Screen Players Film Club is our exciting new screening and podcast series.
The first season is now available to listen.
Listen on any of these platforms or wherever you usually access podcasts.
If you like what you hear please subscribe and review, it would mean the world!
Like a book club for film, join our infectiously enthusiastic host Charlotte Bogard Macleod in conversation with the film industry’s most acclaimed creatives.
Each episode we invite a writer, director, producer or actor to share the stories and never-before-told anecdotes behind bringing one much-loved movie to the big screen.
It’s a unique podcast experience as most episodes are recorded live in front of a movie-loving Screen Players Film Club audience at the gorgeous Cinema at Selfridges.
Screen Players Film Club is created in partnership with Soho Square Studios and Olympic Studios.
Produced by PODSSS, an initiative from Soho Square Studios to enable emerging pod talent.
"Screen Players Film Club started as a film-geek’s impulse to share great movies, and invite those who created them to explore the stories of bringing them to the big screen. What side-swiped me was that initial chats about the movie making process swiftly moved onto something more profound, as guests opened up to stories behind making these films. Now it really feels like a club, for both film lovers and lovers of life, as we eavesdrop on moments like Sam Taylor-Johnson’s startling revelation of maternal abandonment, Simon Beaufoy’s admission of Oscar night anxieties, and Nick Broomfield's confession of the enduring influence of his first love."
Charlotte Bogard Macleod
EPISODE 1: SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON
Turner nominated visual artist and BAFTA nominated director Sam Taylor Johnson talks to Charlotte Bogard Macleod about her poignant debut feature Nowhere Boy, which explores the early life of John Lennon.
DON’T MISS
Sam sharing what happened when Paul McCartney called her out of the blue, while she was shopping for cereal in Sainsbury’s.
Sam divulging an extraordinary story of abandonment from her own childhood that explains why the scripts resonated so personally with her.
The nail-biting moment when Yoko One watched Nowhere Boy, and Yoko’s astonishing reaction to the movie.
CHARLOTTE ON SAM
“When I first sent Sam an invitation to come and screen Nowhere Boy and talk at Screen Players Film Club I received a wondrous but brief reply. ‘Of course, Charlotte, I’ll do whatever you want!’ That is typical of Sam’s generosity.
I’ve never met anyone more open and soulful. Sam’s artistic superpower is her ability to transform the privately felt into something that resonates universally. No wonder Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and a host of leading actors allowed Sam to capture them weeping for her iconic ‘Crying Men’ series of photographic portraits. And it’s a sensitivity that permeates each frame of Nowhere Boy.
I cannot wait to share this episode with you, as Sam opens up to the personal and moving story of how her debut feature came to life.”
EPISODE 2: SIMON BEAUFOY
Oscar winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy talks to Charlotte about writing the emotional rollercoaster and smash-hit that is Slumdog Millionaire.
DON’T MISS
Simon’s unique insights into how to handle a multi-strand, multi-timeline, non-linear narrative - and still get the movie to resonate with audiences.
Hearing how the infamous escape from the locked toilet was created by peanut butter and chocolate sauce.
Finding out what the project was nearly consigned to the DVD bin, before going on to win 8 Oscars.
CHARLOTTE ON SIMON
“As soon as I asked Simon Beaufoy to be part of Screen Players Film Club he also said ‘yes’. There was only one problem. Which film should we screen and discuss? How about one of the best British films of all time - the BAFTA winning The Full Monty? Or the taut survival thriller 127 Hours? Or the grand slam fight against misogyny in Battle of the Sexes? The choice was overwhelming. Each of these films are filled with Simon’s trademark combination of scabrous wit, unflinching honesty and real humanity.
But Simon knew in an instant he wanted to discuss Slumdog Millionaire. Not because it picked up a staggering 4 Golden Globes, 7 BAFTAs and 8 Oscars. The reason Simon wanted to screen this movie was because he’d banned his own children from watching it until they could see it on the big screen. What did it mean for Simon to finally watch this film with his grown up children? Please listen to find out.”
EPISODE 3: Tessa ROSS
Tessa Ross, CBE, one of Britain’s best-loved and most acclaimed producers, talks to Charlotte about BAFTA and Oscar-winner and audience favourite - Conclave.
DON’T MISS
How Tessa came across early chapters of Conclave and persuaded Robert Harris to allow her to option the novel.
How she and director Edward Berger gathered such an extraordinary cast, with the added bonus of Stanley Tucci providing top restaurant recommendations around Rome.
Insights into Tessa’s extraordinary prophetic talent to know exactly what audiences will want to see in cinemas - years in advance.
CHARLOTTE ON TESSA
“Tessa Ross’s filmography reads likes a list of my favourite British films ever made - films that challenge, surprise and move the heart. Think The Zone of Interest, Room, The Lobster, Four Lions, This is England, The Wonder, They Shall Not Grow Old.
