Review: Paddington

This week I am reviewing the live action screen debut of Paddington (2014), the beloved Peruvian bear from Michael Bond's books and several television series. 

Copyright: StudioCanal

First of all, I must say that I did not grow up reading the Paddington books. In fact I don't believe I have ever read one. The only memories I have of Paddington, other than the iconic teddy bear, are tiny snippets of the television series that originally ran in 70's and 80's. So, I don't know if the story and characters hold true to the original source. 

Nonetheless I did assume, as I so often foolishly do, that like so many remakes of beloved children's films, it wouldn't be very good and would stray wantonly from the source material. However, I kept hearing people say good things, and eventually went to see it yesterday.

The film follows the young bear after he is left homeless by an earthquake and sent off to London by his Aunt to start a new life there, whilst she retires to an old bears home. Once in London, Paddington meets the Brown family, lead by the extremely cautious Mr Brown, who decide to take him in temporarily. Meanwhile, a taxidermist has also heard about his arrival in the city, and plots to kidnap him, so she can stuff him. 

I thought the film was extremely charming. It makes wonderful use of visuals, using cutaways and interesting effects to help illustrate the story -  in a way that sometimes reminded me of Sherlock. For example, when Paddington is writing to his Aunt in the attic, we see the dolls house nearby open up to reveal the rooms of the actual house and the actions Paddington is describing. Whilst in another scene, when he is missing and the family are looking for him, a large tree painted on Brown's staircase wall has all its blossoms whisked off, to demonstrate the feelings of sadness, as well as the change of time and the seasons. Lots of little touches like this made the film feel and look thoughtful and delightful.

It was also enjoyable to see such an excellent British cast. Particular highlights included Peter Capaldi as Mr Curry, who after seeing him full of wild energy as Doctor Who seemed to age himself in this performance, with his dank hair and slimy movements. Whilst I was surprisingly delighted to spot Simon Farnaby, who is one of the actors from Yonderland and Horrible Histories. Of course I must not forget the stars of the film - I thought Ben Whishaw voiced Paddington beautifully, and that Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins, who played Mr and Mrs Brown, were on top form as their respectively grumpy and chirpy best.  


Of course, I cannot finish this review without giving my opinion on the slight controversy that surrounded it during its release - that it given a PG rating. According to the filmmakers interviewed on Film 2014, they were quite surprised, having expected Paddington to be given a U. Whilst the classifiers argued they had done this on the basis of Nicole Kidman's scary villain. 

Well, in my honest opinion I can see the classifiers point. I thought the fact that Paddington was literally on the table unconscious whilst Kidman opened boxes of pointy instruments was quite dark. Though I'm not saying other children's characters haven't been threatened with being turned into fur coats or worse, the darker stuff is normally suggested and left off screen. And as far as I can tell the PG rating hasn't stopped Paddington from being a very popular film, with both adults and families, so I doubt it has done them much harm.

In summary
A terrifically charming film, full of lovely touches and a pleasing sense of English-ness to it, in its portrayal of rain soaked London. The main character is adorable and sympathetic, and the cast is excellent. A real treat for the whole family. 

Top 5: Not So Dumb Blondes on TV

Another top five again I'm afraid, still very busy! However, this one is a little of bit of an unusual one.  I was thinking about an old episode of The Simpsons the other day, where Lisa finds herself being discriminated against because she is blonde. 

The episode had a good point, I've heard a few blonde jokes in my day, but it also made me realise that actually I've seen several blonde characters on TV who are were very intelligent. In fact, I've not really noticed any dumb blonde stereotypes, which hopefully means that certain negative stereotypes are becoming obsolete. 

Then again, when writing this list, two of the characters that came to mind have been on previous top five lists - which means either I have to watch more TV, or there is a small pool of characters to choose from. In the end though I did manage to think of more.

Anyway, here's my list of the top five blonde characters, who definitely are not dumb. Please tell me what you think about this subject in the comments!

1] Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons

The character who inspired this list is of course blonde, not that I really registered it until now thanks to her equally yellow toned skin. Lisa is academically very intelligent, a lover of literature, art and jazz. She is a member of MENSA, and gets involved in a variety of scientific pursuits such as astronomy and meteorology, as well as artistic ones such as music. Basically an all round Renaissance woman! 

2] Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Perhaps not an obvious choice at first, but Buffy has a great variety of skills. She has street smarts, knows alot about the supernatural, and of course, and excels in martial arts and self-defence. On top of this, she proves to be academically above average when she gets a good result on her SAT tests, which gives her a variety of college options in one episode.

3] Seven of Nine - Star Trek: Voyager

A human turned Borg, Seven of Nine is basically a genius who's Borg knowledge gives her a technological edge over her Starfleet counterparts. In fact she is so smart, she is even invited to join a group of genius aliens, a sort of think tank, in one episode. As well as her scientific expertise, she is also an accomplished pianist and singer. She also helped create and run Voyager's astrometrics lab.  


4] Bernadette Wolotiz - The Big Bang Theory

A microbiologist working for a big pharmaceutical company, Bernadette was originally introduced as Penny fellow waitress friend at the Cheesecake Factory. However, it soon transpired she was doing the job to pay off tuition fees, and was working towards a PhD. As well as her study of microbiology, Bernadette proves in one episode to have a good knowledge of physics, and particularly experimental physics, when she shows interest in Leonard's work. 


5] Romana II - Doctor Who

A Timelord who joined the Doctor with the sole purpose of helping him find an ancient and dangerous device, Romana not only matched the Doctor in intelligence but hinted at having left the Timlord's Academy with better test scores - she left with a triple first! Blonde here in her second incarnation, she was also more relaxed but nonetheless still extremely clever. In one episode it turns out she has even built her own sonic screwdriver, with which she helps repair a spaceship, and which the Doctor seemingly tries to nick. In spin-off media Romana continues to do well beyond her travels with the Doctor, and becomes President of Gallifrey itself.

Five of My Favourite: Male Nerds and Geeks from TV

Well, here's my extra post, I'm doing a review this weekend. I thought I'd continue with another fun post, and since I've done the my top five female geeks and nerds, I thought I'd do my five of my favourite guys too. 

Please note as usual, that the list is in no particular order.

1] Sheldon Cooper - The Big Bang Theory

A theoretical physicist, a science-fiction geek and a gamer to boot, Sheldon is probably one of the most famous nerds on television at the moment. 

I have heard that some people in the nerd/geek community do not like the Big Bang Theory because it essential mocks nerds, and though I love the show, I can see what they mean sometimes. The other male characters can seem a little embarrassed about nerdiness, especially with their girlfriends, except for Sheldon. He doesn't apologise for being nerd - or anything really, but that's beside the point. In fact he is often surprised, and pitiful, that more people don't know or care about sci-fi and science - and I personally think that's one of the things that makes him so cool. 


2] Kowalski - The Penguins of Madagascar

You've probably all seen or heard of the four penguins from the Madagascar films who act like they're a special forces unit. Well the characters were so popular they got their own spin-off series - and it is fantastic. 

Kowalski is the genius inventor, scientist and general Q of the team - and probably my favourite character. Known for inventing incredible contraptions, he has a touch of the mad scientist about him. It should also be noted that despite understanding physics and once owning a Higgs Boson - he can't actually read. However, he is a penguin and unlike some other television scientists he can fight and is always involved in missions. 

3] Pete Lattimer - Warehouse 13

Pete Latimer is the goofy, often childish partner of Myka at the Warehouse. He is also a comic-book geek and has collected almost every issue of The Iron Shadow, who his favourite superhero - we even see him wear a Iron Shadow T-shirt. 

4] Dr Rodney McKay - Stargate Atlantis

A physicist and  engineer who has worked with stargates, he is the Head Scientist on Atlantis. He's also the guy who normally ends up solving the team's big problem, whether that's fixing a machine or finding a way to escape a volcano in a spaceship. Hints throughout the series suggest he is also Star Trek and Batman fan. 

5] The Doctor - Doctor Who

I have to admit I was unsure about putting the Doctor on this list, unlike the others who are sort of just ordinary but very intelligent or passionate people, he is an alien. His people are more science based and inherently smarter than us. Then again this list includes a penguin so, I say no criteria applies. 

