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Susanna Fogel: Writing Booksmart, The Spy Who Dumped Me and Beyond Meet one of the hottest writers in Hollywood right now, Susanna Fogel, who is in town for the BAFTAs where she is nominated for ‘Booksmart’. If you have seen it you will know why she is nominated. If you haven’t, watch it tonight. Susanna is already on the cutting edge and disrupting genres in

Frank Spotnitz… Ten truths ARE out there… and other Screenwriting Truth Bombs The crowd arrived quietly. It felt like the middle of the night. Some of us had the absent look of the almost asleep… Well it was 9.30am, the crack of dawn for a room full of writers. But within seconds we were on our feet. Suddenly there were screams and ferocious clapping. What

Frank Spotnitz has navigated his 25-year career as a Screenwriter, Producer, and Showrunner by following three rules. As part of the London Screenwriters’ Festival Breakfast Club, Frank shared these rules (and a lot more advice) to screenwriters in a Q&A event more than worth the price of admission. For example, according to Frank, all good storytelling must… Entertain Move the audience emotionally Make the audience

John August: A Big Fish across the Pond by Elaine Clayton The London Breakfast Club was back in action this week. Hot on the heels of the London Screenwriters’ Festival and with a spectacular guest speaker: John August. Many of us are familiar with Scriptnotes, the weekly podcast John hosts with fellow screenwriter Craig Maizen. If you aren’t then here’s a link: https://johnaugust.com/scriptnotes It’s routine

John August: “Itches to be scratched” and Nine Cool Screenwriter Things by Kosha Engler Thirty minutes later John August appeared in the flesh. We went wild with applause for the great man of podcast fame and oh, one or two Hollywood films. And a musical. And a few novels. And a screenwriting app, which he designed. All “itches to be scratched.” My first London Breakfast

Meet Joe Barton: How I Learned How to Crack Netflix by Philip Lawrence Ooh ah! Netflix. You wondrous angel you, beaming glorious, bold imaginative stories into our homes and devices. From whence do these mystical tales come? And how can we, the humble screenwriter offer up our meagre scribblings for your consideration? Today’s Breakfast Club brings Joe Barton before us – who recently cracked Netflix

Nine brilliant fix-its from Rowan Joffe’s toolbox by Jade S. Bokhari This was one of those talks. You feel the crackle in the air and the hairs spike on the nape of your neck from the speaker’s passion as it ignites the air. Rowan Joffe, writer, director and the man behind Sky Atlantic’s new series; Tin Star, is the man you want to listen to

“I want originality!” and seven things I learnt when I met Christopher Hampton by Tom Kerevan After a short break, the London Breakfast Club was back. At the new, more sociable time of Pimms O’Clock on a Friday, the Phoenix Artist Club was yet again packed out to hear words of wisdom from a Hollywood great. I was lucky enough to get a bit of

Dean Craig: 10 Take Home Points from his Breakfast Club by Emma Heath Dean Craig’s screenwriting career has taken the sort of trajectory many dream of. From working as a runner… to getting his first feature, Caffeine, produced… to his script Death at a Funeral being made not once, not twice, but THREE times (in the UK, USA and India). He now enjoys a TV

The Three Pillars Of Successful Low Budget Horror Film Production with Jen Handork Jen Handorf, veteran of five Brit low budget horror flicks, shared her experience at the London Breakfast Club today. It was an insightful conversation with a producer who has been prolific in production and effective in distribution and sales. Having worked on so many films, Jen has managed to distil her basic

Carlo Dusi: How to make money selling a feature using the independent and the studio models Another icy morning, another warming breakfast and another 80 or so film-makers hungry for an inspiring talk. And the chance to meet Ridley Scott. Well not quite… Carlo Dusi is Head of Business and Commercial Affairs at Scott Free London, the younger smaller sibling of the American office. Chris

Jane Espenson and Brad Bell: Ten things I learned by Diane Larowska As I ran past Peter Capaldi crossing Cambridge Circus on a gloriously sunny Monday morning on my way to “Breakfast” with Jane Espenson and Brad C Bell, I knew the goddess of geek was smiling down on me. Writer, producer and TV deity Jane met the fantastically gifted writer, actor, producer Bell through

Marcus Marcou: How To Self Release YOUR movie Marcus Markou is more than prepared to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to his feature film debut, ‘Papadopoulos & Sons’ – so much so that he remortgaged his house so he could self distribute it in UK cinemas! Getting nowhere working the traditional sales agent and distribution routes, Marcus’ plan was to

John Yorke: Structure, Meaning and Magic By Tom Kerevan In a film world obsessed with structure, there was something refreshingly honest about John Yorke standing up in front of a room full of writers and stating that structure gurus had him seriously worried. So worried, he’d become one. The irony was not lost on him. John was working in TV when McKee burst onto the

Catching the break and riding the wave with David Nicholls A Very British Breakfast by Philip Lawrence I’ve been to a few of the Breakfast Clubs before, as well as to the 2012 Screenwriter’s Festival and most of the talks I’ve seen have been conducted by people with lots of experience of giving lectures on their specialist subject. It can sometimes be very (for want