SCRIPTWRITING MADE EASY

Two of Britain’s leading screenwriters spoke recently at BAFTA in London and revealed more about scriptwriting in an hour than you will find in a dozen books, including this gem from William Nicholson: "You’ve got to be somebody who is capable of doing two completely contradictory things." (For details, see below.)

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Nicholson, you may recall, was the pen behind Gladiator (main photo), as well as Shadowlands and The Golden Age, so he should know a thing or two about the craft. And he was joined by Julian Fellowes, who is no slouch either, having won an Oscar for Gosford Park (above) and soon to be credited with Young Victoria.

They made a neat pairing to say the least: The Academic versus the Pugilist.

Which is not to say that Fellowes is not earthy nor that Nicholson is not cultured. They both are extremely diverse characters, and both extraordinarily entertaining speakers.

But there remain stark differences between them: Fellowes invariably coming across as the more genteel, Nicholson the more combative.

And one would not have it any other way as it shows that even in the bizarre world of film, different personalities can flourish.

The occasion was a celebration of the annual Screenwriters Festival, which takes place this year over three days, July 1 to 3, at its established home, the elegant Manor By The Lake at Cheltenham Film Studios, outside Cheltenham.

Now in its thirth year, the Screenwriters Festival gathers together several hundred screenwriters and film/TV folk (600, last year, from 15 countries!) to discuss writing for the screen in the most invigorating surroundings – and in the most invigorating sessions – imaginable.

Fellowes kicked off the masterclass by revealing his views on the dreaded notes which producers and directors send writers after reading their scripts.

"Notes", said Fellowes, "are the scourge of the screenwriter. At the beginning of a screenwriters’ career there is a diversity in how the screenwriter and the producer see the role of writing the script. When you’re beginning you see yourself as a mother and the script as your child. The producer sees you as a midwife delivering their child. There’s a disparity there that has to be resolved."

He went on to talk about the role of the writer after the film has been shot and when it enters post production: "The edit is when the panic comes in. That’s when everyone is terrified that the film isn’t like another film that was a hit last year and they say, 'Oh my god, we made so much money out of Juno and couldn’t you turn this into Juno?' And you say, 'But the whole thing’s set in a prisoner of war camp.' And they say, 'Well, make it a bit Juno'."

Fellowes was so lucid and amusing that many a follow on speaker would have fled from the room rather than take the stage but Nicholson merely seemed inspired by his colleague's virtuosity. And he launched into his role with relish, speaking stirringly about the qualities that made a good screenwriter.

"Writers are different from everybody else in the world", he said.

"I believe writers are the only people who are awake in the world. Everybody else is going through life half asleep but writers are looking, listening and absorbing all the time. Writers have to have empathy, they have to have sensitivity, they have to observe, they have to see. Most people are not seeing or hearing, as you know."

He went on to explain that he thought screenwriters needed a particular personality type to succeed.

"So how are you going to survive in this fiendishly difficult business? The answer is you have to develop this very specific personality. You’ve got to be somebody who is very, very Zen. You’ve got to be somebody who is capable of doing two completely contradictory things."

"The first is you pour yourself with all your heart and soul into your work, you do not do it cynically. You give your best, you care about it. "

"You write a draft, you send it off and then you completely forget about it. It’s gone, it’s over. It’s no longer anything to do with you and you start on something else."

" That is the only way to live. You’ve somehow got to be passionately committed and Zen detached."

He also had a few thoughts on notes: "Listen when they tell you what’s wrong but don’t listen when they tell you what to do about it."

"As a matter of fact they want you to come up with ideas, they want you to be this fountain of ideas, constantly gushing; and they can bring their little polystyrene cup and pop it in and take away the bits that they want. "

"And that is what you’re there to do. So you just keep gushing, they will love you for it."

Fellowes and a host of other talented writers will be in Cheltenham this year providing a slew of additional insights, to relieve what they all admit is the loneliness of writing generally.

Other speakers include household geniuses Mike Leigh and Christopher Hampton; Jane Tranter, Controller of BBC Fiction, who runs the BBC Drama group including BBC Films; and psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud who will explore how writers overcome the mental challenges facing them.

More details about the festival and information on how to register can be found at the Screenwriters Festival site.

Posted June 3, 2008.