent: the 2010 Serious Screenwriting Masterclass is to be given by the star 007 co-writing team of Neal Purvis & Robert Wade; our morning training tutors have been joined by screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions, 24 Hour Party People); our afternoon guests include author turned Pride and Prejudice screenwriter Deborah Moggach, Calendar Girls screenwriter Tim Firth, the talent behind current indie smash The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Michael Carlin, production designer of a hit-list of titles from In Bruges to The Duchess to Kevin Macdonald's eagerly-awaited Eagle of the Ninth, and Joe Oppenheimer, senior exec from BBC Films; the newly-improved Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme is designed to put money where our mouth is by including a bursary of £1000 for the selected writer; and if that isn't enough, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, Pocahontas, In Her Shoes) is currently busy in her Hollywood office setting the Screenwriters Challenge which participants will be invited to complete overnight during the event.
*** Stop Press *** As it has on both of its previous incarnations, Serious Screenwriting is fast selling out – don’t be one of the unlucky souls who will get turned away this time.
If you're serious about pursuing a writing career in the British film industry, make sure that you join BAFTA and The Script Factory this June to be inspired, trained, challenged and generally pumped full of the crucial inside information you need to succeed.
The Programme
Serious Screenwriting runs for the full day (10am-5pm) on Friday 4 & Saturday 5 June 2010, plus a drinks reception to round off the Saturday programme.
To set the scene, Serious Screenwriting will kick off with a series of lecture-based training sessions from Rob Ritchie, a writer, script developer and regular Script Factory tutor, and Frank Cottrell Boyce, the extraordinarily gifted screenwriter whose back catalogue includes Hilary and Jackie, 24 Hour Party People and Millions. Afternoons are exclusively reserved for masterclasses and industry panel discussions.
The TRAINING PROGRAME:
Failure Is Your Friend
Frank Cottrell Boyce talks about the art of creativity, mulls over the process of screenwriting itself, and reveals how failure can be the best tool in any writer’s box.
Why now? Part I
It can takes years to get a story onto the big screen. So how can screenwriters ensure their script will still feel relevant to cinema audiences when the film is finally released?
Why Now? The Hurt Locker Is the current vogue in vampire tales a triumph of clever marketing or the result of writers anticipating the kind of stories audiences will want to see? Is The Hurt Locker the end of cinema's engagement with the Iraq war or the beginning of a second wave? What will romantic comedy look like in five years time? Rob Ritchie explores how to decide whether your film idea has a limited shelf-life or whether it transcends the topical and won't date, however much the world changes.
Why now? Part II
Once you've found a story that captures or anticipates the zeitgeist, how do you set it up? Too many scripts simply drop into a character's life without identifying the event that triggers the story. We understand the character's problem but not why they have to deal with it now. This session explores how to establish the best point of attack for a story and ensure the audience immediately understands why the character's journey is one that has to be undertaken right now.
The GUEST PROGRAMME:
Keira Knightley in Deborah Moggach's adaptation of Pride & PrejudiceThe Hired Gun
Most screenwriters start writing because they have stories they passionately want to tell on the screen. However, once established, most screenwriters are commissioned to work on projects that have been conceived by producers or are adaptations of existing material. We quiz respected UK writers Deborah Moggach (Pride and Prejudice), Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare At Goats, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People) and Tim Firth (Calendar Girls), about how to negotiate the process of working to someone else's brief, whether it's possible to maintain your own voice, and if being a successful screenwriter means you really have to kiss goodbye to all the original stories that you're dying to tell.
J Blakeson's The Disappearance of Alice CreedNew Voice but No Budget
There have always been resourceful maverick film-makers who have made their first feature with money found down the back of a sofa and a lifetime's worth of favours. But now, micro-budget filmmaking is becoming mainstream, with Lottery-funded schemes to make features for as little £200k. Mia Bays, award-winning producer who oversees Film London's microbudget scheme, Microwave, will host a panel of new voices in British screenwriting featuring Stuart Hazeldine (BAFTA-nominated for Exam), J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), Jack Thorne (The Scouting Book For Boys) and Helen Elizabeth (writer and star of David Morrissey's directorial debut Don't Worry About Me) who have been responsible for no, low or micro budget projects, to identify the particular considerations writers should make when conceiving projects 'on-the-cheap'; 
Chatroom, produced by Laura Hastings-Smithexplore the challenges and opportunities created by the cash restraint of a micro-budget scheme; and give advice on navigating the tricky territory of pulling off a first feature while staying true to your screenplay's vision.
Talent Scouts
A profile panel of industry 'decision-takers' including commissioner, Joe Oppenheimer, senior exec from BBC Films, producer Laura Hastings-Smith (Hunger), just back from a triumphant Cannes where she unveiled Hideo Nakata's Chatroom starring Aaron Johnson, and agent Charlotte Knight, MD of The Rod Hall Agency whose clients include Simon Beaufoy, Jeremy Brock and Martin McDonagh, join us to discuss the types of people and projects currently coming across their desks, and to debate whether British screenwriters are thinking 'big' enough.
Kevin Macdonald's eagerly-awaited Eagle Of The Ninth, currently in postCreating the Story World
We often get an opportunity to hear directors, producers and actors talk about their relationship to your screenplay. Now we get the chance to see the very real impact of script decisions on a film's look and feel when we ask Michael Carlin, a senior production designer with a string of a hit titles on his CV from In Bruges to The Duchess to Kevin Macdonald's eagerly-awaited Eagle of the Ninth, to explain how and when craft specialists use the script as a planning document, and consider the relationship between script and production design.
