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Events
Special Member's Preview, Oranges & Sunshine
Alongside more conventional training, The Script Factory stages masterclasses, previews and other live events designed to encourage and inspire filmmakers and get audiences thinking about their own creative processes. Along the way, Script Factory events do their best to entertain film fans and Script Factory Members get the opportunity to attend for free!
Our programme in London includes previews, Q&As and career masterclasses with some of the greatest movers in the international film business. We also have a tradition of staging events in partnership with some of the great international film festivals which has seen us at Cannes, Berlin, Warsaw, Rio, Gothenburg and, closer to home in Edinburgh, staging interview events with guests ranging from Mira Nair and Tim Bevan to Alexander Payne, Mike White and Lone Sherfig. We also have a long and fruitful relationship with the London Film Festival which in the last few years has seen us on stage with Todd Haynes, Steve Buscemi, Harmony Korine, Gasper Noe and Charlie Kaufman.
Photo: Clare Muller
Aaron Sorkin on-stage for The Script Factory
Our first event of 2011 was an extraordinary scoop - a special screening of The Social Network followed by an onstage with Aaron Sorkin in the week he collected a Golden Globe and found himself centre-stage as the nominations were announced for both the BAFTAs and Oscars. Click here to view the first of two highlights packages filmed on the night by BFI LIVE, and here for the second.
Next up, in a very happy Valentine's Day event, we staged an exclusive private screening of West Is West followed by an onstage conversation with its brilliant writer Ayub Khan-Din. More recently we staged our major She Writes Showcase at BAFTA which saw the Performed Reading of the comedy Saint Joan by Grace Banks & Kate Bingham, played by a starry cast including Celia Imrie, Frances Barber and Paula Wilcox.
Our next event was another private preview exclusively for Script Factory Members of Jim Loach's debut feature Oranges & Sunshine followed by a conversation with screenwriter Paula Munro.
Don't forget to join our Mailing List to be sure of hearing about Script Factory masterclasses and previews before they happen.
2010 Events
We spent much of 2010 celebrating new British filmmakers with previews of She, A Chinese, The Scouting Book for Boys and Kicks all followed by onstage Q&As with their creative teams afterwards. Next on the calendar we hosted a special screening of The Ghost with an onstage interview with actress Olivia Williams. In April we headed for Nottingham to host a Masterclass with Comedian Rob Brydon on behalf of BAFTA at the ScreenLit Festival. May saw us hosting a rare event with Chris Morris who joined us onstage with his screenwriters and unexpected cast members to celebrate the opening of the controversial Four Lions. Following that came a preview of The Brothers Bloom with an onstage conversation with its writer/director, Rian Johnson. In August we were joined by actor turned director Rachel Ward as she unveiled the poetic Beautiful Kate. And in September we were thrilled to present a preview of Tamara Drewe followed by an onstage conversation with Stephen Frears, Posy Simmonds and Alison Owen. More recent events included a preview of The Arbor - the brilliant and multi-award-winning drama/doc hybrid exploring the turbulent life of playwright Andrea Dunbar plus an onstage from director Clio Barnard - and our regular appearance at the London Film Festival where we partnered the NFTS to present two events: A Masterclass with Peter Mullan and A Masterclass with Alejandro González Iñárritu.
We were also delighted to be invited to Media Partner both BAFTA and the BFI on their excellent Screenwriters' Lecture Series featuring screenwriting greats including David Hare, Peter Morgan, Simon Beaufoy and Aline Brosh McKenna in exclusive onstage presentations, which took place throughout September.
2009 Events
Script Factory Events during 2009 included 
Photo: Vicky Alhadeff
John Turturro after his triumphant NFTS/Script Factory masterclass an exclusive audience with Richard Linklater; a preview of Glorious 39 followed by an onstage conversation with Bill Nighy, Romola Garai and Stephen Poliakoff; a preview of (500) Days of Summer, plus writer and director on stage; a preview of Dorian Gray plus debut writer, Toby Finlay, director, Oliver Parker, and star Colin Firth on stage afterwards; a preview of The Hurt Locker plus an onstage conversation with screenwriter Mark Boal and legendary director Kathryn Bigelow; a preview of Rudo y Cursi followed by a conversation with Alfonso & Carlos Cuaron, Diego Luna & Gael García Bernal ; a preview of Kisses followed by a conversation with its writer/director Lance Daly; a preview of Cheri plus a conversation with Stephen Frears and Christopher Hampton; In The Loop with Armando Iannucci in conversation; The Young Victoria followed by a conversation with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, and a preview of Flash Of Genius with director Marc Abraham and star Greg Kinnear in conversation.
