THE BRIT LIST 2011

As in previous years, the UK and Irish film community have compiled a list of their most liked and recommended unproduced screenplays. Out of over 160 screenplays nominated the projects below achieved the 3 votes or more needed in order to appear on the list.

In order to qualify for the Brit List, a screenplay had to:

a) receive 3 or more votes
b) be unproduced (not shooting) at the time of the list’s circulation
c) be written by any writer who is non US, and
d) not have featured on previous Brit Lists

Where known, producers have been named alongside the screenplays. Genre and summary information has also been provided at the discretion of the producers involved with the project.

Every effort has been made to supply accurate information, and apologies are made in advance for any inaccuracies or misspellings.

10 VOTES
THE CALL UP by Charles Baker (Marjacq)
Producers: Stigma Films
Genre: Sci-fi Horror
Summary: A group of online gamers are invited to trial a state-of-the-art virtual reality sim, but what starts out like a dream encounter with cutting edge video technology – a perfect representation of soldiers in a warzone – takes a turn for the sinister when the stakes are raised to fatal. These masters of the shoot ‘em up will have to fight for their lives within a game gone too far: this time it’s for real.

8 VOTES
ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS by William Boyd (The Agency)
Producers: Origin Pictures/BBC Films
Genre: Thriller Summary: An innocent man on the run across London is forced to go underground in an attempt to evade his dangerous pursuers. Based on William Boyd’s internationally best-selling novel.

7 VOTES
LILTING THE PAST by Hong Khaou (unrepresented)
Producers: Dominic Buchanan
Summary: A story about loss, memory, love and intimacy. A mothers attempt at understanding who her son is after his untimely death.

OLIVIA AND JIM by Henrietta & Jessica Ashworth (United Agents)
Producers: Forward Films
Genre: Comedy

6 VOTES
MAN UP by Tess Morris (Julia Tyrell Management)
Producers: Big Talk Productions/Studio Canal
Genre: Romantic Comedy

TUSK TUSK by Polly Stenham (Alan Brodie Representation)
Producers: Origin Pictures/Film4
Genre: Drama
Summary: When three children are left to fend for themselves in a London flat, things start to spiral out of control. Based on Polly Stenham’s critically acclaimed stage play.

X+Y by James Graham (Curtis Brown)
Producers: Origin Pictures/BBC Films/ Minnow Films/BFI
Genre: Drama/Coming-of-age
Summary: A funny and moving rites of passage drama that charts a teenage prodigy’s journey to the Mathematics Olympiad, and his quest to find a formula for love.

5 VOTES
SECOND IS NOWHERE by William Davies (ITG)
Producers: AL Films/BBC Films
Genre: Drama

4 VOTES
BAD TRAFFIC by Jay Basu (ITG)
Producers: David Gerson, Nick Wechsler and Rory Gilmartin
Genre: Crime Thriller
Summary: Former Chinese cop, JIAN arrives in London seeking revenge on snakehead criminal BLACK FORT, the man he holds responsible for the murder of his daughter. British undercover cop RAY picks up his trail, and must decide whether to stop Jian or let him do his dirty work for him.

BAGHDAD WEDDING by Hassan Abdulrazzak (Knight Hall Agency) and Nick Drake (The Agency)
Producers: Focus Features

BURNTHAVEN by Sebastian Foster (United Agents)
Producers: Cloud Eight Films
Genre: Action/Western
Summary: A Federal Marshal tracks his best friend’s murderer through the Utah badlands to an outlaw stronghold. To bring his man to justice, he must first take out 23 of the most lawless fugitives in the land – and their leader, a shadowy figure from his past.

LIKE A VIRGIN by Catherine Shepherd (Curtis Brown)
Producers: Kate Ogborn/Fly Film
Genre: Coming-of-age/Comedy
Summary: Mary is off her head on a night out when she is visited by the angel Gabriel who tells her that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the next Messiah. This time the Messiah won’t be born to a virgin. What happens when a girl who isn’t ready to grow up is chosen to save the world? ‘Like a Virgin’ is a coming-of-age comedy about the search for the sublime in the ridiculous, the meaningful in the mundane and the desire to believe in something bigger than ourselves.

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH by Juliette Towhidi (Casarotto)
Producers: Heyday Films/BBC Films
Summary: An adaptation of the classic First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which tackles youth, hope, dreams, love, and loss, and tells the personal story of how one woman faces the tragedy of war, and rises above it.

