Simon Beaufoy

I attented the Bafta / BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture held at the BFI Southbank in which Simon Beaufoy gave a Q&A lecture on his Screenwriting.

Excerpt from pamphlet ‘Screenwriters. On Screenwriting’ as part of the season of The Bafta  and BFI Screenwriters’ Lectures 2010.

Whether a feel-good comedy or political drama, Beaufoy’s diverse range of work is always insightful and full of compassion for his characters.

His debut feature-length script, ‘The Full Monty’ (1997), enjoyed huge critical success. The comedy followed six unemployed men who turn to stripping as a money-earner, and gave Beaufoy his first BAFTA and Oscar nominations.

Scripts followed for ‘Among Giants’ (1998), a triangular love story about pylon painters in Yorkshire, and ‘The Darkest Light’ (1999). Beaufoy co-directed the latter with occasional collaborator Bille Eltringham – who also directed his script for ‘This is Not A Love Song’ (2002) in which a criminal duo are stalked across the Scottish moors.

He then wrote two very contrasting stories set in his hometown of Keighley. ‘Blow Dry’ (2001) brought the British Hairdressing Championship to town, whilst ‘Yasmin’ (2004) saw a British Muslim women caught in a post-9/11 nightmare when her Pakistani-born husband is falsely imprisoned as a terror suspect. Beaufoy’s television work includes the mini-series ‘Burn Up’ (2008), a political thriller that dealt with climate change.

Most recently, he enjoyed international success with his adaption of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (2008). The rags to riches tale earned Beaufoy his first BAFTA, Golden Globes and Oscar wins, among countless others. The film itself won seven BAFTA’s and eight Oscars, including Best Film at both.

Beaufoy’s next film is a second collaboration with Danny Boyle, ‘127 Hours’ (2010), a real-life drama starring James Franco.

To download the  audio file click this link and ignore the virus scan warning (as the file is approx 40mb)

BFI – Christopher Hampton

Earlier this evening I attented the Bafta / BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture held at the BFI Southbank in which Christopher Hampton gave a lecture on Screenwriting.

Excerpt from pamphlet ‘Screenwriters. On Screenwriting’ as part of the season of The Bafta  and BFI Screenwriters’ Lectures 2010.

Hampton’s career enjoyed an auspicious start when his debut play, ‘When Did You Last See Your Mother?’ (1966), made him the youngest playwright ever to have a play in the West End, a record which still stands.

His television work includes adaptations of his own plays ‘The Philanthropist’ (1975), Savages (1975), and other works including Hotel du Lac (1986), and The Ginger Tree (1989). He also wrote Able’s Will (1977), which marked his first screen collaboration with Stephen Frears.

After early film screenplays including A Doll’s House (1973) and The Honorary Consul (1983), Hampton reunited with Frears for perhaps his best-known work to date: Dangerous Liaisons (1988).  The tale of bored aristocrats indulging in games of passion and betrayal brought both BAFTA and Oscar success to Hampton, who enjoyed two further collaborations with Frears on Mary Reilly (1996) and Cheri (2009).

His second BAFTA nomination came for Carrington (1995), a script which he both wrote and directed. The biographical drama about the relationship between painter Dora Carrington and author Lytton Strachey earned Hampton a BAFTA nomination for British Film and won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes.

Hampton’s masterly adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement (2007), in which a young girl’s lie has life-changing effects, brought two more BAFTA nominations for Adapted Screenplay and British Film, and his second Oscar nomination.

His latest script, A Dangerous Method (2011), is being filmed by David Cronenberg, and stars Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen.

Christopher Hampton appeared a little shell-shocked by the swell of attendance but this did not damper his enthusiasm to quote Hitchcock and make comparisons to his own movies.

Enjoy

Click here to listen to Christopher Hampton’s lecture

BFI – Sir David Hare – How to write a Screenplay Lecture

Earlier this evening I attented the Bafta / BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture held at the BFI Southbank in which Sir David Hare gave a lecture on Screenwriting. It was thoroughly entertaining and I hope you enjoy the recording.

Excerpt from pamphlet ‘Screenwriters. On Screenwriting’ as part of the season of The Bafta  and BFI Screenwriters’ Lectures 2010.

David Hare has a reputation for elegant and highly intelligent screenplays which inspire extraordinary performances from actors.

He first came to prominence as a playwright in the 70’s after his debut play ‘Slag’ (1970) won the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. Since then, his work has enjoyed sell-out runs at the National Theatre, and many of his plays have been presented on Broadway.

Among Hare’s television work is the acclaimed teleplay ‘Licking Hitler’ (1978), a companion piece to his stage play ‘Plenty’ (1978), both of which explore the effects of the Second World War on the lives of women who’d served in the conflict. The drama, which Hare also directed, won the BAFTA for Best Single Play.

Moving into feature film, Hare wrote and directed ‘Wetherby’ (1985), an award-winning drama about the mysterious death of an enigmatic young man. He also wrote and directed ‘Paris By Night’ (1988), in which a politician makes a deadly choice when threatened with a scandal, and adapted Joesphine Hart’s novel ‘Damage’ (1992), about an MP’s passionate affair with his son’s fiancee.

His most recent work includes two adaptations for Stephen Daldry. ‘The Hours’ (2002) explored the effect of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs Dalloway’ on three generations of women, whilst ‘The Reader’ (2008) saw a law student in post WWII Germany re-encountering his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. Hare was BAFTA and Oscar nominated for both screenplays.

Hare has written a new film, ‘Page Eight’, which he will direct next year.

To get the best out of the recording I suggest that you listen to it via headphones.

Click here to listen to Sir David Hare’s Lecture.