“Making Magic Real” - David Edgar in Cornwall

Playwright David Edgar will be at Hall for Cornwall on Thursday October 9th.

This is a great opportunity to meet multi-award winning playwright David Edgar.

David will discuss the writer’s life, and will also be talking about the perceived problems of being based so far away from London. But is geography a state of mind? Or, with the advent of the Internet, do writers now have the greatest freedom to live wherever they choose – including Cornwall?

Do you really need an agent? How important is it to become a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain? And how does all this tie in with the current state of theatre?

Come along for an uplifting talk, a lively debate, wine and nibbles, and a chat afterwards with other writers and people interested in writers and writing.

David is perhaps best known for his adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby for the RSC, he has also written for radio, television, and film, as well as founding the University of Birmingham's MA in Playwriting Studies. He is President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

Thursday 9th October 7:30pm Assembly Room, Hall for Cornwall Tickets are free, so booking is advised. HfC Box Office 01872 262466

Presented by Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and supported by Hall for Cornwall, Mundic Nation and Cornwall Media Focus.

Guild Awards - Best Book shortlist

The final shortlist for the Guild Awards has been announced today. The contenders for Best Book are:

• Tim Butcher - Blood River
• Kate Clanchy - What is she doing here?
• Owen Sheers - Resistance

Tickets for the Awards ceremony, which takes place at BAFTA on 23 November, are still available (priced £30 to Writers’ Guild members and £50 to non-members).

For further information, please contact the Writers’ Guild office on 020 7833 0777 or email Lauren@writersguild.org.uk.

(Paul) Abbott Vision will put writers on top

In Media Guardian, Ben Dowell reports that Guild member Paul Abbott has bought out his partner in Tightrope Pictures and brought it within his company, Abbott Vision.

"Abbott's plan is to establish an innovative model for the creation, production and distribution of world-class drama, putting writing talent on top of the supply chain," Abbott's spokeswoman told MediaGuardian.co.uk.

"Abbott Vision is spearheading a shakeup of the current independent production model which is manifestly failing to address the famine of imaginative new work."

Adapting novels for the screen

In The L.A. Times, Lewis Beale talks to writers about the challenge of adapting novels into screenplays.

"Blindness," Nobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's 1997 allegorical novel about an epidemic of sightlessness that threatens to destroy society, is told in a stream-of-consciousness style that reads like a fever dream. Not exactly " Harry Potter," straight-to-the-big-screen material.

Yet, Don McKellar saw in it a screenplay and Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") saw in that screenplay a film he could direct. And the fact that "Blindness" is now multiplex fodder, with the film opening Friday, is a testament to the willingness of moviemakers to tackle -- sometimes against great odds -- some of the toughest literary works.

Blindess trailer



Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, opens in the UK later this year.

Guild Awards shortlists - Best TV Drama Series

An update to the list of shortlisted writers - Julie Rutterford, Mick Ford and Mark Greig should have been included with Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham for Ashes To Ashes (Best TV Drama Series).

Theatre and Politics: A Playwright's Agenda

On the Guild website, Othniel Smith reports from Theatre and Politics: A Playwright's Agenda, an event organised by the Guild's Welsh Branch.

Phil Ralph suggested that [his play, Deepcut] served a need in terms of filling the ideological void and combating audience cynicism, by telling a profoundly political story via the experience of one family; as well as by succeeding where more supposedly objective journalistic media had failed.

Cash in the garret

A guest post from Gail Renard, Chair of the TV Committee

Are you sitting on a fortune? On December 4th, Christie’s is having its “Popular Culture and Entertainment” sale and is looking for items to auction. As someone who’s recently been lucky at auction myself, I’d urge you to check if you have any hidden show biz gems.

Christie’s are looking for items relating to 20th century icons or from classic Hollywood films or genres. Pieces they already have for auction include a selection of costumes from The Sopranos; personal wardrobe from Marilyn Monroe; tuxedo trousers worn by James Dean in Giant; and Batman and James Bond collectibles, including a replica of the Golden Gun.

They also have items from Star Wars and Harry Potter; as well as a collection of vintage portrait photographs of Marlene Dietrich. (The photo shown is by Eugene Robert Richee, from the Paramount 1933 film, Song Of Songs, estimate £1200 - £1600.)

The deadline for pieces is October 10th. If you’ve memorabilia you might like to auction, contact:

Katherine Williams 0207 752 31

kwilliams@christies.com

What Guild members are getting up to

Taken from the Guild's weekly ebulletin for members.

MARTIN ALLEN wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 29th September.

PERRIE BALTHAZAR wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 1st October.

IAN BROWN and JAMES HENDRIE wrote the episode of My Family, Going Dental, going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Monday 29th September.

PAUL CAMPBELL co-wrote the episode of Casualty, Guilty Complex, going out on BBC1 at 8:55pm on Saturday 27th September.