3 VOTES
AVAILABLE LIGHT by Amber Trentham (Casarotto) and Thomas Carty (Casarotto)
Producers: Altered Image Films
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Summary: Joseph, a young ex-gardener is paralysed in a bike accident and his life seems all but over. When he is abducted by a brutal brothel owner to service the voyeurism of a perverse client Joseph’s life seems to have entered a deeper stage of hell. But Joseph and prostitute Ingrid fall in love and together plan to escape.

THE BUCCANEERS by Heidi Thomas (The Agency)
Producers: Ruby Films/BBC Films/BFI
Genre: Romantic Drama
Summary: Adapted from Edith Wharton’s classic, the story captures the adventures of three wealthy American girls. Unable to gain acceptance in the WASP-y East Coast society, they are taken by their English governess to hunt for titled husbands in her home country, where many an impoverished Duke and Earl will look fondly at an American girl with a fortune, wherever that fortune comes from…They soon find however that they may have bitten off more than they can chew, and Laura, the governess, is forced to make some hard choices to make things right.

THE CHINESE BUSKER by Trevor Preston (The Agency)
Producers: Kennedy Mellor Limited
Genre: Thriller
Summary: Dumas is a man without a history; a ghost operating in that no-man’s land between legal and criminal; a genius at providing unscrupulous corporate raiders with devastating information plucked from the air. Hirst is his final customer and becomes his nemesis.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD by David Nicholls (ITG)
Producers: DNA/BBC Films
Genre: Period Drama
Summary: An adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel

THE GOOD PEOPLE by Nicholas Horwood (Berlin Associates)
Producers: Escape Films
Genre: Horror/Drama
Summary: An American writer moves to rural England to escape his demons, only to find that he is haunted by a very real danger instead.

I, MACROBANE by Ben Wheatley (ITG)
Producers: Rook Films/Big Talk Productions
Genre: Black Comedy

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN by Abi Morgan (ITG)
Producers: Headline Pictures/Magnolia Mae Films/BBC Films/BFI
Genre: Romantic Drama
Summary: The story of Victorian England’s most famous author, Charles Dickens, and his secret love affair with young actress Nelly Ternan.

MISS YOU ALREADY by Morwenna Banks (The Agency) and Paul Andrew Williams (United Agents)
Producers: Embargo Films/Salt
Summary: Miss You Already is a film about love, loss and laughter.

A MOST WANTED MAN by Andrew Bovell (HLA)
Producers: The Ink Factory/Potboiler Productions/ Film4
Genre: Thriller
Summary: Adaptation of John le Carré’s bestselling novel. An enigmatic figure arrives in Hamburg with unclear objectives and the keys to a safe deposit box containing a fortune. He sweeps an embittered spy, a British banker and an idealistic young lawyer into a thrilling and moving mystery about his identity.

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR by Hossein Amini (Curtis Brown)
Producers: The Ink Factory/Potboiler Productions
Genre: Thriller
Summary: The lives of a young couple are changed forever after a chance encounter with a charismatic Russian oligarch. The man turns out to be the number one money launderer for the Russian mob, and his days are numbered unless the couple can come to his rescue. Based on John le Carré’s bestselling novel.

THE SLACKFI PROJECT by Howard Overman (ITG)
Producers: Matt Tolmach/Sony Columbia Pictures
Genre: Comedic Thriller
Summary: A hapless and broken hearted barrista is visited by two bad-ass soldiers from the future who tell him mankind is doomed and he alone can save them.

TAKING OFF by David F Shamoon (unrepresented)
Producers: Met Film Production
Genre: Road movie/Comedy
Summary: A funny and truthful road movie about a 50-something couple whose failing marriage is driven to its limits as they cross the US to get to their son’s wedding.

WALKING ON SUNSHINE by Joshua St Johnston (Alan Brodie Representation)
Producers: Vertigo Films
Genre: Musical
Summary: Set in the sun drenched Mediterranean, mother and daughter unwittingly fall for the same guy in this contemporary musical that features the greatest tracks from the 80’s.

