Welcome To LSFAccelerate My name is Chris Jones, founder deepen. Either way, join in the and creative director of the game and enjoy the experience of Screenwriters' Festival creating and writing. and it is my privilege to invite I want to take a moment to thank you to the adventure that is our sponsors too: Final Draft LSFAccelerate. and Robert McKee. Both have Last year when we chose to move been long-term supporters of the the dates of the main festival to festival and cornerstones of the the spring, we had a 20-month screenwriting industry. gap between festivals. And so LSFAccelerate was created; a two Now… Shall we go on an adventure? day mini festival focussed on BIG ideas, pitching, new relationships and YOUR story. Over the two days we will develop a new story together, so expect to do some writing. This can be a Chris Jones new story for which you have just a Creative Director few lines of an idea, or an existing www.LondonSWF.com one whose structure you wish to Follow me on Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

We have an official Twitter hashtag for the festival which is #LondonSWF. You can follow us on Twitter @londonswf Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/londonswf - do drop by and like the page, we use it for many announcements of upcoming stuff. We have a blog too – check it out at www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/blog

3 APPLYING FOR TALENT CAMPUS 8.0?

Talent Campus is a calling… and boy, have I been called! By Antony Pickthall It is only a few days since the conclusion of Talent Campus and I am finding myself so changed by the experience. Who is this strange creature who has replaced me? Where has all of this focus and inspiration come from? Returning to London from a supposedly new life in France was both familiar and strange. I had been to a London Screenwriters Festival and pitched some ideas. I really enjoyed the energy and the dedication to the craft, but I was a than writing better. It’s about strength, playwright first and thought those who vulnerability, and heart. found a way forward in screenwriting This was all wrapped up with some were just the lucky few. savvy use of digital technology, immense Then came an email offering me the coaching and mentorship, and frequent chance of a lifetime. opportunities to face our fears and grow as writers… and as people. Talent Campus was about so much more than only honing my craft. All I had to do In the end, we were forged into a band of was submit to the training (as Chris Jones story warriors, supporting and challenging advised), and the rest would take care of each other as we persevere, building our itself. I would be able to do the one thing screenwriting and filmmaking careers. that held me back for over 30 years: If you have doubts about your creativity Believe in myself. And act on that belief. and value as a screenwriter, I can assure you that Talent Campus has been the The experience was a mix of playful best investment I have ever made in and challenging exercises, keynotes myself. Professionally and personally. from industry legends like John Yorke, Samantha Horley, and , and I envy you as you take that call from the conversations with agents, producers, Talent Campus team. It has made a real and working screenwriters. There was difference to my life, and I look forward one-on-one mentoring and the chance to to meeting you all as you join the Talent work with other writers. Campus ranks. The first step is yours. We learnt the art of pitching and were Apply here… tinyurl.com/y9fb6zt3 put through our paces with a series Antony Pickthall // Screenwriter of challenges that helped me see that being a better writer was about more

4 Headliners Speakers

MATT CHARMAN CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON Screenwriter Screenwriter Matt Charman is an Oscar-nominated Christopher Hampton is an award- screenwriter and award-winning British winning screenwriter whose works playwright, best known for Bridge include Dangerous Liaisons and of Spies, directed by Spielberg and Atonement. He has also translated starring . Charman’s current many plays and co-wrote the musical projects include his directorial debut, Sunset Boulevard. Hampton was named The Mothership. Hollywood Screenwriter of the Year. LSFAccelerate Speakers

MELLIE BUSE SIMON COX Writer, Producer, Script Editor and Consultant Writer, Director Mellie is a children’s and family content Simon has worked in the TV and creator, producer, writer, script editor industry for over thirty years and has and creative consultant. She produced directed and edited numerous shows many series including Grandpa in My for the BBC, ITV, and Pocket and Ha! Ha! Hairies! Channel 5.

ANTHONY BYRNE NIGEL DOUGLAS Director, Writer, Producer Writer, Director, Producer Anthony Byrne directed the latest Nigel began his career directing fringe season of Peaky Blinders in its entirety theatre, then directed iconic shows and will be returning to direct all of such as Eastenders, and the next season. He recently directed . He set up a production music videos for Hozier and Liam company Nitromedia and is a senior Gallagher. lecturer in screenwriting. 5 LSFAccelerate Speakers

STEPHEN FOLLOWS CHRIS JONES Producer Writer and LondonSWF Founder Stephen is a data researcher in the Chris is the best-selling author of film industry whose work has featured the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook in The New York Times, The Times, series, founder of both TEDxEaling and Indiewire. He is and LondonSWF, Oscar-shortlisted a seasoned producer, trainer and film director, and Producers Guild of teacher. America Best Film award winner.

JOHN GILBERT ROBYN LARKIN Screenwriter and Consultant Story Image Designer Jon is a screenwriter and script Robyn is the Co-founder and Creative consultant with over 15 years of Director of London-based design studio experience working in the UK and What is Bobo, specialising in design for US film industries. His feature film the film and entertainment industry. The Zigzag Kid won many awards.

