BROADCHURCH REVISITED
BROADCHURCH revisited NB If you haven’t watched it and still want to – then read on – I’ve tried my hardest not to include SPOILERS! Hi There, So BROADCHURCH (series1!) has come to an end but I couldn’t let it go without a few more thoughts – about just why it has been so successful. […]
THE SCRIPT EDITOR’S ROLE
Hi There, Thinking about our for upcoming weekend screenwriting course (May 11-12) with special guest speaker BBC drama script editor ESTHER SPRINGER, something I’m often reminded of is that a lot of people (and some writers!) don’t actually know what a script editor does. So I thought I’d try to answer this from […]
SCREENWRITER NEIL MCKAY ON FACTUAL DRAMA
Hi There, I’m really delighted this week to share with you a guest article written by screenwriter NEIL McKAY. I worked with Neil on my first ever script-editing job, MEDICS, a medical series for Granada\ITV. Neil wrote some excellent episodes for this series – I remember particularly one very powerful story about a pregnant teenager […]
TWO PHILS SCREENWRITING COURSE May 11-12
Hi There, NOW BOOKING for THE AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO WRITING AND SELLING A GREAT SCREENPLAY, Central London May 11-12. Our finely-tuned weekend course that spends day 1 on the craft and creativity of screenwriting, day 2 on the business of selling your work and yourself as a screenwriter. Special Guest: BBC Drama script editor ESTHER […]
SIDE EFFECTS VS OUR GIRL
Hi There, ‘a gripping psychological thriller… masterpiece… brilliant: a noir psychological thriller – like a 21st-century Marnie, or Rosemary’s Baby… a gripping and disturbing thriller‘ Unbelievably (to me) these are all reviews for feature film SIDE EFFECTS, which I caught up with last weekend. Now I normally have a policy in these newsletters of attempting […]
NEW WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
Hi There, I’ve had a hectic but very enjoyable week working with a lot of different screenwriters. Last weekend was the March edition of ‘The Two Phils’ Guide to Writing & Selling Your Screenplay‘ course in London. It was a really enjoyable weekend with an excellent group. Several of the ideas and characters that were […]
BOX SET CULTURE
Hi there, Still enjoying ITV drama series BROADCHURCH, I’m suddenly finding it tiresome having to wait a week for the next episode. Because over the last few years, like so many other UK viewers, I’ve become part of ‘Box Set’ culture, used to instant gratification of my TV viewing needs. So, for instance, when I’m […]
BROADCHURCH – crime drama at its best
Hi there, BROADCHURCH – new 8x 60’ ITV series. Mondays 9pm What I liked so much about BROADCHURCH episode one was that it was very conventional subject-matter – a story we’ve seen many times before – but at the same time absolutely gripping. It reminded me that good drama doesn’t have to re-invent the wheel […]
Generating IDEAS – Jamie Hewitt
Hi There, Thank you for the fantastic response to last week’s newsletter, which I will return to at a later date… And welcome to the first newsletter of Spring! This week – a GUEST POST by script editor JAMIE HEWITT. Jamie worked with me on the 2012 Channel 4 screenwriting course as shadow script editor, […]
Oscar Pistorius – the ‘crime drama’
Hi There, Listening to the news about the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing made me think about dramatic story-telling and took me back to some of the TV crime and legal dramas that I’ve worked on as script editor – shows like Waking The Dead, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC. If we’re being somewhat cold-hearted about […]