Events in 2008
Events during 2008 included a preview of Son of Rambow plus a conversation with writer/director Garth Jennings; Doomsday plus an on-stage conversation with its Brit writer/director Neil Marshall; Gone Baby Gone with an on-stage from its star Casey Affleck; a preview of new Brit pic The Waiting Room with an onstage from its writer/director and producer; and a screening of The Edge Of Love followed by a conversation with John Maybury which was beamed live by satellite to 15 venues around the UK. Next up was a lively chat with Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges after a preview of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging; and the chance to hear legendary director Nic Roeg in conversation with novelist Fay Weldon and screenwriter Dan Weldon following a preview of Puffball. We rounded out the year with a preview of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People with an onstage from its director, producer, and screenwriter together with novelist Toby Young. We spent a glorious evening with director William Friedkin as our guest in conversation with Mark Kermode. Finally we hooked up with the London Film Festival to stage several extraordinary profile events with Peter Morgan and Charlie Kaufman.
Photo: Linda Nylind
The legendary John Waters joined us for a joint BFI/NFTS Script Factory masterclass in summer 2007
Events in 2007
Photo: Clare Muller
Sydney Pollack gets last minute tips from Anthony Minghella, his Masterclass hostWe had a particularly busy 2007 staging Masterclasses with Wong Kar-wai, John Waters, Paul Schrader and others, plus numerous previews including the smash comedy Knocked Up with an onstage from its writer/director and star; Brit drama Notes on a Scandal with an onstage from Richard Eyre and Patrick Marber; Becoming Jane plus a chance to meet its director and screenwriter; The Science of Sleep plus a chance to meet its director Michel Gondry; and French thriller Tell No-One with a chance to meet its writer/director Guillaume Canet.
You can see a podcast of one of our events - a preview of Roger Michell's Venus followed by a Q&A with its screenwriter, Hanif Kureishi and producer, Kevin Loader, by clicking here - and you can read extracts from many of our masterclases. We're currently transcribing a range of recent events, so watch this space to read extracts from our previous masterclasses and click here to see what's posted already.
Our 2006 Programme
During 2006 we previewed Proof plus staged a Masterclass with John Madden, Lady Vengeance with an onstage from writer/director Park Chan-wook, and Secuestro Express followed by a chance to hear its writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz in conversation. We had a unique chance to hear BAFTA nominee Deborah Moggach on Adapting Classics, we met the incomparable John Turturro to hear about his eccentric comedy musical Romance & Cigarettes, and we staged a preview of the new Brit com Driving Lessons followed by a conversation with its director Jeremy Brock.
Stephen Frears & Peter Morgan collaborate on The Queen
We screened the only London preview of Stephen Frears' The Queen followed by a Q&A with its writer Peter Morgan, and we heard from Nicholas Hytner and met the cast of The History Boys; we met the sorely missed Anthony Minghella after a preview screening of his London-set feature, Breaking and Entering; and Tom Tykwer together with Ben Whishaw after a preview screening of Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer.
Photo: Clare Muller
Matt Stone & Trey Parker on stage with host, journalist Jason SolomonsDuring 2006 we were lucky enough to stage three grand-scale Skillset Stanley Kubrick Masterclasses which couldn't be more different from each other: the first a career masterclass with the wonderful Sydney Pollack, the second with the irreverent duo responsible for creating South Park; and the third with Oliver Stone & Seamus McGarvey in a conversation about collaborating on World Trade Centre.
Script Factory/NFTS Masterclasses are held in London throughout the year. In addition to these as part of of training and events at Film Festivals, we have staged further exclusive Masterclasses in Edinburgh, London, Berlin, Gothenberg, Cannes, Warsaw and beyond. To read more about our festival events programmes – previously known as SCENE – click here.
