To McKee or not to McKee, that is the question.

So here's the thing.  Has Robert McKee (McKee, R, Story, Methuen, 1999) and all his work made one bad writer a good one?  Or, indeed, a good writer a better one?

Has his work helped one film script, one movie, to be better than it would have been without his influence?

Joanna Hogg - birth of a new auteur.

The writer/director Joanna Hogg has cemented a reputation as an auteur after just two movies ("Unrelated" & "Archipelago").  Working with no script and muttering a “When you’re ready…” rather than screaming “Action!” she’s putting actors at the centre of the creative process.

She’s made a fully-fledged star of Tom Hiddleston ("Thor", "The Deep Blue Sea", Spielberg's "War Horse") and woken the broadsheet critics from their slumbers.  Check the links below for how the hype has hit the polar extremes of The Guardian and Comic-con.

Joanna joins us for a workshop this month.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/amex/video/joanna-hogg

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/mar/04/archipelago-interview-joanna-hogg-tom-hiddleston?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjU2tMmeXm0

Hossein Amini accelerates away from “Drive”

Ryan Gosling in "Drive', 2011

Hossein Amini’s script for “Drive” helped Nicolas Winding Refn to this year’s Best Director gong at Cannes and Hoss is not slowing up.

This month his script for “47 Ronin” (Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi) goes into post, and he’s presently scripting “Snow White and the Huntsmen” (Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron) for a 2012 shoot.

As well as Refn, Hossein has chalked up work with Scorsese (on Gangs of New York, Winterbottom (Jude), Ian Softley (Hossein was Oscar-nominated for The Wings of the Dove) and John Madden (Killshot).

Hossein will be doing a workshop with the MA Screenwriting & Producing programme next semester.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0024925/

Youtube Q & A with Refn and Gosling

http://itccommunicationsnet-johnnichols.blogspot.com/2011/05/cannes-film-festival-2011-best-director.html

Bogdan Mirica wins award for "Bora Bora"

Bogdan Mirica (Class of 2007) has won the Best Short award for his film, "Bora Bora", at the Transilvania International Film Festival - the film continues on around the festival circuit.

Bogdan's first feature, "Ho Ho Ho", was distributed by MediaPro in 2009 and the same company is in post on Bogdan's latest script, "Las Fierbinti".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745739/
http://www.tiff.ro/en/news/the-transilvania-trophy-goes-to-argentina/238

Jeff Nottingham gets Arts Council Funding for "Lost in Mozart"

Jeff Nottingham (Class of 2010) has received Arts Council funding for his urban musical, “Lost in Mozart”.
 
The stage show is a high-drama bromance set in the, factually-based “postal code wars” between the Mozart and Kilburn estates and pitches classical music head-on with the “spitting” scene of North West London.

 “Lost in Mozart” will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in August at theSpaceUK venues and will transfer to London (Venue tbc) in October.
The show is based on Jeff’s screenplay of the same title and will be used as a platform for a feature production in 2012.



Watch the teaser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzNpYso0o_A&feature=player_embedded
More info at:
http://jknottingham.blogspot.com/

Seeing Pictures options Paul Joseph's "Condemned"

"Condemned"

Paul Joseph (Class of 2010) has optioned his graduation feature script, "Condemned", to multi award-winning team, John and Shannon Jennissen, at Seeing Pictures.  Earlier this year, Paul won the Raindance Pitchfest with his horror story about a condemned building that fights back.  "Great script," says John, "Can't wait to get it out there."
http://www.seeingpictures.co.uk/index.html
http://paulbjoseph.tumblr.com/

After "Gnomeo and Juliet" - New Development Exec at Elton John's Rocket Pictures

Julio Bonet (class of 2006) was post-production producer on Rocket Pictures/Disney’s “Gnomeo and Juliet” (James McAvoy, Emily Blunt), shepherding the movie to a number one spot at the UK and US box office.

He also provided the voice of the Mankini Gnome.  This May he returns to the bosom of David Furnish and Elton John’s Rocket Pictures as their new Development Exec.  The company intends to concentrate on music-based projects.  "Rocket Pictures' aim is to develop and build upon a unique relationship with recording artists and to become the home for diverse, artistically driven and commercial music entertainment," Elton John said in a recent Variety interview.
                                                      http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118028791?refCatId=13