JAMIE GLAZEBROOK PHILIP LAWRENCE Producer, Creative Director Screenwriter Jamie has developed and produced LSF 2014 gave Philip the courage to in the UK since the nineties. write for TV. He won the C21 Drama He is the Executive Producer of Peaky Script Prize for Euthanasia in Suburbia Blinders, the fifth series of which and currently writes for EastEnders and recently aired to great acclaim and its Casualty. largest audience yet. KAROL GRIFFITHS MARC LORBER Script Editor and Best-Selling Author SVP for International Coproductions & Acquisitions, Lionsgate UK TV Karol has worked for Warner Brothers, Universal, Disney, Paramount and Marc is an exceptionally experienced Fox Studios, as well as Amblin international multi- creative Entertainment, The , content and programming executive, Working Title, the BBC and ITV. as well as an Emmy-nominated producer.

SAMANTHA HORLEY CERI MEYRICK Consultant and Instructor Executive Producer & Head of Development for BBC Studios Samantha worked for 20 years in international film sales, marketing, Ceri has developed and produced development and production. She now series such as Shakespeare & works with established BAFTA and Hathaway, Eastenders and Silent Oscar-winning producers as well as Witness. She ran the BBC Writers’ emerging writers and producers. Academy with John Yorke and has trained many writers. PHILIP HUGHES DOMINIC MORGAN Screenwriter and Educator Screenwriter, Content Creator, Script Consultant Philip has developed over 20 feature scripts, 5 episodes of the BBC’s Dominic AKA Scriptfella (YouTube) has popular children’s TV series The written for 30+ studios and production Queen’s Nose, documentaries and companies, including Universal web . He also writes and edits Studios, Working Title, Bold Films, scripts and teaches. Scott Free, the BBC and ITV.

6 STEVE NOVEMBER DAVID POPE Managing Director of Further South Screenwriter & Script Consultant Productions David is the co-founder of Stowe Story As Creative Director of Lionsgate Labs. He has designed and delivered UK TV and in his current role, Steve script consultancy services for projects has extensive experience developing all over the world, working with BAFTA drama for domestic and international and Academy Award-nominated markets, overseeing shows including producers and screenwriters. Downtown Abbey and Cold Feet. RACHEL PATERSON BOB SCHULTZ Screenwriter Screenwriter, Instructor Rachel started writing for Casualty in 2018 With more than 15 years and and has just finished her fifth episode as ten countries under his belt as a a core writer. She has experience all over screenwriter, independent producer, the world in production and international and instructor, Bob brings a worldwide development and is working on several perspective to every event. original projects.

KIRA-ANNE PELICAN TED WILKES PhD, Writer, Researcher and Script Screenwriter & Educator Consultant Ted teaches Screenwriting and Digital Kira-Anne has worked in the British Media at Regent’s University, London. and American film and TV industry You can find some of his lectures for 25 years. She is the author of The available as video essays on his Science of Writing Characters: Using YouTube channel Sight Unsound. Psychology to Create Compelling Fictional Characters.

ASHLEY PHARAOH CATHERINE WILLIAMS Filmmaker, Writer Screenwriter Ashley co-created Life on Mars and Catherine single-handedly wrote two Ashes to Ashes and has also created series of the Bafta-nominated New many of his own TV shows. He is Teletubbies, in addition to being co- currently working on Around the World creator and Head Writer for Waffle the in 80 Days starring David Tennant. Wonder Dog and Chip & Potato.

KATE PHILLIPS JOHN YORKE Actress, Peaky Blinders Producer Screen International Star of Tomorrow John has a long and distinguished Kate Phillips is a British actress career in TV drama. His bestselling best known for her role as Linda book Into The Woods explains why Shelby in BBC's Peaky Blinders and stories are key to all successful starred opposite Keira Knightley in communication, from ads to political The Aftermath. speeches.

CERA ROSE PICKERING Writer & Actress Cera has been a prolific writer since she was a young child and writes epic romances. She just completed her first Blink!

7 Schedule at a Glance

Saturday 2nd November 2019

8.00am to 9.00am Registration • Arrive early and get breakfast onsite with other screenwriters.

9.00am to 9.30am Buckle Up • Let's ACCELERATE! with Chris Jones

9.30am to 11.10am Saturday Morning Sessions • Will Your Story Hook Pierce Armour-Plated Cynicism? with Samantha Horley • Revealing the DNA of Your Story in EVERY Sentence, Scene, Act and Screenplay with Nigel Douglas • Building A SMART Career in Screenwriting in 2019… The NEW rules with Dominic Morgan

11.10am to 11.40am Coffee

11.40am to 1.00pm Saturday Morning Sessions • The Game is Afoot… with Phil Hughes and Ted Wilkes • Ronald Reagan, Jaws and the Cycle of Grief with John Yorke

8 1.00pm to 2.00pm Lunch

2.00pm to 3.30pm Saturday Afternoon Sessions • My 50 First Dates in TV with Rachel Paterson • Unspoken Truths: Strategies for Sourcing and Elevating Subtext with David Pope