The Doctor of course has a vast knowledge of science, from astrology to engineering to physics and a myriad of other subjects. I guess he also seems to embody other traits I associate with geeks and nerds - passion for technical stuff, the fact his superpower is his intelligence, the fact he can often be goofy or speak in a load jargon. The Doctor is almost all knowing but also all round brilliant.

Review: Warehouse 13, Season 1

I tad belated this week as I have been watching a whole TV season for a change, rather than just one film. I've just finished watching the first season of Warehouse 13, an original SyFy channel sci-fi show created byJane Espenson and Brent Mote.

Technically this is the second time I've started watching W13, as it can be neatly shortened too. The first time I watched it, which was ages ago, I got a little bored of 'find an artifacts a week' thing, which sounds silly now, as my brother pointed out - that's the point of the show! Anyway, I don't know quite what I was thinking the first time, but on this second viewing I really got into it.

The show follows two American Secret Service agents, Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly), who are transferred to the mysterious Warehouse 13 - a huge warehouse full of artifacts with strange proprieties. These artifacts can not only do amazing things but can be highly dangerous, and it becomes Pete and Myka's job to locate artifacts then snag'em, tag'em and bag'em - as their new boss Artie (Saul Rubinek) explains.

What I like about this set-up is that opens up a multitude of creative possibilities, as artifacts can be anything, and doing anything. They often link artifacts to famous figures in history too, which is fun, such as Poe's pen or Harriet Tubman's thimble. Whilst the gadgets they use themselves range from the supertech of the video labels in the warehouse, to the more steampunk style video communicator's, the Farnsworths, they use on missions. 

The show also mixes in a good dose of slight absurdity and humour, which makes sense when its set in such an odd place, and the dialogue between characters - and especially from whizz-kid Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) - has a slightly silly, quick-fire sense to it from time to time - like an odd-ball film. 

However, the show can also be serious, and alot of that comes from the character's pasts, especially Artie's - and I wasn't sure if the serious straight stuff gelled with the more goofy, fast-talking side of the show at first. Now, I've seen the whole season, I think it pulls off alright. The weighty important bits are generally allowed room to breathe before they start being funny again, and of course the humour is used to lighten the mood during a more serious situation. So, all in all it works, and it is nice to have a scif-fi show that can be dramatic but also not take itself so  seriously all the time.  

Another thing I enjoy about the show, and which attracted me to it, is that there are apparently several cameos from other sci-fi actors. Already I have seen two actors from Battlestar Galactica and Joe Flannigan from Stargate Atlantis turn up in season one. As does actor Mark Sheppard - who seems to have a habit of turning up in sci-fi shows. I have also seen him in Firefly, Star Trek and Doctor Who.

I enjoy all the characters on the show, especially Claudia and Pete, who are both funny and smart. I was a little put out by Artie, with his cuddly, professor appearance it took me a while to get my head around the fact the character was also secretive, cranky and bossy. This is not a bad thing though, as of course it gives his character not only more depth, but it also gives the first season most of its over-arcing plot and villain, as someone from Artie's past returns. 

In summary: A fun, bizarre sci-fi show that's very creative. The characters are all likable and well developed, and the setting is great. The first season gets a little slow in the middle, but does kick off once it gets going with its over-arcing storyline, and after that the stakes are raised and the twists just keep coming. Definitely recommended for sci-fi fans. 

Scene 68: Doctor Who FanScript Extract

So, I was sorting out all my stuff on my computer today, trying to get enough space to render this footage I needed when I came across an old script of mine I never thought I'd see again - Swarm Science, a Doctor Who script I actually tried to send to the BBC! 

It's not that great - re-reading the beginning I'd probably get the action going much quicker now if I rewrote this  -  but I actually did a lot of research on the 1920's for this script, and spent quite a bit of time on it, so despite it not going anywhere I guess it was good practise for future scripts. 

Anyway, I thought I'd share some on the blog since I've been so  busy and uninspired to write, which has meant I haven't written a proper post or review in ages. I hope this bridges the gap and makes up for it a bit - and its a bit of fun for all the Doctor Who fans out there!

EXT. CITY STREET: DAY 

March 1925 - a busy high street.

A fashionably dressed girl on a bicycle LOUISE ’LULU’ HEATLEY (26), in a cloche brakes in front of a cafe.

She locks up the bicycle and goes inside. 

