I recorded this podcast a few weeks again and its finally gone live! Show notes below too… Filmmaker Chris Jones shares the wild, gritty, and deeply meaningful journey behind his Oscar-shortlisted short Gone Fishing, his early guerrilla…
Helène Noire did not set out to become an erotic writer in the conventional way. There was no market research, no calculated leap into a lucrative genre, and no desire to shock for the sake of attention. Instead, her work emerged from a…
The Publishers of The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbooks series have approached us about AI licensing. Right now it feels like we need to decline their new addendum to the contract. I don’t think what they are asking, in principle, is…
For the last, what feels like two or three years, Ealing Studios has undergone a huge transformation. As you may know, I have been based at the studios since 1997 when we made Urban Ghost Story here, and I just never left. I have seen huge…
My first experience of Chris Jones at full speed was in a crowded training room at Ealing Studios and stunned to silence by his assertion: ‘You are all filmmakers.
I’ve written this blog for a filmmaker who is embarking on making their debut micro budget feature film. My name is Eric Garson and I am a British Film Director. My debut feature film ‘Trophy Wife’, was released last summer 2024 and is…
It’s been some time since I saw ‘District 9’, it was in 2009 the cinema when it was released to be accurate, so there’s been distance. I rewatched it a few nights back and it has really stuck with me. Not just as a great film, but for many…
In the evolving landscape of modern writing, artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful ally for authors, particularly those navigating the challenging waters of self-publishing. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Don…
Here’s a sample of some comments left on FB about this video… Oh my God, my heart thank you so much for saving this beautiful penguin. Oh no this is really heartbreaking seeing these animals suffering in pain. Awe thank you for helping It…
December 14th is turning into the BEST day of the year! We have three very cool things happening, and YOU should really dive in and get involved. First, our Christmas Super Meetup For Film and TV… Tickets are free, and it’s happening at…
This post is a chronology of events, of an experiment more than anything. To ask the simple question, in 2024, can ChatGPT 4.0 offer useful feedback on a short story? What do you think?
I have a lot to say about AI. And maybe I will start posting here about my thoughts. Maybe I won’t. I am tired of the division and inability to have a coherent conversation without shock and hysteria on all sides. But I do have one biggie…
Do you suffer from Network-a-phobia? Join the club! Recently, the Guardian posted an article titled, There’s nothing more excruciating than trying to talk to someone who isn’t interested. And I should know … by Adrian Chiles. The article…
The truth? People get hired by people they know. And people who like them. You need to be KNOWN. You need to be LIKED. You should also be talented too. But the truth? Talent has no value if people don’t know you, or do know you, but don’t…
The time has come. I have a stack of boxes of paperwork I just can’t carry around any more. They are from projects spanning the last 30 years and in truth I likely don’t need the paperwork at all. But still. Should I toss contracts? Urghhh…
On Friday we begin a series of LondonSWF replays, the very best of our past events replayed live. We kick off with Gladiator screenwriter William Nicholson. That will take place this Friday at 8pm UK time…. When: Friday Feb 23rd at 8pm UK…
A recent post led with the headline, Study Finds Artists Become Famous through Their Friends, Not the Originality of Their Work. It’s something I have known for a long time, a bitter pill for many of us in the industry, but also a VERY…
At the last online Screenwriters Festival I interviewed Bruce Joel Rubin, who wrote Brainstorm, Ghost and Jacob’s Ladder. His work was profoundly impactful on me, as often it examines the veil between this life and the next. The session is…
When: Wednesday (Nov 22nd) at lunch time (1:00pm). Where: Online How Much: FREE ‘This course must be taken to move into where this business is going in the future.’ Mark Arnold, Actor, sometime writer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We all hate writing a bio. And…
Times are changing. Rapidly. Streamers are declining, Hollywood is melting down, new platforms are arising, mind bending creativity tools that are as exciting as they are terrifying are appearing every day. And yet… we still love, create…
We are experiencing the momentum and velocity now, of the digital revolution that began in the mid nineties. As a filmmaker, the evolution of cheap DSLR cameras, desktop editing and hi res video online was the first massive breakthrough I…
How do you feel about text or images created by AI? I can certainly spot AI images created in MidJourney now (or maybe I should say I think I can). And non human created text admittedly gives me a little ick. Followed by a strong…
Today we begin development of a new project. Working title: Anthology. Tag line: Prompting now. All human ideated. Artwork above, litterally the first prompt from Midjourney: /imagine 1970s horror movie anthology poster –ar 16:9 (I added…