JOHN CHAMBERS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 2nd October.

SIMON CROWTHER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 3rd October.

LISA EVANS’ play Stamping, Shouting & Singing Home tours the SW in a production by Forest Forge in a co production with The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton from 11 September - 21st October.

PETER FLANNERY wrote the episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, The Third Girl, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

CHARLIE FLETCHER wrote the episode of Wire In The Blood, Falls the Shadow, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

NAWAL GADALLA wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 28th September until Friday 3rd October with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

CHRIS GILL wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 29th September.

ROB GITTINS wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 2nd and at 8:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

DAVID HANSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 2nd October.

PATRICK HARBINSON wrote the episode of Place Of Execution going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Monday 29th September.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Beautiful People, How I Got My Vase, going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Thursday 2nd October.

JANE HOLLINSON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 29th September.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat, Oscar’s Birthday, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

MARK ILLIS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

ALICE JOSEPH'S play For The Public Good and Celebritney by HEATHER JOHNSTON, a double bill of one-act plays, both inspired by current news events, started its run on Tuesday, September 23rd and has daily performances until Sunday 28th, 7.30 pm, at Barons Court Theatre, Curtains Up Pub, 28a Comeragh Road, London W14 9HR £10 (£7 concession) 020 8932 4747

MARCY KAHAN wrote the episode of Psmith in the City, Stirring Times With Comrade Waller, going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Friday 3rd October.

DAVID LANE wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on 3rd October.

BRIAN LANGTRY’S musical play The Eva Cassidy Story is currently on its 8th U.K./Ireland tour. Again starring ex Steps star Faye Tozer in the title role and with the addition of the flame-haired Irish songstress Rose Marie as Eva’s mother.

TONY MCHALE wrote the episode of Holby City, No Breaks On The Midnight Express, going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 30th September.

SUE MOONEY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 30th September.

JONATHAN MYERSON’S radio drama Number Ten is beginning on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 30th September. The cast includes Guild member ANTHONY SHER.

DAVID NICHOLLS’S dramatization of Tess of the D’Urbervilles continues with its penultimate episode going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

HOWARD OVERMAN wrote the episode of Merlin, Valiant, going out on BBC1 at 6:00pm on Saturday 27th September.

JULIE PARSONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 1st October.

TIMOTHY PRAGER wrote the episode of Silent Witness, Safe, going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Wednesday 1st October.

PATREA SMALLACOMBE wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 30th September.

JENNY STEPHENS’ play The Speckled Monster, produced by Birmingham Rep, runs at The Think Tank, Millenium Point until 4th October.

PETER WHALLEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 1st October.

BBC Vision's commissioning wishlist

In Broadcast, controllers in BBC Vision reveal their wishlists for new commissions.

They include Jane Tranter (outgoing controller of fiction):

"I would like to see more wit in absolutely everything. Even the most serious drama is made better and more exceptional by having moments of lightness and wit in it, because actually that is what real life is," she says.

She's particularly keen to find shows to compete with ITV at 8pm on Sunday nights.

Elsewhere:

• Lucy Lumsden, controller of comedy, wants more studio sitcoms
• Anne Gilchrist, controller of CBBC, is on the look out for comedy
• Michael Carrington, controller of CBeebies, wants web content for two-to four-year-olds.
  

Doc and Dram

In The Guardian, Guild President David Edgar examines the rise of the documentary play.

Fact-based theatre calls attention to, and thus questions, the credibility of the evidence on which we base our view of the world. Unlike naturalistic drama, which invites us to suspend disbelief, verbatim drama wears its sources on its sleeve. At a time when people are highly distrustful of public information, the presentation of witnesses in the theatre invites us to cross-examine. Testimony theatre can be simultaneously reliant on and suspicious of its raw materials.

Attack on The Jewel Of Medina publisher foiled

From David Leppard in The Times:

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist command yesterday foiled an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to kill the publisher of a forthcoming novel featuring sexual encounters between the Prophet Muhammad and his child bride.

Early yesterday armed undercover officers arrested three men after a petrol bomb was pushed through the door of the north London home of the book’s publisher.

The Metropolitan police said the target of the assassination plot, the Dutch publisher Martin Rynja, had not been injured.

The book, The Jewel Of Medina by American author Sherry Jones, was withdrawn from publication in America but will be published in the UK next month.

The end of American TV seasons?

As the US financial system teeters on the brink of collapse, another seemingly fixed point in American life is also under threat, albeit with less severe consequences.

As Bill Carter reports for The New York Times, the traditional idea of TV seasons is now less relevant than ever as the networks position themselves as part of a 52-week, multi-platform media industry.

The writers' strike, which disrupted season planning, is part of the cause, but so is the increasing use of digital video recorders and the sales of DVDs.