CUT TO:

INT. CAFE, UPSTAIRS DINING-ROOM: DAY

Lulu dodges round the tables and the waitresses to a table by the window where EDITH MARSH (25) is lounging, as she fiddles with a cigarette case whilst talking idly to DENIS BARNES (27), who is picking a slice of lemon out his gin and tonic.

LULU 
Am I late?

EDITH 
No, no, you’re on time actually. I ordered a pot of tea for us to share.

LULU 
Oh, merci. 

Lulu pulls up a seat, putting down a bag and a green hardback volume of Vasari’s Lives. She pushes a pair of round glasses up her nose, and begins to pour herself a cup of tea.

LULU
Do we know when the train goes?

DENIS
Four.

LULU
Good. I’ll have time to fetch my luggage from home. I’ve been really looking forward to seeing you two, and going on this sojourn to London.

EDITH
Me too, dear. Wait til I show you

my rooms, I’ve had them decorated. And we must go and see that

new play, the Vortex.

DENIS
And that new dance club. But let’s eat first, shall we? 

Denis picks up a menu.

LULU
Yes, I’m as hungry as a wolf.

CUT TO:

EXT. FACTORY YARD: DAY

An abandoned factory yard, walled in, with a rusty gate hanging loose.

A couple of workmen are walking beside the wall. MAURICE SIMMONS, 42, with a slight limp, pushing a bike, and BILL WALKER, 25, with a burn mark on his face.

They pause by the gates and look up at the factory. A cloud of black is rising from one of the old chimneys.

BILL
Hey, there’s smoke rising from over there. Has that factory re-opened?

MAURICE
Don’t think so. (beat) It’s probably just a load of homeless people in there.

The smoke tails off.

MAURICE CONT’D 
Come on, we need to get a move on. We can cut through here.

BILL
Isn’t it shorter through town?

MAURICE
Nah, trust me. I used to work  round here before they started making tanks. 

Maurice opens the gates and they walk through. 

CUT TO:

INT. CAFE, UPSTAIRS DINING ROOM: DAY

The table is covered in the remnants of luncheon.

EDITH
What now? We still have a couple of hours.

DENIS
There’s the pictures I suppose. I mean, there’s not much else down here to do, is there? It’s all rather industrial and rural...

EDITH
Good idea. What’s showing?

DENIS 
I don’t know.

LULU
Take a look in the paper, theyalways have cinema listings.

DENIS
I never buy local papers.

EDITH
Ask to borrow someone’s then.

Lulu frowns. They look about the cafe. There are well-dressed ladies drinking delicately. A young couple smoking and flirting near the staircase. A pair of imposing looking older men are talking gruffly

about business.

And...sat alone at the table is a MAN in eccentric attire with his feet up on a chair, fiddling with what looks like a manual egg whisk.

His table is a jumble of stuff - a book in a foreign language, cups, plates with half eaten toast and scones, pots of jam, a pot of tea, a newspaper and several bits of wire.

LULU
Voila. Go on Denis.

DENIS(pulls face) 
Ask him?

LULU
Why not?

EDITH
Look at his table. He looks a bit odd.

DENIS
He is odd. I saw him stirring butter into his tea just before you arrived.

LULU
So?

DENIS
So I’m not talking to him.

LULU
Fine. I’ll go.

She gets up and walks over, faltering by the table for a moment.

LULU(shyly) 
Excuse me? 

The man doesn’t look up.

DOCTOR
Black coffee with two sugars and a slice of lime, and are you sure you don’t have any...

The man looks up.

DOCTOR
Oh, (big smile) g’day.

LULU
Good afternoon. Sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if I might borrow your newspaper? I want to check the listings for the movies.

DOCTOR
Ah, good old silent movies.

He pulls the paper out from under a pile of plates, and hands it to her.

DOCTOR
Who’s your favourite? Buster Keaton, Lilian Gish, Charlie Chaplin...

LULU
Max Linder. I used to watch his movies when I was a child in Paris.

DOCTOR
Really? You don’t sound Parisian?

LULU
Oh, don’t be put off by my accent. I was born there, but my father was English, and we moved here when I was young...

Note: Original characters copyright KCS, Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.

Scene 61: Five of My Favourite Film and TV Dresses

In this post I'd thought I'd have some fun and look at some of the costumes I like most from television shows and films. 

