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Deviation

1 Gender Swap That Could Make ALL THE DIFFERENCE In Your Story

On Gender Swapping When it comes to gender swap characters, we generally hear about … How Ripley was originally a male character How Lara Croft is a female Indiana Jones Or a single female in a team is THE GIRL CHARACTER (The Girl Character is invariably “There can be only one!” HIGHLANDER-style. So, there is a woman in this storyverse but her FEMALE-NESS is what defines her, whereas individual men can be The Funny One; The Clever One; The Hard Nut; The Geeky One and so on and soforth. UGH). In other words, it’s the same-old, same-old and frankly I… Read More »1 Gender Swap That Could Make ALL THE DIFFERENCE In Your Story

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How To Attach Named Talent To Your Screenplay

I get asked a LOT about by Bang2writers about named talent “attaching” to a spec screenplay to make it more marketable. Produced stuff makes this look easy, yet as spec screenwriters and filmmakers soon discover, it’s NOT. Here’s my 2p’s worth: i) Star Power is real. Yes, yes it’s very easy to slag off the notion of “star power” or even argue the toss over who IS a star: Danny Dyer is the classic example. Yet regardless of what you think of Danny’s previous output, Danny has a MASSIVE fanbase of lovers AND haters (1 million Twitter followers now!!) and he has… Read More »How To Attach Named Talent To Your Screenplay

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5 Screenwriting Hard Truths (Or The Best Way To F*** Up Your Screenplay)

I’m proud to welcome my collabro JK Amalou back to B2W today to share with his thoughts on what REALLY sells your writing “off the page”, which is a great concept! Like I always say to Bang2writers and screenwriting students, I can read great writing whenever I want so how are you going to differentiate if you want to make a SALE? Even if you want to write samples, you STILL need to differentiate from the rest in the pile!! Read it and weep, spec screenwriters … and take the first step towards harnessing the power of concept by contacting JK today,… Read More »5 Screenwriting Hard Truths (Or The Best Way To F*** Up Your Screenplay)

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Top 6 Reversals In Movies

FYI – SPOILERS! I’ve said only recently I don’t read enough reversals in spec screenplays, in ANY genre. I thought it time to offer up some examples of those I’ve watched that I felt were effective. Before we get going however, here is the definition of ‘reversals’ I am using for the purposes of this post … “A place in the plot where a character achieves the opposite of his aim, resulting in a change from good fortune to bad fortune.” You may also want to read THIS POST, which contains a definition of what screenplay reversals are. There’s also a great… Read More »Top 6 Reversals In Movies

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Unusual Characters Make Great Drama OR 5 Reasons I’m Loving Eastenders Right Now …

Danny Dyer as Mick Carter in Eastenders – download the criminally underrated DEVIATION screenplay, here! As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I’m a big fan of both Eastenders and Danny Dyer, so to see the two of them combined is a real treat for me. And I totally loved last night’s episode when Johnny “came out” to his father Mick (played by Danny Dyer), which set Twitter alight. I’m not surprised; it was really poignant and well drawn. Make sure you catch up on the iPlayer, especially if you’re cynical about Danny’s ability to convey emotion. You’ll be… Read More »Unusual Characters Make Great Drama OR 5 Reasons I’m Loving Eastenders Right Now …

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6 Reasons Sweden’s Bechdel Cinema Rating Idea Is A (Well Meaning) Mistake

So, you probably read this week Sweden will be installing a rating system on whether a movie passes The Bechdel Test. Just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last thirty years, The Bechdel Test refers to the comic strip by Alison Bechdel, Dykes To Watch Out For, where she joked back in the 80s she only watches a film if it “features two women talking to each other about something other than a man.” Thus, The Bechdel Test was born. And here it is: I’ve had quite a few exchanges over Twitter the past week about… Read More »6 Reasons Sweden’s Bechdel Cinema Rating Idea Is A (Well Meaning) Mistake

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5 Reasons I Got Involved In ASSASSIN

  1. It has not one, but TWO savvy female characters … As regular Bang2writers know, my passion is for female characters who have agency of their own and pull their weight in the narrative. Unlike many gangster films where females are purely there for decoration, Chloe and Alex both contribute to the story and are absolutely essential to the plot beats. As writer/director JK Amalou says, “The female characters play a bigger part in our story than is usual in films of this type.” 2. … But there are no patronising gender politics. I obviously read a lot of… Read More »5 Reasons I Got Involved In ASSASSIN

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12 Top Tips For Taking Writing Meetings

All About Meetings I’m delighted to say the hardcore contingent of the Bang2writers are taking meetings more and more often now. These writers getting meetings are most often those with … A specific writing strategy (more on these, HERE) Know ‘where’ they are in creating their own careers Stick to their writing goals, but also review and re-evaluate them too However, this also means these writers are asking me more and more often what is the “right” way to take meetings! With this in mind, I thought it was time for a post on the subject. First things first, it… Read More »12 Top Tips For Taking Writing Meetings

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Q: How Do You Script Edit A Script Without Rewriting It As Your Own Story?

Blandine asks, “I notice you’re script editor on ACT OF GRACE. How can you do this without rewriting it as your own story?” Being a script editor is all about doing what’s best for the story – WITHOUT rewriting the script as you see fit, based on your own preferences or how *you* see the story. Why? Because you’re not the Writer. These are two different jobs. As far as I’m concerned, the two jobs go like this: The Writer is responsible for the idea and executing it, ie. coming up with the premise and getting the drafts down on… Read More »Q: How Do You Script Edit A Script Without Rewriting It As Your Own Story?

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Deviation: The First Review Is In!

And the first review of DEVIATION is in from Screen Daily: “Deviation is an impressively staged psychological thriller that makes the most of its nighttime London locations and features a fine central pair of performances from Danny Dyer (leaving his cheeky-chappie persona behind) and genre favourite Anna Walton.” Read the rest here. Totally stoked by this review, the guys at Screen Daily have nailed what we were trying to do. Boom! Follow Deviation: On Twitter Facebook Website

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Deviation Trailer – ONLINE NOW

The title had it all really… The trailer for the dark thriller I associate-produced, Deviation, is online now! You can watch it here on its distributor Revolver’s Youtube Channel. Please forward this link to all your friends and followers and support British Film! Remember to lock your car door… Told in one night, DEVIATION is a chilling, taut psychological thriller that follows one woman’s horrifying abduction by a psychopathic stranger. Amber (Anna Walton) a young nurse, intent on getting home to her family after a long shift. Frankie (Danny Dyer) is a dangerous psychopath on the run. When he takes… Read More »Deviation Trailer – ONLINE NOW

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