Top Five: Scottish Films (for 20Four Frames UEL Film Magazine)

Today’s the day Scotland decide their fate, whilst the rest of the world awaits with bated breath. To get you into the Scottish spirit here is my pick of five infamous films set in Scotland:

1) Sweet Sixteen (Dir. Ken Loach, 2002)

Directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Ken Loach, this award-winning crime drama in which the characters speak mainly in Scottish language (with English subtitles), provides an honest and gritty insight into modern working class life. The film, set in Glasgow, follows Liam (Martin Compston), a 15-year old boy, as he struggles to raise funds by any means necessary, so that he can provide himself and his mother (serving a prison sentence during the film) with a better life upon her release. Shocking, emotionally gripping and at times difficult to watch, this social realist masterpiece should definitely be on your list of essential British films.

2) Gregory’s Girl (Dir. Bill Forsyth, 1981)

This coming of age romantic comedy about unrequited love and secondary school life was Bill Forsyth’s first international hit. The girl in the title is Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), a football enthusiast who has just managed to earn a place on the school football team with the support of one of the players, Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair). Gregory quickly falls in love and works up the courage to ask her on a date, which leads to an amusing turn of events. Filled with quirky, loveable characters, and touching moments that perfectly capture what it is to be a confused teenager in love for the first time, Gregory’s Girl is one cult classic Britain would be sorry to relinquish!

3) Braveheart (Dir. Mel Gibson, 1995)

Ok, I admit, this is a bit obvious, given some of the nationalist sentiments going round at the present time (and also it’s technically not actually a Scottish film, rather a film set in Scotland), but I couldn’t do a blog post about Scottish films on the day that the Scottish are voting for or against independence, without mentioning this epic classic that depicts the First War of Scottish Independence now could I? Mel Gibson, as well as producing and directing, stars as William Wallace, one of Scotland’s most inspiring historical heroes, who leads a rebellion against England, enraged by the barbarism the Scots have been suffering at the hands of King Edward ‘Longshanks’ (Patrick Mcgoohan) and his nobleman, including the public execution of his wife Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack). The film won best picture at the Oscars that year, pulled in at the box office, and boosted Scottish tourism and interest in Scottish history, but was panned by many critics and also described as one of the most historically inaccurate films by historians!

4) Local Hero (Dir. Bill Forsyth, 1983)

This is another Forsyth film, but then he is one of Scotland’s greatest exports. Local Hero depicts the story of Mac (Peter Riegert), a representative for the fictional American Knox Oil and Gas, who has been sent to pave the way for the refinery’s purchase of a small Scottish village called Ferness, Mac is gradually won over by the small village, its charming characters and gentle pace of life, and finds his loyalities torn. Many of the villagers however welcome the idea of selling, except beach owner Ben (Fulton Mackay), who Mac endeavours to win over. Skillfully directed by Forsyth (earning him a BAFTA best director award), and also starring the brilliant Peter Capaldi, this film is a gently humorous and whimsical little slice of life in a remote Scottish village.

5) Trainspotting (Dir. Danny Boyle, 1996)

Inspired by the dark side of Scotland, Danny Boyle’s seminal film about heroin and working class life, based on the 1993 Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, is one of Britain’s most famous masterpieces. On it’s release it shocked and awed the world with its fast-paced, violent, tragic and hilarious tale of a group of friends living in Glasgow who are addicted to heroin. Cementing Ewan McGregor, Kelly McDonald and Robert Carlyle as global stars, and with a sequel now rumoured to be in the works (based on Welsh’s Porno), this film is an essential addition to any list of pivotal Scottish and British films, and an absolute must-see.

Emma Burles (Originally published on 20fourframes.co.uk September 2014)

Hollywood Screenwriter Jule Selbo’s visit to the University of East London

March 2014

By Emma Burles

Jule Selbo has extensive experience as an award winning playwright and screenwriter, having worked for Disney, Paramount, Columbia Pictures and Universal, and with people such as George Lucas, and Mike Newell. She visited UEL last week to talk about her career and give us an insight into writing for film and television.

Starting out as a playwright and actor working in regional theatres, Selbo first got into screenwriting after getting her first agent in New York. An agent she says is crucial as a writer, “You kind of need someone to do the representation for you because writers, for the most part, are not the people that put ourselves out there and go ‘Look at me! Look at me!’” The agent, who had asked to represent her after seeing a play she had written for Off-Off Broadway, suggested she might have a talent for film and television and asked her to write a speculative script. This script ended up being optioned and got her lots of work, including a writing deal at Paramount Pictures, various jobs on TV shows, and several films. It was during this period that she moved to LA, having been gaining experience working there, in order to put herself in a better position to find work. “My writer friends were saying to me, ‘95% of people writing for film and TV are living in LA, and you’re putting yourself in that 5% who try to get work while living in New York, so you need to come to LA’.” She settled in LA and, despite getting lots of work in film, decided to focus on TV for a while after becoming disillusioned with the film script, “you put your heart and your soul into what you are writing and you see every scene in your head and you work so hard to make every connection, and then you see someone else just tearing bits of it out – it is so hard”.

Not long into this period she was approached by George Lucas, who wanted her to write for the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Initially, she was hesitant to take up this offer, having just started a family and being reluctant to leave them for long periods of time to work out at his ranch in San Francisco, however Lucas made it clear the set-up was conducive to family visits. She went on to work for him on this project for 3 years and describes a typical day’s work: “We [herself and the rest of the team of writers] would gather in George’s office every morning at 9am and discuss each episode thematically, some were dramas, some comedies, some romance, etc. but the main thing was to think about what young Indiana would learn in each episode. After lunch we’d go back and break down each episode, scene by scene. In America, TV episodes had 4 acts, and George’s method was 6 scenes an act to move the story forward, so we’d break it down that way. Then we’d divide up the episodes: each of us got the chance to pick the episode we wanted to write the most and we’d get assigned a second one too. At night we’d be given a stack of research to read over dinner, and the next day we’d do it all over again.” The best thing during this experience, says Selbo, was how indulged as writers they were, in terms of the end result, “He would hire the directors [who included Mike Newell, Carl Schultz and Billie August] and tell them ‘don’t change a thing, just shoot it.’ You get so spoilt you know? You’ve written this thing and then you see it get brought to life exactly how you imagined it.”

