The Road Screenplay

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing: just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless cannibalistic bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a rusting shopping cart of scavenged food--and each other.
The Road

The Screening Room at Alfred Dunhill

Alfred Dunhill has always enjoyed exclusive partnerships with like-minded British brands, and this dedication to the best of British extends to a complete lifestyle experience with the London Home's subterranean Private Screening Room. Equipped to the highest standard by Meridian Audio, the Cambridge-based legendary purveyor of authentic sound and highest possible picture quality, the 12-seater Screening Room is available for private hire and boasts its own personal attendant serving drinks and snacks as required.

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The Road - A Review

The Road - A Review

FADE IN:

ESTABLISHING SHOT: EXT. SOHO, LONDON - EVENING
Light rain falls as a small group of people enter the MPC Screening Rooms building. Modern cars and taxis drive by in the rain lite up by neon lights. We hear the buzz and excitement of a big city on a Friday evening.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

I love film. I love everything about film. All my life, I've always wanted to make movies. I dislike reviews and I'm torn on film marketing. In fact I think reviews and marketing is damaging film. I guess some explanation is necessary.

[FLASHBACK TO: INT. A MODERN MID-70s DUPLEX, PARADISE VALLEY, NATAL – DAY (1975)]
A children's birthday party, in the semi dark everyone's eyes glued to a flickering make shift screen as Ian Fleming's Goldfinger plays out.

NARRATOR (CONT'D): (V.O.)

See that kid there, his face full of chocolate cake, his eyes wide and his mouth open. The cake half chewed. Well that's me, and that's the magic of cinema happening for the first time. Well the first time I can remember.

FREEZEFRAME. The words FORMATIVE MOMENT (all caps),appear at the bottom right of the screen.]

JUMP CUT TO:

An extreme zoom into a metal sign saying "MPC"

FADE TO:

INT London Agency. The room is filled with people standing around, eating & drinking in anticipation of an event

NARRATOR (V.O.)

My problem with reviews is thus:

ZOOM IN:

To the crowd and FREEZEFRAME on a young man's upper body & Face. He is about 25 wearing a goatee, drinking from a glass of wine.The following appears to his right.

CRITIC!

• Seen "a lot films"
• Believes that he's not a critic, but a qualified professional
• Believes that the anatomy of a good film review is much like a football match commentary.- That is; a blow by blow account of the story as it unfolds with clichéd pseudo pop culture comments inline (that's the edgy review bit). After all the only way this kind of review could made better is if more plot devices are put under the expositive magnifying glass.

• Has a small penis (OK! I made that up)
• All together displaying a complete lack of what it takes to get something up on screen.
• Doesn't think QT is all that but Pulp Fiction was quite good and Woody Allen's films are all crap because he is a douche.
• And finally has to end every review with a thought provoking question or statement . Well if you have the intellect of used tissue it may challenge your intellect.
  
• Oh yes, has perfect control of English Grammar. So it doesn’t really matter what the review says as long as it's formatted correctly all is well
• Random Example:
  

JUMP CUT TO:

A montage/trailer of Cloverfield

CRITIC (V.O.)

"Basically, it's a YouTube Godzilla. True, when you're not strapped into a cinema seat, the blind, uncomprehending 'what would you do?' panic of what's essentially a terrorist attack in a lizard suit is somewhat less riveting but it's still a rocking, rollercoaster-on-fast-forward blockbuster with a considered political subtext."

DISSOLVE TO:

INT small plush screening room.SLOW PAN across a seated film audience. The camera stops on a man sitting in the audience.

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is the tale of a desperate father in a hopeless future with one all consuming goal - stay alive to look after his son in a world gone mad. The story follows the two on their journey down to the coast along The Road in a heinous dystopia future
McCarthy draws a sparse, bleak and claustrophobic picture whilst John Hillcoat’s film uncompromisingly shades the grey world with cold ashen chalk. This is “Mad Max with reality turned up to the uncomfortable setting.

The tension and emotional depth of the 3 key characters plight is masterfully, portrayed by Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron and a young Kodi Smit-McPhee and other power house luminaries.

The Road is the emotional equivalent of being punched in the stomach and then being continuously kicked after you have collapsed. Much like Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men left my parched The Road left my throat raw and hankering for clean air whilst the relentless heavy atmosphere closes in. For a while after it had me pondering hope, futility, duty, desperation, survival and how man can sometimes be his own worst enemy.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

See that man there, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Well that's me, and that's the magic of cinema happening.

Avatar Screenplay

When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

20th Century Fox have released James Cameron’s entire screenplay for AVATAR online for everyone to download and read for free. You can view the script in the Adobe pdf format right here or below.