Tessa is now the Co-CEO of House Productions, but her prior role as Controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4 left an enduring legacy on the UK’s film scene. No wonder Tessa was awarded the BAFTA for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema. She developed and financed such diverse hits as Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin and Steve McQueen’s Hunger, Shame and 12 Years a Slave.
On meeting Tessa what astonished me was how self-effacing and modest she was about her own achievements. She lives and works by the belief that ‘It’s never about me.’ I was blown away by her sublime insights into working with some of the greatest living filmmakers, and cannot wait for you to hear them too.”
EPISODE 4: NICK BROOMFIELD & DAN SMITH
Legendary documentary maker Nick Broomfield and singer-songwriter and Bastille frontman Dan Smith talk to Charlotte about Nick’s film Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, and how it came to inspire Dan’s own songwriting.
DON’T MISS
Nick’s Broomfield’s extraordinary insights into how Leonard Cohen’s songwriting skills were helped by a diet of speed and sandwiches.
Nick Broomfield’s insider tips into how to find the narrative drive and best interviewees to make a compelling documentary.
Dan Smith’s hilarious anecdotes of co-writing songs on zoom during lockdown.
CHARLOTTE ON NICK AND DAN
“I met achingly cool documentary maker Nick Broomfield at a film festival in Spain, and it is no exaggeration to say that we literally talked all night. And we’ve been talking ever since.
A few years later, I met the insanely talented Brit award-winning singer-songwriter, composer and creative force Dan Smith. He invited me to writer a theatrical response to his album Doom Days, and at our first meeting we talked so much, the uber driver I’d booked to take me home left in a huff.
What Nick and Dan share is a glorious spirit of enquiry, coupled with an extraordinary capacity to find the humanity in every person they encounter. They also share a passion for film. Dan’s love of cinema inspired him to write a song based on Nick’s movie, Marianne and Leonard: Word of Love. So what a joy to bring Nick and Dan together to discuss why this film resonates so deeply with them both.
I cannot wait to share this episode with you!”
EPISODE 5: HOSSEIN AMINI
Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award winning screenwriter Hossein Amini talks to Charlotte about the process of adapting James Tallis’ lyrical novel Drive for the big screen.
DON’T MISS
Hearing about Hossein Amini’s meticulous planning when writing care chase sequences.
His jaw-dropping confession about his own driving skills.
Hossein’s secret to using silence and subtext to create authentic dialogue,
CHARLOTTE ON HOSS AMINI
“Amini is known as The Master of Adaptation, and what is so amazing is the way he translates the interiority of the novel form into compelling visual storytelling. James Sallis’ book Drive was deemed un-filmable until Hoss adapted it into the cool, cruel and yet achingly tender screenplay for Nicholas Winden Refyn’s movie. An instant classic which, despite its brutality, grabs your heart and stays with you long after the last frame.
For someone who writes such impenetrable, detached characters, Hoss proved to be warm, eloquent and a brilliantly generous guest. I totally loved talking to him and getting to the heart of how he creates such luminous, cinematic screenplays.
We even discussed the details of where and how he writes, what he sees out of his window, and how he breaks down the writing day. Spoiler alert: turns out Hoss is addicted to writing. He’s wonderfully, wondrously articulate and inspiring - I know you’ll agree.”
NEXT SCREEN PLAYERS FILM CLUB EVENT
Film lovers you are not going to want to miss out on this one! We are giddy with excitement that out next Screen Players Film Club guest is Roger Deakins, one of the greatest cinematographers of all time.
Roger will be joining us on Wednesday 3rd September at The Cinema At Selfridges together with his creative work partner James Deakins. We will be screening the Coen Brother’s cinematic masterpiece The Man Who Wasn’t There, and post screening Roger and James will be in conversation with Charlotte Bogard Macleod, discussing the movie, and Roger’s new photography book BYWAYS.
The Man Who Wasn’t There stars Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini and Scarlett Johansson, in a tale of infidelity, embezzlement, blackmail, crime and punishment. Joel and Ethan Coen’s film is a homage to the film noir genre and it is damn near perfect The cinematography is breathtaking - exquisitely lit, luminous and beyond beautiful. It’s a playfully brilliant film - gin soaked, adulterous, and plot-twisty with a mesmerising performance by a smouldering Billy Bob Thornton.
We cannot wait for you to meet Roger Deakins CBE, /ASC, BSC, who has been nominated for a jaw-dropping 16 Oscars and won twice, and 17 BAFTA’s and won five times, and his collaborative partner James Deakins. Together they have a unique working style, and have created the acclaimed film podcast “Team Deakins”. Please join us afterwards for a special opportunity to get Roger to sign his latest Damiani published photographic book BYWAYS.
Door will open at 5.30pm to purchase your copy of BYWAYS
6.30pm “The Man Who Wasn’t There” Screening
8.30pm Roger and James Deakins in conversation
9.00pm Byways Book signing with Roger Deakins
Tickets £20 from The Cinema at Selfridges.