3.30pm to 4.00pm Coffee

4.00pm to 6.45pm Saturday Afternoon Sessions • The Commissioning Process: Writing Your Story Without Compromising Your Vision with Mellie Buse • How I Broke into Five Million Homes with Philip Lawrence • Writing for Netflix, the Beeb and Other Broadcasters in 2019 with Ceri Meyrick, Marc Lorber and Steve November • Screenwriting: It's Not Brain Surgery... Wait, What? with Cera Rose Pickering • Interrogating your Integrity with Catherine Williams • Facing Down Your Inner Saboteur with Bob Schultz

6.45pm Saturday Roundup • Day One Conclusion with Chris Jones

9 Schedule at a Glance

Sunday 3rd November 2019

9.00am to 11.00am Sunday Morning Sessions • Meet YOUR Nemesis with Chris Jones • Genre Trauma with Stephen Follows • Why We Tell Stories with Kira-Anne Pelican • Acting is Reacting: The Myth of the Passive Protagonist with Jon Gilbert

11.00am to 11.30am Coffee

11.30am to 1.00pm Sunday Morning Sessions • A Life in Movies and Other Writing Adventures - Interview with Christopher Hampton • Peaky Blinders: Decrypting TV Success with Kate Phillips, Anthony Byrne and Jamie Glazebrook

1.00pm to 2.00pm Lunch

2.00pm to 4.30pm Sunday Afternoon at the Movies • Bridge of Spies Script to Screen with Matt Charman

4.30pm to 5.00pm Coffee

5.00pm to 7.00pm Sunday Afternoon Sessions • The Final Battle... How YOUR Work Needs to Survive and Thrive When it Meets the Industry and the Public with Robyn Larkin • Your Screenwriting Journey Map — Saying Yes to Success and Defining What Success Means to You with Karol Griffiths • Writing YOUR Voice, and WHY It's Essential for Success Today with Ashley Pharaoh • Never Give Up, NEVER SURRENDER! with Simon Cox

7.00pm LSFAccelerate 2019 Closes • Beyond ACCELERATE! with Chris Jones

10 Making Long-Form Long

By Robert McKee The Three Keys to Long-Form TV: Suspense, Revelation, Change. Curiosity teases the brain when an audience sits in the dark, trying to solve mystery questions like “Who done it?” Emotion flows when an empathetic character sits in the dark, but the audience already knows what’s going to happen to her before it happens. Suspense does both: It hooks curiosity and moves emotion. In GAME OF contradiction deep within a character, THRONES we hang in high suspense, or an incongruity between her outward wondering who will win the final battle behavior and her true inner nature. between Cersei and Daenerys. In Character revelation compels audience OZARK, we pray that the Byrde family loyalty. Season after season, Vince will survive the drug cartel. In RUSSIAN Gilligan slowly revealed no less than DOLL we hope Nadia will escape her sixteen dynamic contradictions within time warp. When an empathetic character Walter White, and in the process, heads toward an unknown future, BREAKING BAD gave us the most suspense engages the head and heart. complex character ever to appear Over the last two decades, however, the onscreen. question “How will this turn out?” has Writers laboring season after season, become less and less important to long- however, often face a unique problem: A form storytelling. Audiences didn’t follow character who grabs attention in Episode THE SOPRANOS for six years to find 1 may wear out his welcome by Episode out if Tony gets over his panic attacks. 23. As a result, principle characters need People didn’t watch sixty plus hours of to change. Beyond revelations, audiences BREAKING BAD to discover how much tune in year after year to watch people money Walter was going to make. evolve. As your character moves from What an audience really wants is an foolish to wise or wise to foolish, as answer to the question: “Who is this she grows more or less mature, as he character?” expands or contracts his humanity, the audience traces this arc over time. Long-form storytelling reveals human complexity in depths and varieties no Plotting is obviously needed to keep the other medium has ever attempted. story world acting, characters reacting, When a series works, its rapt audience and the audience wondering in suspense. follows in wonder, waiting to see the But what in fact sustains the hundred newest revelation of character dimension. hours of a great TV series is character By dimension, I mean a consistent complexity—revelation plus change.

11 NOVEMBER 21  24 Regent’s University London Robert McKee returns to his favourite city to deliver the legendary STORY Seminar and popular 1-Day LOVE STORY Genre Seminar.

LEARN MORE AT MCKEESTORY.COM

“Presented with such urgency and “The most innuential storytelling “The Ultimate Master.” power, Robert McKee teaches us theorist since Aristotle.” about life, death and the human heart.”

“McKee teaches what is not yet taught. He shines his unwavering analytical light on the structure and invisible substructure of dialogue. He takes a craft that is often considered instinctual or magical and reveals its chemical secrets.” TERRY JOHNSON Writer/Director Winner of the Tony Award, Olivier Award, Critics’ Circle Theater Award, and Writers Guild Award.

Available on