Photo: Dave Butler/BVI UK
Wes Anderson & Anjelica Huston enjoy themselves after our masterclass
You can read extracts from many of our masterclass sessions by clicking here - a unique chance to see what artists from Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch, to Ken Adam and Wim Wenders have had to say to us, and more are being added as we go through each year. To keep up to date with new Masterclasses, you can join our mailing list now by clicking here or check the Calendar for details of upcoming events and training.
CLICK HERE TO READ EXTRACTS FROM PREVIOUS MASTERCLASSES
Photo: www.vandevelde.co.uk
Julian Fellowes at a previous Script Factory MasterclassPREVIOUS SCRIPT FACTORY MASTERCLASSES AND SCREEN TALKS HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY:
Gilbert Adair - The Dreamers
Ken Adam
Casey Affleck - Gone Baby Gone
Robert Altman
Wes Anderson - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Judd Apatow - Knocked Up
Guillermo Arriaga - 21 Grams
Michael Ballhaus
Tim Bevan
Susanne Bier
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Danny Boyle
Jeremy Brock - Driving Lessons
Guillaume Canet - Tell No-One
Michael Caton Jones
Gurinder Chadha - Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Simon Channing Williams
Park Chan-wook - Lady Vengeance
Nigel Cole - Calendar Girls
Alfonso Cuaron - Rudo y Cursi
Carlos Cuaron - Rudo y Cursi
Stephen Daldry
Lance Daly - Kisses
Charles Dance
Helen de Winter
Michael Deeley
Richard Eyre - Notes on a Scandal
Eric Fellner
Julian Fellowes - The Young Victoria
Mike Figgis
Toby Finlay - Dorian Gray
Colin Firth - Dorian Gray
Tim Firth - Calendar Girls
Stephen Frears - Cheri, Tamara Drewe
William Friedkin - The French Connection
Romola Garai - Glorious 39
Gael García Bernal - Rudo y Cursi
Mark Gatiss
Roger Goldby
Akiva Goldsman
Michel Gondry - The Science of Sleep
Christopher Guest
Lasse Hallstrom
David Hare
Kevin Hood - Becoming Jane
Joel Hopkins - Last Chance Harvey
Nicholas Hytner - The History Boys
Armando Iannucci - In The Loop
Jonathan Jakubowicz - Secuestro Express
Jim Jarmusch - Broken Flowers
Julian Jarrold - Becoming Jane
Garth Jennings - Son of Rambow
Richard Jobson
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, New York
Hanif Kureishi - Venus
Spike Lee
Mike Leigh
Eugene Levy
Richard Linklater
Kevin Loader - Venus
Diego Luna - Rudo y Cursi
John Madden - Proof
Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal
John Maybury - The Edge Of Love
Paul Mayeda Berges - Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Neil Marshall - Doomsday
Deborah Moggach - Pride & Prejudice
Peter Morgan - The Queen
Roger Michell
Seamus McGarvey - World Trade Centre
Anthony Minghella - Breaking and Entering
Fernando Meirelles
Niels Mueller - The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Scott Neustadter - (500) Days of Summer
Mira Nair
Bill Nighy - Glorious 39
Francois Ozon
Alan Parker
Oliver Parker - Dorian Gray
Trey Parker - South Park
Alexander Payne
Stephen Poliakoff - Glorious 39
Sydney Pollack
Lynne Ramsay
Nic Roeg - Puffball
Seth Rogen - Knocked Up
Mogens Rukov
Lone Scherfig
Paul Schrader - The Walker
Ousmane Sembene - Moolade
Kari Skogland - 50 Dead Men Walking
Oliver Stone - World Trade Centre
Matt Stone - South Park
Sarah Sulick- The Waiting Room
Danis Tanovich
Tom Tykwer - Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer
John Turturro - Romance & Cigarettes
Thomas Vinterberg - It's All About Love
John Waters - This Filthy World
Marc Webb - (500) Days of Summer
Fay Weldon - Puffball
Dan Weldon - Puffball
Wim Wenders
Ben Whishaw - Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer
Wong Kar-wai
Joe Wright - Pride & Prejudice
Toby Young - How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
Saul Zaentz
among many others...