Cut To Creative

TOP FILM PRODUCERS SPONSOR BELFAST SCREENWRITING COURSE

Top feature film producers are behind an innovative new screenwriting course in Belfast.

Mark Huffam (producer of Oscar-winning film “THE HOURS” and CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN ) and Simon Bosanquet (producer of “RIPLEY’S GAME” and “THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLARS”) are sponsoring a one day course to be held in Belfast in May. The course is aimed at writers who have a first draft screenplay or a detailed treatment, and who want to kick-start their idea into development.

Mark Huffam said “We’ve always been aware of the wealth of talent in Northern Ireland, and this is a great opportunity to develop and maybe harness some of that talent and energy.”

Uniquely, the course will offer a follow-up development process which will help the writers move their script to the second draft stage. Run by Belfast based screenwriters Richard Crawford and Spence Wright, the event is aimed at developing feature film ideas which will appeal to the marketplace and stand a better chance of getting into production.

Simon Bosanquet added “Producers are always on the lookout for new and exciting film projects, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on any scripts being developed through this new course.”

The new course was welcomed by Andrew Reid, head of production at the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission, who said:

“The film industry in Northern Ireland at the moment is particularly vibrant, and we hope this new initiative will help to identify more screenwriters with the potential to succeed.”

The Course will be held in the Wellington Park Hotel on Saturday 26th May 2007.

So what’s this all about? What are two hoodlums like Crawford and Wright doing with their very own blogsite?

Well, we’re trying to change the world. All right, maybe not the world, per se. But definitely that part of the world that involves itself with writing screenplays. Fellow screenwriters, on these pages quality is sacrosanct. We are determined to help bring about the highest quality screenwriting to be found anywhere in Britain or Ireland. Note, the highest quality. Which means that simply completing your screenplay isn’t enough. It’s got to be better than everyone else’s work. We’re not about networking, we’re not about pitching, we’re not about endless discussions of 3 or 5 act structure. We’re about helping you to write a screenplay that is so good that people will compete to buy it. Because in the end, that’s the only real yardstick.

We aren’t going to teach you how to write a screenplay. You’ll know that already, in your heart of hearts. What we can do is help you make your screenplay as good as it can be. They’re all different, in any case, and it seems to me that each new story comes from a different place and in a different way, and all we can do as writers is carve out the truth of each project as best we can, but do it better than anyone else.

I’m sure Spence will have his own views on this…

Our very first blog ..... aah bless. Needless to say more on Cut To Creatives phenomenal screenwriting workshop to follow.