Costumes are extremely important in films. They can help tell us about the characters we are watching and even hint at themes in the film. In some cases costumes can even steal  films, right from under the noses of actors, writers and directors - hence 'costume drama' films and television shows, where the costumes are a selling point in themselves, to be awed and drooled over. 

I want to look at a variety of costumes, but today I'm looking at dresses - the ones I've liked the most, and which I think are the most visually striking.

So in no particular order, here are five of my favourites. 

1] Audrey Hepburn's gown from Funny Face

A Funny Face is musical film all about the fashion world that stars Audrey Hepburn as a bookshop owner who becomes a model. All her Paris costumes were designed by Hubert de Givenchy, who had also designed all her Paris costumes in Sabrina, and he created a whole series of beautiful dresses and outfits for the film. The short skirted wedding dress she wears at the end for example, seems to have become a classic, based on the amount of images I found of it online. 

However, out of all the Paris costumes my favourite dress is this gown with a floral polka dot like pattern. She looks so elegant in the long skirt, and the pattern is pretty, but not 
overwhelming. In the film, she wears the dress with several accessories, including a light blue silk cape and gloves. This gown even looks good soaked, as Hepburn proves in this funny scene with Fred Astaire!

2] Daenerys Targaryen's blue dress from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is an epic piece of television. It's story is huge and fully of interesting characters, but it also has amazing production values. Seriously, stop and actually look at the sets, the locations and the costumes that have been created for this show, because it's incredible - and one of my favourite examples is the blue dress Daenery's wears whilst staying in the city of Qarth. The costume department seemed to create a whole style of dress for this luxurious city, with alot of the women's dresses employing the gorgeous gold cut-out bands that are used to hold up the dress and as belts - as shown in Daenery's dress above. 

Of course my favourite is Daenery's, it is floaty and exotic looking, yet at the same time it looks almost medieval, which is in keeping with the rest of the show. Certainly it is one of the most unforgettable costumes a character of Game of Thrones has ever worn!

3] The Black Swan dress from Black Swan 

Ballet costumes in real life are beautifully designed and the film dresses in Black Swan, designed by Amy Westcott, were no exception. I have looked back at the white swan dress too, which is fantastic, but I still think the black swan costume beats it. Why? Honestly it's partly because that eye make-up just makes the whole effect pop! But the dress is still incredible, its edgier and sharper than the white swan dress, and look at that crown, it looks like its made of shards of glass and diamonds! Check the dress out in action...

4] Romana II's Edwardian dress from Shada, Doctor Who

Romana is one of my favourite companions in Doctor Who, and I always liked her vintage style of dress. However, out of all her costumes I've honestly only seen this dress in a few pictures and clips. To be fair though, it didn't get much screen time anyway. The Doctor Who episode the actress wore this dress in was only half shot due to strikes at BBC. 

Nonetheless the outfit, even in this picture, is striking. I do believe it is a dress, though the difference in patterns from the top and skirt could been its a combo. However, I'm still happy to bend the rules a little and put it in my list. The white lacy top and bright red belt, with that lovely the fruity, flowery hat altogether look classy, vintage and elegant. 


5] The Queen's peacock dress and Snow White's orange and blue dress from Mirror, Mirror

Okay, a little bit a cheat here! Firstly, of course this is two dresses, and second I have not seen the film. Though, given that costumes are meant to reflect the character, I should be able to have a good guess at what the characters are like from their clothes.  

Anyway, the reason I include these on my list is because, frankly these dresses sold the film to me. I mean Mirror, Mirror looks like an amazing in the trailers anyway, the designers have really created an extravagant, shimmering fairytale world, but the costumes are what really stand out. 

Strangely, I can't decide which costume I like best, or if I even like either of them. Orange and blue? And those ruffs? And yet, it looks incredible. It works, somehow. The bright colours and interesting shapes just feel fun, and perhaps that's the point. The trailer sells the film as full of fun and humour, so it is not surprising that the clothes reflect this. 

The Queen's dress is more conventional, I'd say. It's not hugely subtle, hell its a red peacock dress complete with a peacock tail collar - it practically yells 'vain' and 'evil'! Perhaps that's what makes these dresses so good, they are so big and crazy and yet so much fun. The red peacock dress doesn't suggest a really dark menacing Queen, it's a bit big and a little silly, like the villain herself. 