Official Bedlam Productions/Takedown Pictures Press Release 30.09.11:

THE KING’S SPEECH PRODUCERS SECURE RIGHTS TO CLASSIC TALE OF RUGBY RIVALRY

Bedlam Productions, producers of the acclaimed feature film “The King’s Speech”, announced today their new project “The Grudge”. A dramatic telling of the infamous 1990 Five Nations Grand Slam rugby match between Scotland and England. The project is based on the 2010 book by the respected Irish sports journalist Tom English, and tells the story of one of the greatest grudge matches in the history of the sport.

Evan Leighton-Davis of Takedown Pictures introduced the project to Bedlam, and will act as Producer on the film alongside Simon Egan , who is also attached to direct, under the Bedlam banner.

Set against the backdrop of Thatcherism, civil unrest in Scotland and a divide that threatened to overshadow the game, the story dramatises how the hard grind tactics of Scotland coaches Jim Telfer and Ian McGeechan overcame a rampant England team boasting the likes of Will Carling, Brian Moore and Jeremy Guscott.

Takedown Pictures is the new film production arm of leading London-based script consultancy Industrial Scripts. Industrial Scripts was founded in early 2010 by some of the UK’s leading script editors to deliver high-end script development services to writers, producers and directors, and recently launched the UK’s first free screenwriter promotion programme, “Talent Connector”. Takedown will utilise Industrial Scripts’ wide range of contacts in development, and its incoming project submissions, to source commercially-attractive material for feature film production.

Industrial Scripts’ script doctor Aaron Anderson and producing partner Ian Prior are down to the final 12 for Film London’s prestigious Microwave Scheme with their project, WHITE CITY.

Tony Grisoni, Asif Kapadia and Christopher Granier-Deferre are amongst those whose projects have been selected for Film London’s Microwave scheme which is backed by BBC Films and Skillset.

Shortlisted film-making teams will now take part in a four day boot camp – Microschool – which will consist of seminars, masterclasses and mentoring from established directors, writers and producers including Clio Barnard, Pete Travis, Kate Leys and Jay Basu. Following Microschool, the teams will this year be given an extended development period- before going in front of the greenlight panel in early 2012. Up to six features will be greenlit in February 2012.

Launched in 2006, the scheme gives London based film-makers the chance to shoot a feature for up to £120,000.  Features to come out of Microwave include Eran Creevy’s Shifty, Jes Benstock’s documentary The British Guide To Showing Off which will be distributed by Verve Pictures in the UK in November and Frances Lea’s Strawberry Fields which will have its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

The shortlist:

Benefield, produced by Trent Simpson and Ally Gipps; written by Ross Sutherland and Chris Hicks; directed by Kim Albright

Cornered, produced by Bruce Robertson; written and directed by Jim Cartwright

Death of a Pirate produced by Lisa Williams; written and directed by John Hardwick

Gone Too Far produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre; written by Bola Agbaje; directed by Destiny Ekaragha

Kingsland produced by Michael Elliott; written and directed by Tony Grisoni [pictured]

Lies Fibs Porkies produced by Jessica Levick; written by Andrew Callister; directed by Samantha Harrie

Lilting produced by Dominic Buchanan; written and directed by Hong Khaou

Night Haunts produced by Nicole Stott; written and directed by Eva Weber

Panic Buddy produced by Tom Leggett; written by Duncan Barrett; directed by Robert Mckillop

The Carer produced by Asif Kapadia; written and directed by Victoria Harwood

The Secret of Jean Baptiste produced by Rob Watson; written by Gabriel Vallejo; directed by Nicole Volavka

White City produced by Ian Prior; written by Aaron Anderson; directed by Martin Stitt

Industrial Scripts Press Release 20.07.11

For immediate release:

Industrial Scripts launches first UK writer promotion programme, backed by Curtis Brown Group

The ongoing programme assesses projects and champions the best unrepped writing talent using Industrial Scripts’ experience and network. It is the first of its kind in the UK and Industrial Scripts neither charges writers fees to market projects, nor takes a fee if projects sell or attract the representation of an agent.

Industrial Scripts is the London-based script consultancy founded by some of the UK’s leading script editors, hosting the broadest range of script development services in Europe.

The company, active in script development, training and the education sector for 18 months, also recently launched a successful script doctoring/re-write service through two ex-UK Film Council Executives: THE KING’S SPEECH Creative Editor Aaron Anderson and THE IRON LADY Story Editor Jon Croker. Its script editors all have high-end industry experience, consulting for companies including the UK Film Council, Paramount Pictures, BBC Films, Ealing Studios, Scott Free, and Warner Bros.