Avatar

Henry Rollins An evening of spoken word

Legendary ex - Black Flag Henry Rollins is visiting london! Best known to some as the frenetic frontman for punk rock legends Black Flag and later the Rollins Band, Henry Rollins gives a special spoken word performance.

Where
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

When
7:30pm Fri 15 January 2010

More info at Southbank Centre

How to finance a film

Own-it intellectual property services and the London Film Academy in partnership with the London Short Film Festival are hosting a seminar on film financing.

Financing is essential for any filmmaker who wants to take a film from an initial idea to the cinema. This session examines where to look for money in a changing market and the importance of co-producers for successful fundraising. It will also provide tips and advice on how not to get ripped off by the financiers.

Topics covered will include:

1. Where has the money gone – or why the past is of little help to producers;
2. Where should producers be looking for money – the importance of co-production partners;
3. Where can you go to get pre-production money;
4. What is the least painful and time-consuming method of closing finance;
5. How not to get ripped off by the financiers – not all the producer's fees have to be deferred; and
6. What to do when the finance starts going wrong.

Speakers will include Alan Moss a solicitor in the Film and Television Group of Harbottle & Lewis LLP. Alan provides advice on all aspects of the financing, development, production and distribution of films. Recent productions Alan has worked on include the Ealing Studios production St. Trinian's II, Independent's Mr Nice starring Rhys Ifans and Chloe Sevigny, Rogue's Gallery starring Zach Galifianakis and Maggie Q and Tormented, a Forward Films and Slingshot Studios co-production and Anna Higgs, a producer with a background in the world of interactive 'edutainment'. Anna has been involved in the production of a wide range of games, including the BAFTA award winning Lifting the Weight as well as managing digital media projects for a diverse range of clients including Sony Playstation, BskyB, Telewest and the BBC.

Where
Curzon Soho Bar
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY

When
1:00pm Thurs 14 Jan, 2010

For more information and to sign up for the seminar visit the http://www.own-it.org website

Alexander Mackendrick on Film-making with Paul Cronin

Paul Cronin, editor of the book On Filmmaking: An Introduction to the Craft of the Director by Alexander Mackendrick, presents a workshop based on Mackendrick's influential teachings.

This 2-day seminar is an excellent opportunity for any filmmaker who wishes to learn more about filmmaking from one of the masters of the medium. Alexander Mackendrick's practical approach serves as one of the best introductions to the craft of filmmaking available today. The weekend is structured around the illustrated lecture MACKENDRICK ON FILM which features footage of Mackendrick discussing his approach to filmmaking, and interviews with some of his former students and colleagues who discuss his ideas in detail.

Please note that this is a seminar-based workshop, not a practical hands-on weekend.

As well as dealing with Mackendrick's ideas on how film should be taught, the workshop topics covered include:

• Crafting a narrative screenplay
• Turning your script into a film
• How the director works with actors
• 'When not to write a shooting script'
• Why you should always try to cut dialogue from your script
• How 'Movies show and then tell'
• Why a 'clever plot' might not be a good starting point for your story
• Why props and 'incidental business' are crucial to the job of the director
• 'The Pre-verbal Language of Cinema'
• Why you should be beware of flashbacks
• 'Exposition is boring unless it is in the context of some present dramatic tension or crisis'
• 'Passivity is a capital crime in drama'
• 'The role of the antagonist may have more to do with the structure of the plot than the character of the protagonist'
• Setting the fuse and the obligatory scene
• How different camera angles and movement help create different emotions in the audience
• 'What is happening now is apt to be less dramatically interesting than what may or may not happen next'
• 'If you've got a beginning but don't yet have an end, then you're mistaken: you don't have the right beginning'
• 'Drama is expectation mingled with uncertainty'
• Use of the foil character
• Why a good story can be told from the point of view of any character
• Why you should always look for the longest axis on your set
• What you leave out is as important as what you leave in'
• Postcarding as a method of structuring your story

Alexander Mackendrick on Film-making with Paul Cronin

Where
The London Film School
24 Shelton Street, London, England WC2H 9UB

When
Sat 23 & Sun 24 Jan, 2007

Info here London Film School

Pepsi Short Film Video Competition 2010

Pepsi and MOFILM want to encourage and nurture the art of the short film. Go out with your camcorder (or phone) and put together a video up to 60 seconds in length. This isn't an ad competition but a serious film competition which will culminate at the Barcelona GSMA World Congress in February 2010!

It's not the quality of the production that counts but the story and how you put it across!

