IndustrialScripts.co.uk

The Brit List Scripts 2013

corleonefamily — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:27:36 +0000

Recently the Brit List scripts were announced. These are the best unproduced scripts of the year in the UK, as voted for by producers, agents and executives. Full details below.

THE BRIT LIST 2013

Welcome to the Brit List 2013.

As in previous years, a balanced mix of producers, agents, distributors and sales agents from the UK film community were invited to submit nominations of their most liked and recommended unproduced screenplays.

Their nominations have been compiled, creating this year’s Brit List. Interestingly, this year there was a wider spread of scripts nominated, with fewer achieving the 3 votes or more needed in order to appear on the list.

In order to qualify for the Brit List, a screenplay had to:
a) receive 3 or more votes
b) be unproduced (not shooting) at the time of the list’s circulation
c) be written by any writer who is non US, and
d) not have featured on previous Brit Lists

Where known, producers have been named alongside the screenplays, as have genre and summary information.

Every effort has been made to supply accurate information, and apologies are made in advance for any inaccuracies or misspellings.

SEVEN VOTES

THE SURVIVALIST by Stephen Fingleton (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Robert Jones/Wayne Godfrey
Genre: Thriller Summary: Years after lack of resources result in much of the world’s population dying off, a survivalist is living alone on a farm until a woman and her seventeen year old daughter show up looking for cover.

SIX VOTES

TALE OF TWO CITIES by David Farr (Curtis Brown Group)
Producers: Origin Pictures/BBC Films
Genre: Drama
Summary: A bold new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic set against the backdrop of the French Revolution.

FIVE VOTES

INVASION by Joe Barton (Independent Talent Group)
Producers: Raw/Film Four
Genre: Thriller
Summary: A US-set psychological thriller with science-fiction elements.

TRIGGER by Lindsay Shapero (Blake Friedman Agency)
Producers: Met Film Productions/BFI
Genre: Dark Comedy
Summary: A twisted detective thriller centred around a teenage boy investigating his own suicide.

WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY by Guy Jenkin & Andy Hamilton (Berlin Associates)
Producers: Origin Pictures/BBC Films
Genre: Comedy Drama
Summary: From the creators of hit TV show ‘Outnumbered’, comes the story of a family going through a difficult divorce who turn up at a family gathering and find themselves tested by a series of extraordinary circumstances.

YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD by Emma Forest (Casarotto)
Producers: Ruby Films/Warner Bros
Genre: Drama
Summary: Based on Emma Forest’s memoir of the same name.

FOUR VOTES

SON OF MAN by Hania Elkington (United Agents)
Producers: World Productions/BFI
Genre: Comedy
Summary: A rites of passage comedy about an obese, bullied Catholic schoolboy with a gift for art and an eccentric saint fixation, who learns what it means to be a man in the unlikely setting of a teenage pregnancy class.

THREE VOTES

BUMMER by Andrew Yerlett (Curtis Brown Group)
Producers: Escape Films
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Summary: A teenage couple, in the throes of first love, discover their parents are engaged to be married meaning they will become brother and sister, unless they can find a way to stop the fast-approaching wedding.

COMPETITION by Sean Buckley (Knight Hall Agency) & Martina Amati (Independent
Producers: Cowboy Films/Film Four Talent Group)
Genre: Drama
Summary: Visceral coming of age tale set in the world of gymnastics.

DRIVEN by David Leon & Rashid Razak (Curtis Brown Group)
Producers: Zeitgeist Films
Genre: Crime Thriller
Summary: Loosely autobiographical film based on David Leon’s childhood experiences growing up in Newcastle in the late 80s and early 90s.

FUTURES by Rob Green (Michelle Kass Associates)
Producers: Starchild Pictures
Genre: Thriller
Summary: Time-travel thriller in London’s financial world.

HARRY’S BLONDE by Caradog James (Michelle Kass Associates)
Producers: Dan Films
Genre: Comedy Horror
Summary: A teenage boy comes of age with the help of two feuding serial killers.