Check out the trailer and see if you think these dresses sell to you, as much as it did me.

Scene 56: Script Scene and Cornwall

So a little behind on my blog. I am on holiday though, so I think that's fair. I'm staying in beautiful Cornwall, which was the setting for Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn (1939) based on the book of the same name by Daphne Du Marier - I didn't manage to finish watching or reading those, just didn't get into them. 

I wondered what other films have been set or filmed in Cornwall? It's such a lovely piece of coast, surely other films would have been shot here? 

And of course, I am right, there's quite a lot of shows and films who have used the county, including Johnny English and Doctor Who as a location, and as a setting. In fact the more classic Hitchcock film, also based on a Daphne Du Marier book,  Rebecca (1940) is set in Cornwall, though the filming was actually all done in California studios. It's a great film, wonderfully shot and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine - its well worth a watch!

Anyway, I disgress somewhat. My intent was to post up a fragment of script I wrote recently, as promised for my new scene a week challenge. Admittedly the scene is not complete, but this is because I was unsure whether or not I wanted to turn the original idea into a short film or a short story. I might yet do both, but in short story form it seems to be working much better. Either way, here is that piece of script, if you have anything opinions on it, please write in comments box below!

SCRIPT SCENE / 2

INT. CELL, UNDERGROUND FACILITY: DAY

A strip light lit medical room. One tray of instruments and a monitor stand in one corner.

In the middle of the room, laid on a metal bed is BRADDOCK, 37, in loose clothes. Straps hold him down.

A doctor in surgical gear, and with a tazar on her belt is loosening the straps.

DOCTOR
There's no change.

BRADDOCK
In me or the lawsuit.

DOCTOR
In you. As for the lawsuit...

There's a pause.

DOCTOR
You're losing.

Braddock's face clouds over and he glares at the doctor.

BRADDOCK
I'm losing.

DOCTOR
Don't look at me. (beat) You'll have to stay here for the moment. I'll get lunch sent to you.

The doctor finishes loosening the straps and Braddock sits up.

BRADDOCK
(snarky)
Great.

The doctor exits. The steel door hisses closes and bleeps shut behind her.

EXT. CORRIDOR, UNDERGROUND FACILITY: DAY

Kelly, a timid looking girl in flat pumps wheels a metal trolley of sandwiches, drinks and snacks down the corridor.

She stops by the door to the cell. She puts an ID card in a slot by the door, it clicks open. She goes in, and it shuts.

INT. CELL, UNDERGROUND FACILITY: DAY

She is standing by the trolley. Braddock is on the metal bed.

KELLY
Hey.

BRADDOCK
No cakes?

KELLY
No. Sorry. (beat) How are you?

She goes over, smiling, sympathetic.

BRADDOCK
(macabre grin)
The same. The idiots still don't know how to fix it.

KELLY
Isn't that bad?

BRADDOCK
(cold)
Ha. (beat) So, what is there? If its only tuna sandwiches with mayo left I'm going to puke.

KELLY
Well you're in a grump aren't you.

He gives her a sharp, sarcastic look.

BRADDOCK
Yes.

KELLY
No. I kept back a ham and salad one for you.

BRADDOCK
(small proper, smile)
Good girl.

Scene 46: Three Scriptwriting Problems and How to Tackle Them

I am going to be honest. I had difficulty sitting down to write this post this week, hence why this post is late again. Last week I really had no excuse, I had plenty to write about. This week I just had no idea what to write about, I couldn't settle on a subject. 

Well now I have one, inspired in fact by the fact I didn't know what to write - today I am going to look at how to tackle the different problems involved in sitting down and writing a script. By this I mean, problems the writer has writing, rather problems with the script itself, like structure, dialogue, spelling and grammar. 

1] Starting It

The first problem you might encounter is actually sitting down and starting to write the script. 

One of the reasons for this might be lack of confidence, as mentioned in the Raindance Writers' Lab book by Elliot Grove - who describes lack of confidence as when you may be filled with inspired to write, but can't when faced with a blank page. 