After going back to film, and continuing to be a writer for hire for both film and TV for several years, she eventually decided to go back to writing plays, which she still does, as well as heading up the Screenwriting Program at California State University. She has also just written a book called Film Genre for the Screenwriter. “Using genre to shape a story can be just as effective as structuring it around three acts, if you know the components of various genres you can structure the story around that. For example if you want to write a sci-fi movie, you know it has to be based on scientific fact, science has to turn the story the whole way through, which gives you more of a through line to follow.”

After advising us aspiring writers to just keep writing, submitting work and persevering through rejection without taking it personally, she urges us to join a writers group, in order to network and build a community. “When I first moved to LA, I joined a writers group – every week we would read each other’s stuff and within 2 years, some of us would get offered jobs and recommend another person in the group if they couldn’t accept it. You have to build a network and have your community to make it work. There are lots of people who don’t have wealth on their side, who can make it with their talent, but you have to go out there and make your own opportunities.”

Jule Selbo’s book Film Genre for the Screenwriter, will be published this summer by Routledge.

This article was originally published in March 2014 for UEL students at http://workinginthecultureindustries.wordpress.com

Film Producer Jon Thompson’s visit to the University of East London

March 2014

By Emma Burles

What is a producer? How can you become one? And how does the British film industry work today? Jon Thompson, film producer, visited UEL to answer these questions and more, based on his experiences in the industry. Thompson has been working in the film business for nearly 30 years, starting out as a cinematographer, before moving into production and executive roles. He has worked for major Hollywood studios Disney and Warner Bros; and worked on numerous films including Batman Begins, Kill Bill and Lara Croft. He now works mainly in independent film and documentaries.

Contrary to popular belief, the producer’s role is not merely that of financier, Thompson claims, the producer must be completely involved creatively. They must be able to visualize the film they want to make and then go about making it happen, by bringing people together. “Everyone is looking to the producer for direction, even the director. You need to know everything from how many toilets there are on set, where the leading actors are, dealing with distributors and putting the whole package together. You can have the best cinematographer, editor and director that money can buy, but unless you have a decent producer who can bring everything together, the film won’t work.”

The key to a successful film is a good story and a producer must have a good understanding of the art of storytelling in order to guide the process. “You’d be amazed at how many people forget how to structure a story, and that’s why so many films fail – people become obsessed with the business side, and completely neglect the development, which is THE most important stage.” According to Thompson a finished film must provide the three E’s: “Entertainment, education and enlightenment, and ALWAYS in that order. If you start to educate before you entertain, the viewer might get bored and switch off. The enlightenment part should come towards the end, as something deeper that the viewer takes away.”

Thompson worked with renowned director Lindsay Anderson early on in his career, and says he learnt this very important lesson from him: “Everybody tells stories, some people are naturally good at it, and some have to learn this art, but it all boils down to how much you know of human nature – if you have a low understanding of human nature, it will show in your films and your characters.” Thompson himself, despite his great success in film-making, has experienced failing films firsthand. Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (Jan De Bont, 2003) and Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella, 2003), both tipped to be huge successes, with gargantuan budgets and a host of talented people working together on set, both failed to pull in at the box office.

So in an industry where it’s easy to fail, what can aspiring producers about to leave education do to start their career? “The thing you need to realize is that you can’t just walk out and become a producer – you need at least 5 years of making films to understand the process, earn respect and make informed decisions.” Thompson started out as a cinematographer, which he did for a number of years, before regularly working in production. But where does this leave those who wish to go into independent film? “Today there are two British film industries, which most people don’t really appreciate. The first is the film service sector [with the big studio films, and foreign studios making use of the UK tax break], which last year made £2.5 billion for the UK economy. The other is the UK production industry, which is what most of us are trying to get into, but which last year only made £200 million. The best way to be able to have a chance of playing around with that £200 million is to play by the system in the service sector, until you have enough credibility to go about it more independently.”

Another crucial question usually asked by young filmmakers is ‘How do we get our own stuff made?’ For this Thompson has some more useful advice: “Once you’ve developed an idea you will move onto the second stage which is finding a partner to work with who is passionate about your idea, and preferably someone with more experience who can provide you with some kind of mentoring.” On approaching a funding organization in Britain such as the BFI, you will already be expected to have a producer, which is obviously a challenge if you don’t have someone to open the door for you. This is where constant networking pays off, “You have to keep going to networking events until eventually you meet someone. You can go to 20 events in a row with no success, but during the 21^st one you might meet someone with a similar vision who can move you along.”

Thompson ends his talk with some final words of wisdom: “The important thing to remember is that nobody really knows anything, it’s a constantly evolving process where you are learning things along the way and have to play the game. But if you can do this, and learn to network and make connections, you can go on to create your own game, and that is how you will survive in this industry.”

Thompson is currently working on two documentaries: Cuban Soul (Atkins, 2014) which follows writer David Soul (Starsky & Hutch) as he journeys around Cuba exploring the island state, its cars and Ernest Hemmingway’s time there; and Spirit2Power (Gulrukh Khan, 2014), a martial arts film documenting the journey into the spirit of martial arts.

This article was originally published in March 2014 for UEL students at http://workinginthecultureindustries.wordpress.com