POSH by Laura Wade (Knight Hall Agency)
Producers: Blueprint Pictures
Genre: Comedy drama
Summary: Adaptation of Laura Wade’s hit stage play.

SECOND COMING by Debbie Tucker Green (The Agency)
Producers: Hillbilly Films/Film Four
Genre: Drama
Summary: Jackie is pregnant and knows that it’s not her husband’s. She also knows she’s slept with no-one else. She doesn’t know if she’s losing her mind.

TRIVIAL PURSUITS by Tom Nash (Berlin Associates)
Producers: Embargo Films/BFI
Genre: Thriller
Summary: A hitman befriends the children of the man he’s trying to kill.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2: Electric Boogaloo

corleonefamily — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:06:13 +0000

Word has started circulating that MGM is exploring a sequel to Hot tube Time Machine”, an idea I agree with ~~since the original was a perfectly good standalone film with the potential to make more money~~ as a fan of the franchise. MGM, if you’re reading this please feel free to use these ideas, but keep in mind that a poverty stricken future me may launch a lawsuit so its better if you just give me money now.

The Industrial Revolution:

Going back to the era that defined western civilization, our intrepid heroes find that their steam generating machine puts them in great esteem with high society. However people soon realise a jacuzzi is a ridiculously inefficient way to generate steam so the gang falls from grace and toils away in a workhouse until they die.

The Middle Ages:

Immediately accused of witchcraft upon demonstrating their miraculous machine, they are found guilty and die.

25 AD:

Any other age and they would have been hailed as gods (or killed), however some dude called Jesus is hogging all the fame. The boys instead live a life of obscurity working on a struggling fig farm until they die.

The height of the Roman Empire:

Ah yes, here they will thrive, in the greatest empire on earth with its plentiful public baths. Unfortunately for our bumbling heroes it also full of cut-throat politicians who engineer their downfall and claim the machine for themselves. Thrown into the Colosseum with Russell Crowe nowhere in sight, they die.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away:

Clearly earth is not working out so well, so why not visit the greatest space opera ever with the best seat in the house, great idea right? Well up until Palpatine grows enraged at his skin becoming even more pruny and Darth Vader gets jealous about being unable to join in, at which point, they die.

The Cretaceous Period:

Seeing as most eras of human civilization would prove detrimental to their health, the crew travel back to the age of giants. Unfortunately that age is full of carnivorous 6 ton lizards like the T.rex which have no understanding or appreciation for their miraculous machine and wry pop culture observations. So, they make like Samuel L Jackson in Jurassic Park, they die.

The realistic route:

With the success of “harder” science fiction films like Looper, Source Code and Primer, perhaps going the technical route would work best. However due the lack of consideration given to the earth’s ever changing position over time our heroes end up in the freezing void of space where, fully aware of the irony, they die.

Christmas & New Year 2012/13

corleonefamily — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:19:47 +0000

**We are open for bookings throughout Christmas & New Year with standard turnaround times on all reports. The office will be closed & phone line unmanned during this period. Happy Christmas to all our clients, friends and visitors!!**

Robert McKee (STORY) Podcast

corleonefamily — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:12:39 +0000

Welcome to the ninth podcast from the Insider Interviews: a series of Q & As with people currently working at various levels and in different areas of the British Film industry. The interviews are absolutely exclusive to Industrial Scripts and can’t be accessed anywhere else.

Into the blast furnace this month we welcome STORY guru Robert Mckee, best-selling author and screenwriting theorist.

Click here to download the full interview to your computer…

This interview was produced by Evan Leighton-Davis and Jasodan Moorthy.

How Not to Approach a Literary Agent

corleonefamily — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:27:14 +0000

This is a brilliant page from the Knight Hall Literary Agency – one of the UK’s leading agents representing screenwriters, directors and authors.

It’s essential reading for screenwriters in particular, and while there are some extreme (true life!) examples below, general etiquette and knowing how to deal with industry people in such a way that they think “wow, I could really work with that person” is incredibly important.