To get started & download the competition brief head over to MOFILM

The Pepsi "60 seconds to Refresh Your World" Movie Competition

Deadline
1 Feb, 2010.

Jaws HD in the London Aquarium

To celebrate Sky Movies Modern Greats HD 'Great Directors' season Sky are holding a special HD screening of the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic Jaws at the London Aquarium.

In the waters just off Amity Island something dreadful lurks, attacking anyone who dares to venture into the water. With the tourist-heavy summer season rapidly approaching and the town mayor refusing to close the beaches it's up to local police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and shark-hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) to put an end to the bloodshed. The unlikely trio pool their resources and set off to hunt down the monster - the only problem? They might need a bigger boat...

Sky Movies Modern Greats HD 'Great Directors' season is showing now. The season culminates with a week of Steven Spielberg films during which Jaws will be screened for the first time in HD on 25th January.

Screening of Jaws in HD
Where
London Aquarium

When
6:00pm Tues 19 Jan 2010

Avatar - the only review you need

Like everyone else that has internet access I feel I must share my thoughts on Avatar. It's good, go see it. It has blue people that fly dragons right out of the screen.

Seriously imagine that you went to see Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace (not that I'm bitter) and actually loved it. Well that's Avatar.

Avatar - the only review you need

Like everyone else that has internet access I feel I must share my thoughts on Avatar. It's good, go see it. It has blue people that fly dragons right out of the screen.

Seriously imagine that you went to see Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace (not that I'm bitter) and actually loved it. Well that's Avatar.

Make an Ad for Chevrolet and win a brand new car!

MOFILM has teamed up with Chevrolet for this amazing competition.

If you fancy having a go at making a TV style ad for Chevrolet then this competition is open to you. It doesn't matter what country you reside in or what video equipment you have - as long as you can upload your finished ad to the MOFILM website before the deadline.

This competition is open to all skill levels - it's not the quality of the production that ultimately counts but the quality of your idea, how well you follow the brief and how well you get the message across in video.

Grand Prize
Chevrolet Spark A Chevrolet Spark car (or cash alternative) plus an all expenses paid trip to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2010, including flights and hotel. Meet Oscar award winning producer Jon Landau and meet the MOFILM team - and enjoy €1000 spending money.

2nd Prize
€5000

3rd Prize
€2000

4th/5th Prize
€500 each.

5 Runners-Up Prizes
Five runners-up will each receive a Kodak Zi8 Digital Video Camera

Make an Ad for Chevrolet and win a brand new car!
Where
MO Film

Deadline
Mon 1 Feb, 2010

Iron Man 2 Trailer

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances -- and confront powerful enemies.

Expected release date
30 April 2010

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trailer

Set in medieval Persia, the story of an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. Which is why after the prince was tricked by a dying Vizier to unleash the Sands of Time that turns out to destroy a kingdom and transforms its populace into ferocious demons. In his effort to save his own kingdom and redeem his fatal mistake, it's up to the prince and the princess to return the sands to the hourglass by using the Dagger of Time, which also gives him a limited control over the flow of time.

Expected release date
28 May 2010

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood

The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore.

Beginning after the Death of King Richard at the Siege of Chalus Chabrol, the film follows Robin on his rise to infamy among the English Barons and the newly crowned King John.

Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is not Robin Hood as you have seen him before, rather the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.

Expected release date: May 2010

The Road - A Review

In a moment the world changed for ever

"He knew only that his child was his warrant"

Letter-sized paper (8.5 x 11 inches). Written in Courier font, 12 point, 10 pitch. No bold, no italics.

The Road - A Review

FADE IN:

ESTABLISHING SHOT: EXT. SOHO, LONDON - EVENING
Light rain falls as a small group of people enter the MPC Screening Rooms building. Modern cars and taxis drive by in the rain lite up by neon lights. We hear the buzz and excitement of a big city on a Friday evening.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

I love film. I love everything about film. All my life, I've always wanted to make movies. I dislike reviews and I'm torn on film marketing. In fact I think reviews and marketing is damaging film. I guess some explanation is necessary.

[FLASHBACK TO: INT. A MODERN MID-70s DUPLEX, PARADISE VALLEY, NATAL – DAY (1975)]
A children's birthday party, in the semi dark everyone's eyes glued to a flickering make shift screen as Ian Fleming's Goldfinger plays out.

NARRATOR (CONT'D): (V.O.)

See that kid there, his face full of chocolate cake, his eyes wide and his mouth open. The cake half chewed. Well that's me, and that's the magic of cinema happening for the first time. Well the first time I can remember.

