Nice to meet you

Hello again…!

And thanks again for subscribing to The Script.

Two emails in 24 hours? Who the hell do I think I am?

Actually you’re about to find out.

Because I figured it’s worth taking a couple of minutes to give you an idea of who’s writing to you, and how The Script came about.

I’ve been doing some version of writing my entire life. First as a desperate passionate amateur, then as a working professional.

In that time I’ve acted as a kind of unofficial mentor for just about everyone in my social, professional, and family network who has ever considered writing a script.

I’m the guy everyone came to when they had a notion to start writing. And when they had a screenplay of their own, I’m the guy they came to for feedback.

I reached a point recently when I had the urge to create some kind of repository for everything I know. Everything I’ve experienced, everything I’ve learned, and everything I believe about screenwriting.

Somewhere I could point people when they asked for my help and advice. Something bigger and broader and deeper then what I can usually get across over a coffee.

But not only that. I wanted to challenge my long-held assumptions; interrogate my own screenwriting process; and generally put nearly twenty years of daily practice under the microscope. I needed to find a way of staying sharp and inspired. Both as a writer and as a guide.

I didn’t want to write a book. I didn’t even want to do anything public. I just felt like if I didn’t start putting it down somewhere, eventually I’d start losing it.

I had my first pilot script optioned eighteen years ago, at the tender age of twenty-one. That same year I had my first feature film produced. It was…quite bad. Despite featuring a car chase with a police helicopter. The whole thing is a hilarious story for another day.

For the next seven years, I’d make intermittent money - what you might now called “side hustle” money - landing option agreements, small script sales, and jobs on the fringe of the industry.

I lived as frugally as possible. I bunked in empty commercial buildings for far below market rents. I ate nothing but couscous (add one can of tuna and one red onion - great brain food).

I wore second hand clothes, and walked everywhere to save on travel.

Eventually I pawned everything I owned.

This was me languishing in obscurity. I was lucky enough to have a great crew of friends (those ones who would later be asking me for advice). together we celebrated the wins, and tried not to get too overwhelmed by the seemingly insurmountable challenges of building a screenwriting career

Being hired to adapt my own play into a feature script eventually gave me the funds to turn pro (again, living frugally).

Some time after that I signed with CAA and Untitled Management (back when they were called Grandview). I sold a pilot script to FX and a feature script to MGM/Orion. The feature became my first theatrical release, and hey presto - I had officially “landed”.

Since then I’ve bounced around major studios, independent film, and UK television. I’ve written scripts for Netflix, Paramount, Paramount+, Sony, Lionsgate, Automatik, Escape Artists, BBC, Channel 4, Film4, ITV, and Sky - as well as dozens of independent production companies.

I’ve written reboots and adaptations, sold original specs, gotten hired on open writing assignments, taken hundreds of general meetings and developed more projects than I could count.

I co-wrote and sold a script with Daniel Kaluuya. I worked with Sebastian Stan in Athens. And I’m writing a script for Dev Patel right now.

I’ve also collaborated with my fair share of chancers, charlatans, wannabes, dreamers and outright lunatics.

It’s been a ride.

And I wanted to somehow get it all down in writing. It’s what I do, after all.

During the years I was making my way through the screenwriting trenches, I picked up on something else: lots of people want to teach you how to write screenplays.

Fair enough. Every industry has its parallel educational sector, and screenwriting is more arcane and complex than most.

There are hundreds of screenwriting resources out there, and some excellent books. I would absolutely recommend picking up one or two of the classics.

Check my website for more free links and frameworks. I’m adding more every day.

But in terms of more dynamic, current resources that actually move with the times, they basically fell into three categories.

(Shout out to the venerable Scriptnotes podcast for defying that last trend).

In the ocean of screenwriting “content”, there was nothing that provided professional-level, current insights from someone truly living the professional screenwriting life, delivered in a consistent and systematic manner.

It felt bizarre that no one was doing this.

And here I was, overflowing with a career’s worth of knowledge that I was scared of losing.

These two separate wires connected to the same battery (my brain), and a lightbulb went on.

So I squashed my qualms about doing anything (semi) public, and stepped boldly into the space. And here we are.

I want to make sure these weekly dispatches are useful to you. My goal is to drop a little wisdom bomb into your world every Tuesday. That’s the pinnacle of my ambition here.

Recent editions have explored handling exposition, tips on selling a spec script, and writing with AI.

Upcoming editions will cover writing style in screenplays, the secret to bringing a scene alive, and what it takes to turn pro.

And if you’re looking for something to read between Tuesdays, you can always check out my website. It has a host of free articles to keep the gears oiled.

You can always reply to any email with your thoughts, ideas, or questions.

I read everything and I’d love nothing more than the opportunity to make The Script even better for you. I really appreciate you being here.

Thanks for reading. Till Tuesday…

Rob