How to write, pitch and produce your screenplay

Learn how to take your script from the page to the screen from some of the very best in the business

Writing for the screen is a dream job for many creative writers, but as well as the artistic challenges, it also means working in a notoriously hard-nosed business. Scriptwriters need to know the rules of the game, including what audiences want from a script, what studios are looking for in a project, and how to negotiate both the creative process and the pitfalls of the industry. From plotting your first draft to pitching your final script to a producer, this large-scale one-day seminar provides unique insight to aspiring screenwriters.

Our panel of world-class expert speakers includes renowned producer Kevin Loader (Nowhere Boy/Alan Patridge: Alpha Papa), screenwriter Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare At Goats), writer-director Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant) and leading talent agent Nick Marston (hossein Amini/Simon Donald), with the event curated and hosted by leading film journalist and critic Dave Calhoun (Time Out).

This course is for you if...

• You’re an aspiring screenwriter who wants to understand the ingredients of a great script, and the best ways to get it noticed by the industry
• You’re an aspiring director or producer who wants to understand more of the role of the screenplay in the film industry
• You’re a curious film lover who wishes to learn more about the craft of screenwriting

Course description

This one-day super-large-scale seminar features explores all angles of the screenwriting process, from writing to pitching to working with agents. The event includes ample Q&A time with a variety of expert speakers. Scheduled sessions include:

• An in-depth talk from Kevin Loader – one of the UK’s most celebrated independent producers – on the importance and role of the screenwriter in today’s film industry
• In-depth interview and Q&A sessions with leading screenwriter Peter Straughan and writer-director Clio Barnard. Offering the benefit of their own experiences, they will offer practical advice on scriptwriting essentials such as character and dialogue,and explore the realities of working as a screenwriter
• Leading talent agent Nick Marston provides a candid overview of the role of the screenwriter in today’s film industry, including advice on how to get your work noticed

Tutor profiles

Kevin Loader is one of the UK’s foremost and prolific independent film producers. He has a long running creative partnership with the director Roger Michell, with whom he has produced films including The Mother, Venus, Le Weekend and, recently for TV, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. Kevin’s other films as a producer include The History Boys, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Nowhere Boy and In the Loop. He has worked with writers including Steve Coogan, Alan Bennett, Hanif Kureishi and Peter Morgan.

Peter Straughan is a British screenwriter and playwright. His scripts include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Debt and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. In 2012 Straughan and his late wife Bridget O’Connor won the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Clio Barnard is the writer-director of two celebrated British independent feature films, The Selfish Giant and The Arbor. She teaches at the University of Kent and in 2013 won the inaugural Wellcome Trust and BFI Screenwriting Fellowship. In 2010, she won The Guardian First Film Award for The Arbor.

Nick Marston is chairman of the Theatre, Film and Television department at talent agency Curtis Brown and one of Britain’s leading agents of writers and directors. Nick’s clients include the writers Rowan Joffe, Enda Walsh and Hossein Amini.

Dave Calhoun is the global film editor at Time Out London. He has written on film for publications including the Guardian, the Observer, the Times and Sight & Sound. He regularly broadcasts on Sky TV and BBC Radio and TV, and hosts film events at cinemas across London for public, BAFTA and AMPAS audiences. He was previously deputy editor of Dazed & Confused magazine.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website