FREEZEFRAME. The words FORMATIVE MOMENT (all caps),appear at the bottom right of the screen.]

JUMP CUT TO:

An extreme zoom into a metal sign saying "MPC"

FADE TO:

INT London Agency. The room is filled with people standing around, eating & drinking in anticipation of an event

NARRATOR (V.O.)

My problem with reviews is thus:

ZOOM IN:

To the crowd and FREEZEFRAME on a young man's upper body & Face. He is about 25 wearing a goatee, drinking from a glass of wine.The following appears to his right.

CRITIC!

• Seen "a lot films"
• Believes that he's not a critic, but a qualified professional
• Believes that the anatomy of a good film review is much like a football match commentary.- That is; a blow by blow account of the story as it unfolds with clichéd pseudo pop culture comments inline (that's the edgy review bit). After all the only way this kind of review could made better is if more plot devices are put under the expositive magnifying glass.

• Has a small penis (OK! I made that up)
• All together displaying a complete lack of what it takes to get something up on screen.
• Doesn't think QT is all that but Pulp Fiction was quite good and Woody Allen's films are all crap because he is a douche.
• And finally has to end every review with a thought provoking question or statement . Well if you have the intellect of used tissue it may challenge your intellect.
  
• Oh yes, has perfect control of English Grammar. So it doesn’t really matter what the review says as long as it's formatted correctly all is well
• Random Example:
  

JUMP CUT TO:

A montage/trailer of Cloverfield

CRITIC (V.O.)

"Basically, it's a YouTube Godzilla. True, when you're not strapped into a cinema seat, the blind, uncomprehending 'what would you do?' panic of what's essentially a terrorist attack in a lizard suit is somewhat less riveting but it's still a rocking, rollercoaster-on-fast-forward blockbuster with a considered political subtext."

DISSOLVE TO:

INT small plush screening room.SLOW PAN across a seated film audience. The camera stops on a man sitting in the audience.

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is the tale of a desperate father in a hopeless future with one all consuming goal - stay alive to look after his son in a world gone mad. The story follows the two on their journey down to the coast along The Road in a heinous dystopia future
McCarthy draws a sparse, bleak and claustrophobic picture whilst John Hillcoat’s film uncompromisingly shades the grey world with cold ashen chalk. This is “Mad Max with reality turned up to the uncomfortable setting.

The tension and emotional depth of the 3 key characters plight is masterfully, portrayed by Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron and a young Kodi Smit-McPhee and other power house luminaries.

The Road is the emotional equivalent of being punched in the stomach and then being continuously kicked after you have collapsed. Much like Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men left my parched The Road left my throat raw and hankering for clean air whilst the relentless heavy atmosphere closes in. For a while after it had me pondering hope, futility, duty, desperation, survival and how man can sometimes be his own worst enemy.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

See that man there, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Well that's me, and that's the magic of cinema happening.

Preview of Precious

Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious.




In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect.

Advance Preview: Precious

Where
Odeon Leicester Square
22-24 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7JY

When
6:30, Tues 14 Dec, 2009

Peter Jackson Filmaking competition for New Zealand tourism

If you dream of being a great filmmaker, this could be your big break. Capture the spirit of 100% Pure New Zealand in a 3 minute short film and win the attention of Academy Award winning director Peter Jackson.

To enter simply download the brief, write your screenplay, submit your form by the 15th of January 2010, and get as many people to vote for you as possible.

1. The first thing you need to do is write a three-minute screenplay on how you would ‘Capture the spirit of 100% Pure New Zealand - the youngest country on earth’.
2. You submit your screenplay. It is highly recommended you also supply supporting material in a 60 second video pitch to camera to bring your idea to life. It could include rough storyboards, stock footage edits, narratives etc.
3. These will be assessed by a panel of experts including Academy Award®-winning producers, editors and filmmakers.
4. The entries will be reduced to a shortlist of 5, which includes one people’s choice entry that is based on the number of votes it receives from the general public. It is to your advantage to encourage your friends and family to get involved and vote for you.
5. Those five successful applicants will be flown to New Zealand early in 2010. They will have three weeks to pre-produce, shoot and post-produce their idea to the budget of NZ$100,000, with the help of a small crew and Peter Jackson’s post-production facilities in Wellington.
6. Your return airfare, accommodation, production facilities, crew and core casting are covered as part of your prize.
7. The five completed three-minute films will then be viewed and judged by Peter Jackson.
8. You will return home.
9. The winning film will run on US television in 2010 crediting you.
10. You will be famous.

To enter and for more information head over here!