“What counts is how many people watch a show everywhere it plays,” said Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment. “We’re selling a million DVDs of ‘The Office’ and ‘Heroes’ and ‘House.’ On ‘The Office’ if we get 200,000 downloads of an episode, that’s the same as selling two more commercial units in the show.”

Clive James talks to Tom Stoppard

On video for The Times, Clive James interviews Guild member Tom Stoppard about his long career.

Funny or Die UK

Comedy clips website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Judd Apatow is now available in a UK flavour.



At the moment that more-or-less means the US version plus some clips from Little Britain USA but, according to Owen Gibson in The Guardian:

In conjunction with Hat Trick, the independent producer behind Have I Got News for You and Father Ted, it will also open a London-production office headed up by comedian James Serafinowicz, with other staff including Al Campbell, the director of Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe and also worked on Fonejacker.

Channel 4 plans drama cuts

In Broadcast, Robin Parker reports that Channel 4's budget cuts will affect most types of programming, including drama.

The £100m savings, introduced because of the downturn in the ad market, include trimming £25m from C4's 2008 programming budget, which now stands at £575m - down from £615m in 2007. C4 also plans a further £25m in savings from areas such as marketing, new business investment, new media and general overheads.

The programming cuts come almost entirely from UK-originated shows and will affect all C4 channels.

September 2008 ALCS payout

A guest post from Gail Renard, Chair of the Guild's TV Committee:

The latest ALCS payout was distributed last week and, as we know, writers are always glad to receive money. The ALCS is a worthy organisation but I’d recommend checking your statement carefully, which is a pretty good general rule for any payment you receive from any company.

The digital age is upon us, and we’re all (with luck and a prevailing wind) going to be receiving more and more micro-payments from more and more different sources. Writers are notorious for sticking their heads in the sand and hyperventilating when it comes to finance, but now’s a great time to change.

None of these payments, including those from ALCS, are gifts from the writing gods. They’re a legitimate, negotiated part of your writing fee, which you’ve earned by the sweat of your computer. Mistakes do happen, even in the best of companies, so if there’s something you don’t understand, ask!

And, should you have a query about your ALCS statement, or were expecting money and didn’t get it, please get in touch with ALCS. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help.

A million free theatre tickets for young people

From the Department for Culture Media and Sport:

A new scheme to encourage young people to experience live theatre was unveiled today by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. A £2.5 million programme – funded by Arts Council England, who will manage the scheme – will be focused on some 95 venues all over England. Each will offer a proportion of the tickets for arts productions on the same night every week – free – to anyone under 26 years old.

The scheme will start in February 2009 with an initial goal of providing a million free tickets by March 2011. Theatres taking part will have to guarantee free seats for young people across the whole two-year period.

Pinter and cricket

In The Guardian, Michael Henderson is prompted by an imminent revival of Guild member Harold Pinter's No Man's Land to reflect on the playwright's long-standing passion for cricket.

One day at drama school Pinter skipped classes to go to Lord's, running through the gate at the Nursery End to see Cyril Washbrook late-cutting for four. His abiding memory of that truant day, expressed in six simple words towards the end of that 1969 essay, is of an Eden familiar to all cricket-lovers: "that beautiful evening Compton made 70".

Is there a more evocative sentence in cricket literature? Even those who never saw Compton in his prime may feel, reading those words, that "I have known this before". It is one of those moments frozen in time.

Andrew Davies in Sheffield

As part of the Off The Shelf Literary Festival in Sheffield, Guild member Andrew Davies will be talking about his work on Tuesday October 21st, 7.30pm at the Pennine Theatre, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield.

Tickets £9/7 (cons) from Sheffield Theatres Box Office. Tel: 0114 249 6000

The UK horror revival

A story on BBC News this morning, about shooting commencing on a new Hammer Film, led me (via Dread Central) to this story by Ali Jaafar in Variety a couple of months ago about the revival of UK horror.

One reason for the current glut lies in the success of Danny Boyle's 2002 "28 Days Later." Pic's critical and commercial success marked a paradigm shift for Brit financiers in terms of backing genre projects.

"With '28 Days Later,' you had a respected, nonhorror director in Danny directing a horror film, and the British establishment took note," says Neil Marshall, whose "The Descent" is also cited by U.K. film execs as a successful example of the new wave of Brit horror. "It took me six years to get financing for 'Dog Soldiers,' and the money ended up coming from the U.S. After '28 Days,' though, people here saw horror films as lucrative and respectable. 'The Descent' ended up being financed 100% with British money, which is quite unusual."...

"We're a society in change right now," says Film4 senior commissioning exec Peter Carlton, who has invested in a number of the emerging Brit horror projects as well as other dark fare including Rufus Sewell starrer "Vinyan" and helmer Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin."

"When you have much bigger forces in the world, such as terrorism and climate change, that threatening to blow society apart, naturalistic dramas sometimes feel insufficient to deal with that feeling of going out of control. Horror films can tap into that sense of unease."