“This is not me being pretentious; this is me being menopausal,” said Kay Mellor as she employed the use of a Spanish fan whilst in conversation with TV critic Paul Hoggart. This was a typically candid exchange from one of the most down to earth, honest and generous interviewees that I think I’ve ever come across.   Mellor is the sort of writer that gives you faith in yourself because she just seems so normal (not that I am saying…

I’d like to say a little more about how this session went, but a few days of little sleep and long hours have meant that my concentration was at an all time low.  Unfortunately Hampton’s soft voice and hesitant speech weren’t the best remedy for this.  He’s an interesting guy, but it would have taken an Anthony Robbins style speaker alone to keep me engaged.   Whether you enjoyed the session or not would depend on whether you were a…

I may be over-tired and over-sentimental but this video does make me grin like a fool. Just like Boing Boing said it would! Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Ah, notes.  Just when you think your work here is done and that you can sit back and wait for shooting to begin, along comes a producer with a load of suggestions on how the story needs to change.  As the always-entertaining Julian Fellowes explains, the first time a writer receives notes, they can feel as though they have failed as an artist, or at least as though the producer has failed to correctly interpret the script.  But notes are…

Another new post is up on TOOLS, this time about The Conversation “a two-day conversation — definitely not a conference — about the future of cinema, video, games, and telling stories with new media” coming up in Berkeley, CA later this year and bought to you by Ken Goldberg, Scott Kirsner, Tiffany Shlain and Lance Weiler. I definitely plan to attend this because I know many of the people involved and I’m sure it will be a really useful and…

This session was mysteriously marketed as ‘the politics of being a scriptwriter’, so I had half expected to find Peter Morgan at the front of the room.  In fact, it turned out to be a really entertaining hour, hosted by AP Watts agent Rob Krait and script editor Kate Leys, that dealt with the practicalities of selling yourself as a business.  Some writers do this naturally, but for those of you who fall into the camp of hoping that a…

Those who have been following the recent is-the-sky-falling-on-independent-film debate might be interested in The Conversation “a two-day conversation — definitely not a conference — about the future of cinema, video, games, and telling stories with new media” coming up in Berkeley, CA later this year and bought to you by Ken Goldberg, Scott Kirsner, Tiffany Shlain and Lance Weiler. Here’s more info about some of the speakers and subject areas to be covered: Reed Hastings / Founder & CEO, Netflix…

The title of this session suggested one of those nakedness exercises that drama students have to do, and this wasn’t too far from the truth.  Ronald Harwood gamely allowed Professor Michael Fitzgerald (The disgraced Raj Persaud has discreetly slipped off of this year’s line-up, it would appear) to ask him all kinds of questions about the psyche of a writer, an endlessly fascinating subject for a group of people who are prone, let’s face it, to a fair amount of…

For some writers, producers are the scourge of creativity, and an unfortunate by-product of the business of getting your script turned into a film.  If this is you, then Stephen Woolley may just be the man to change your mind.  In one of the first sessions of the festival, he outlined ten ‘secrets’ that can make for happy and successful collaborations.  Except they’re not really secrets any more, because now two hundred of us know them and in a minute,…

The 2008 SXSWclick! finalists have been announced and you can watch all fifteen online and vote for your favorites. I’m really pleased to be a juror in the Really Real Shorts category along with Ambulante Documentary Film Festival’s Elena Fortes Acosta and Frownland DoP Sean Williams. Check the films out online now.