His suggestion is not to give into this feelings, as it'll just stop you from writing and points out that: 

"...no one said that your end result was going to be any good - so take away that pressure right now. Forget the pressure of winning an Oscar. Writing this script will be challenging and exciting. Enjoy!" 

I would further suggest that if the lack of confidence comes from the idea then going back and developing the idea further until you're happier with it, might be a good idea. You can do this by testing it out on a few friends, or writing it up as a premise or a treatment.

If you lack confidence in your abilities as scriptwriter, well, ability is going to vary from person to person - we can't all be Oscar winners - but you can improve and hone your skills by reading up on the craft. There are plenty of websites offering advice on scriptwriting - the BBC Writersroom has a guide to scriptwriting essentials - and lots of books too. I have also been told that reading lots of scripts can help, and to write regularly - as after all practise makes perfect. 


2] Finishing It

A second common problem is finishing a script once you've started it. Writing requires quite a lot of motivation and discipline, and if you're a scriptwriter starting out, all that has to come from you - there will be no one giving you deadlines or making sure you keep on track. 

This where another of Elliot Grove's reasons you won't wrote you screenplay comes in - procrastination. Procrastinating over the script is generally due to either worries about the script, hitting an obstacle and not knowing how to resolve it, or because you want to avoid the hard work of finishing it. 

Lots of writers seem to have encountered the procrastination problem. In Russell T Davies' book The Writer's Tale - which I recommend for want-to-be television writers -  he mentions spending the day watching television instead of writing the latest Doctor Who script. Whilst Elliot Groves gives himself as an example, saying how he realised that whilst 'writing' a book he had actually ended up cleaning his whole apartment instead. 

One of the best ways to tackle procrastination is discipline and to make sure you write a little everyday. I've already mentioned the three pages a day idea in my Five Scriptwriting Tips post, which can be useful for getting a script done within a set time. 

Setting goals and planning to give yourself a reward every time you reach them may also help keep you writing. 


3] Writer's Block

Writer's block is defined as the inability to write, and in the case of scriptwriters, it's normally that moment when suddenly you don't know what's going to happen next, or how to write the next scene. 

The best I know to overcome this type of sticking point, is to move on to different part of the script, a part where you know what's happening or you're more excited to write, and do that before returning and linking it with the missing scene later. I actually did this with a 45 page script I was writing once. I kept getting stuck on the opening scene, to the point that I wasn't actually moving along with the script. I knew how it ended, and the middle bit, so in the end I started in the middle and wrote to the end, before skipping back to fill in the beginning - and it worked! 

That is if you believe in writer's block anyway - most of the writers in this video about Writer's Block from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website, don't seem to think so. 

Also check out 17 Writing Tricks to Help Get You Through Your Screenplay, which has some good advice on how to keep going with a script when you get stuck. 

Please tell me if any of this advice was helpful in the comments box below, thanks! 

Scene 38: Doctor Who and the Christmas Round Up

Ah, Christmas, and the annual Christmas television - the Christmas specials, the 'classic' Christmas films and the Queen's Speech, which this year  is in 3D, for some reason. 

So, here's my brief round up of some of the Christmas specials - those one-off episodes of popular television series centred around the Christmas holiday itself.

As usual the BBC has a Doctor Who Christmas special, which is - I think for the second time in the reboot's history - acting as a bridge for the series into the New Year. 


It's interesting to note that the last two specials have both been inspired by Christmassy stories - A Christmas Carol and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - and wonder if it'll turn out that the coming special gives a nod to another literary classic this year. Though so far the trailer does not seem to suggest it - though the Doctor in a top hat does remind one of the Madder Hatter somewhat. These specials can be a bit hit and miss, and I wasn't to keen on last year's. However this year looks like it might be rather good - with deliciously creepy looking snowmen and the addition of Richard E. Grant and Ian McKellan doing some voice-acting. 

There's also going to be plenty of period drama from Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and The Making of a Lady.

There's plenty for young children as well, with the sequel to The Snowman - The Snowman and The Snow Dog on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve. Whilst on Christmas Day, there is the animation Room on the Broom on the BBC, which features a whole host of voice talent that adults will enjoy recognising - including Gillian Anderson, Simon Pegg and Sally Hawkins. 

Well that's a quick look at what's on telly, for more Christmas listings and reviews, check out the Radio Times site.

Merry Christmas Everyone!