Talent Connector is continuously open for submissions, all year round, and will culminate each December with the announcement of the Industrial Scripts Gold List – when the best 10 scripts to pass through the coverage system will be revealed, and prizes awarded.

Evan Leighton-Davis of Industrial Scripts said: “5 years ago the first line on the script filter was the agencies. Now, however, many agents can’t even accept unsolicited material due to the volume of submissions, leaving new writers scratching their heads as to where to turn. We’re confident we’ve created an everyone-wins filtration system with Talent Connector: writers receive industry-standard feedback on their projects from vastly experienced development professionals, and the opportunity to have their work endorsed and marketed at no extra cost; while execs, agents and producers can access already-vetted scripts without exposing themselves to an unmanageable surfeit of material. Similar programmes have been highly successful in America and we are confident this structure will prove effective in the UK too”.

Nick Marston of The Curtis Brown Group said: “As an agency time-management is becoming increasingly important in the crowded digital landscape we all now inhabit. As the volume of scripts and writers grows year-on-year it’s important to think of innovative ways of assessing and tracking new talent, and we are delighted to be backing the respected script consultants within Industrial Scripts and their Talent Connector programme, which we think will become the main access and entry point for new talent in the industry”.

Bona fide agents, executives, producers and directors across the industry can subscribe to Industrial Scripts’ once-a-month newsletter containing details of qualifying film & TV projects by emailing info@industrialscripts.co.uk with their CV attached, and “Talent Connector Opt-In” in the subject line. Projects are released to the industry once a month.

A comprehensive FAQ about Talent Connector can be found here: http://industrialscripts.co.uk/talent-connector-public/

All information about Industrial Scripts and its script consultants can be found here: http://industrialscripts.co.uk/

This week (11/07) and next Industrial Scripts’ unique Talent Connector programme rolls out for the first time.

The scheme, which is only open to unrepresented writers and filmmakers, is the first of its kind in the UK and will address the increasing challenges facing new and disconnected talent in terms of getting their work read and assessed by agents, executives and producers.

Qualifying projects will be sent to bona fide agents, executives and producers on a once-a-month basis.

To learn more about Talent Connector click here for the detailed FAQ, and to sign up to receive notification of qualifying projects simply email info@industrialscripts.co.uk with “Talent Connector Opt-In” in the subject line, and your CV attached.

UK Scriptwriters Podcast Sponsorship

We’re delighted to announce our sponsorship of the hugely popular UK Scriptwriters Podcast, led by screenwriters Danny Stack and Tim Clague.

In the podcast, Tim and Danny discuss a wide range of screenwriting topics, and offer advice to writers of all levels on different areas of the craft and business.

Every month we’re giving away quality prizes through the podcast so be sure to tune in.

The podcasts are completely free to access, and can be found here…

Seven UK professionals chosen for Inside Pictures 2011

Our resident Script Doctor, Aaron Anderson, will be blogging weekly. Follow him to receive the latest articles, updates and news.

Aaron primarily specialises in dramas, thrillers, sci-fis and comedies, although he worked across all genres in his 5-year tenure at the UK Film Council‘s Premiere Fund, on films like The King’s Speech, Attack The Block, Made in Dagenham, Tamara Drewe, Brighton Rock, Street Dance 3D, Triangle, Dorian Gray and How To Lose Friends & Alienate People.

Here’s a snippet from Aaron’s first blog update:

“Welcome to the first post in Industrial Scripts’ new Script Doctoring blog. I’m Aaron Anderson and I’ll be using this blog to expunge, expound and expel my thoughts not just on Script Doctoring but also on all things film, script and writing related. Who knows, I may compare films that sound like ice creams (Vanilla Sky vs Magnum Force vs Solaris) or ask the question: is Eddie Murphy this generation’s Alec Guinness?”

Visit Aaron’s Blog: Here!

The Brit List 2010 was officially unveiled today. Compiled by those working in the UK and Irish film community, the Brit List is a selection of the most liked and recommended unproduced screenplays. The idea of assembling such a list originated from the U.S., where their misleadingly named Black List is now a sought after honour for writers, and a valued mechanism for promoting films ahead of their release.

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