Finally, we'll complete the event with
The Serious Screenwriting Masterclass with Purvis & Wade
Plunkett and Macleane - the other side of Purvis & Wade
The hugely likeable double act of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade has resulted in that rare thing, a Brit success story on two levels: first, the ability to write small personal screenplays to suit low budgets and new directors, and second, a blockbuster hit parade that runs from the giant-grossing Johnny English to their major contribution to the James Bond franchise. With a back catalogue that includes all four of the most recent 007 releases (from The World is Not Enough to the unbeatable Casino Royale), and a standout list of Brit films from Let Him Have It and Plunket & Macleane to Stoned, Purvis & Wade will be downing pens from their work on the Sam Mendes-directed 'Bond 23' in order to join us and reveal the secrets of their success.
Serious Screenwriting isn't just about training and guest speakers - there's a whole lot more on offer too:
As we want to make the most of the time we have together we're also packing activities into the lunch-breaks. Back, by popular demand, are the Lunchtime Pitch Clinics, giving you an opportunity to book a ten-minute slot to run an idea past a member of our script development team. We'll also be gathering together representatives from training organisations, filmmaking bodies, regional funders, networking groups and and some of the other key figures we think you ought to know for a lunchtime Industry Market.
Screenwriting Challenge
Putting theory into practice we'll be giving you an exclusive chance to co-write a two-minute short scene set by Hollywood superstar screenwriter Susannah Grant (Oscar-nominated for Erin Brockovich, whose big bucks credits also include Pocahontas, In Her Shoes, Charlotte's Web and The Soloist). Susannah will be sending her Challenge in time to be issued to you on Day 1 ready for you to complete overnight before three finalists will be selected to have their scenes performed by professional actors in a not-so-serious finale, winning prizes plus of course the envy and admiration of your peers...
Serious Screenwriting Development Meetings
Our hope is that all the Serious Screenwriting sessions will help you in some way to develop your current film project. However, if you are keen to receive specific input on an idea then there are a limited number of one-hour development meetings available to book on Thursday 3 June and Monday 7 June. There is an additional fee of £70 + VAT for these sessions and you must be able to submit a 2 or 3 page treatment/outline of your idea prior to the meeting (sorry, but it is not possible for the developer to read a complete draft on this occasion). These meetings are exclusively available to Serious Screenwriting participants.
*** NB. Thursday meetings now booked up -
LAST FEW PLACES LEFT on Monday 7 June...
Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme
**WITH £1,000 BURSARY AWARD, GUARANTEED MEETING WTH BBC FILMS & A PRIVATE LUNCH WITH PETER MORGAN**
As ever, alongside all the excitement of the event itself, we at The Script Factory remain seriously committed to your screenwriting too. At the end of the programme all participants are invited to apply for the Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme. This year we'll be looking for just one writer (or co-writing team) with a great idea, the talent to write, and a commitment to spending the next twelve months developing a feature film project. 
Photo: Clare Muller
Have a private lunch with Peter Morgan - Development Scheme 2010 The selected writer/s will be invited to work closely with The Script Factory's development team through at least two further drafts of the script and will enjoy FREE attendance on selected Script Factory training programmes during the development period. They will finish the year with a guaranteed meeting with Joe Oppenheimer, BBC Films' Development Exec. To give you a little extra boost, the lucky recipient of this prize will also enjoy a private lunch with BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) at a top London restaurant, getting a chance to pick his brains for those award-winning tips.
And, if that's not enough...
This year we've decided to give a little extra help to the writer/s we select for the Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme and are offering a £1000 bursary in addition to the training and development and exclusive lunch. This is intended to help with the cost of travel to training programmes, screenwriting software, research materials, childcare, hob-nobs and a decent coffee machine or whatever else you need to help you work seriously hard on your screenplay for this year.
Download the full Terms and Conditions here
**If you are unable to join us for Serious Screenwriting but would still like to apply for the Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme, click here to find out how
BOOKING INFORMATION
Serious Screenwriting costs £200 + VAT (total £235).
There is a special discounted rate for Script Factory Members of £170 + VAT (total £199.75). Click here for details on .
Serious Screenwriting plus Development Meeting (Full Price):
£200 + £70 + VAT = £317.25
Serious Screenwriting plus Development Meeting (SF Members):
£170 + £70 + VAT = £282
There are a limited number of places available to BAFTA members at 50% discount - £100 + Vat (Total £117.50). These are available on a first come basis. Please quote your membership number when booking.
There are also a number of BAFTA bursary places available for full-time students doing a media or film degree. Email events@bafta.org for details of how to apply (you will be asked to provide a letter or email of proof of your enrolment from a tutor).
To make your booking please call The Script Factory on weekdays between 10am-6pm on 020 7851 4890 with your credit or debit card details.
NB. if you're reading this out of office hours and can't wait to make your booking..., simply send an email headed 'SERIOUS RESERVATION' now to sheena@scriptfactory.co.uk with your telephone number and we'll call you back as soon as the office reopens and before we take any other booking.
Photo: Clare Muller
Simon Beaufoy clutching his Oscar at Serious Screenwriting 2009
This programme is correct at time of going to press - very occasionally we have to make changes due to illness or the nature of changing industry schedules. This would only happen if absolutely necessary - but please note that we reserve the right to alter the scheduled programme if it is not possible to avoid doing so.