Here is their article in full:

Whilst we’re always on the look out for new talent, please, please remember that Knight Hall Agency isn’t a public service.

If you really want to put us off the idea of representing you, here are a few tips (some may raise a smile but we’ve had them all – yes, even the last one – and some are commonplace):

1.After checking with the Post Office that your recorded-delivery package has arrived, phone us to ask if it has arrived. Call again a week later “not chasing, only wondering” if we’ve read the script and consider you a genius but have just forgotten to mention it

2.Phone us repeatedly before you’ve written anything

3.Turn up at our office, barge past the receptionist and inform him/her that you know we say we don’t arrange meetings before seeing a prospective client’s work but as you’re here … (NB: no one likes anyone who’s rude to the receptionist, and anyone who is gets caught out here – we don’t have one)

4.Phone, cupping the mouthpiece, to say you’ve got a brilliant idea but for legal reasons you can’t tell us what it is. Or who you are.

5.Send us a wooden guitar-case packed with scripts written in a vast array of exciting fonts and illustrated throughout. And forget to enclose return postage.

6.Enclose a bunch of kind rejection letters from producers and/or other agents.

7.Write “Dear Road Hell, My name is [insert] and I am a writer, ” enclosing photos of yourself in fancy dress.

8.Having already received two polite letters from us explaining that we don’t feel we’d be the right agents for you, submit your third “spec” adaptation of a copyright novel to which you have not obtained the relevant rights/sequel to someone else’s hit movie/episode of an existing TV series.

9.Send a “zany” letter that runs to several pages, or a one-liner that tells us nothing about the work you’d like us to read.

10.Inform us that a spirit guide dictated your masterpiece to you, and you can prove it by your remote-control healing powers.

You view this article in its original form here: http://www.knighthallagency.com/submissions/how-not-to-approach-us/

Industrial Scripts at the Cannes Film Festival

corleonefamily — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:34:49 +0000

Please note we are at the Cannes Film Festival from the 17th – 21st of May and the office phones will be unmanned during this period.

We will, however, be contactable via email and all script report, training course, and software bookings may take place as normal. Standard turnaround times apply on script feedback services.

Best wishes,

The Industrial Scripts Team

Little White Lies focus on Script Editing

corleonefamily — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:14:51 +0000

Recently, respected film journal Little White Lies focused on script editing, and Evan from our office was interviewed as part of the article.

You can read the piece in full at the Little White Lies website, here.

Evolution of a Script Development Professional

corleonefamily — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:23:57 +0000

One of the questions we’re asked most at Industrial Scripts is – “how do I build a career in script development?”

In truth, it’s not an exact science by any means but the key to getting ahead in development is to pay your dues.

The blunt truth of it is that Ridley Scott is not going to hire you as his Head of Development without you working as a Development Executive first. To beat the legions of others to a Development Executive position, of course, you’re going to have had to first earn your spurs as a Development Assistant or industry Script Reader – reading for big, reputable companies. To get these jobs you’re going to have to impress the powers-that-be either through your work as a runner, or your work as a script reader for small companies/for free.

Later on in your career, once you’ve established a reputation within development circles and got some big company names on your CV, you’ll begin to be considered for the occasional, rarely advertised full-time development job that comes up. You might move up through the ranks, spending around 3 years in a development position, before moving to a new one, going into producing, or even starting your own independent script feedback service – only if you’ve accumulated the years of necessary credentials by this point to have your service taken seriously.

Here’s how the full-time jobs generally break down in development (note: Development Co-Ordinator is a rare job, with many companies lacking the need or resources to hire at this stage):

PA/Assistant/Runner/Intern ->

Development Assistant ->

(Development Co-Ordinator) ->

Development Executive ->

Head of Development

Here’s our handy visual guide to how a script development professional’s career evolves, and the kind of timeframes involved at each stage.

We hope you enjoy it, but remember, a serious career in script development is a marathon not a sprint – there aren’t any short-cuts, you just have to do the hard-yards if you’re serious about it!

Good luck!

(click on the image to enlarge it).

How people progress in script development