About me

Here you will find a random selection of family photos, camcorder snippets of Hong Kong and Flamborough, a few short stories that have appeared in publications around the globe, a bit of wisdom and er, oh yes, some out-takes from the lecture course I give on Screenwriting. 

I was lecturing in this twenty odd years ago and invented a fair bit of what seems to have become standard wisdom. Little do people know! Here is all you really need to know about screenwriting: 

1) You can not do it without understanding the film making process and the nature of the industry.

2) It doesn't matter how many books you read about it, or how may scripts you write that get rave reviews, the industry is about what can be done at a given moment rather than what should be done, or what people would like to do. 

I am available for de-motivational talks if you so wish to engage my services. The only test of whether you are a writer or not is whether you ignore all the obstacles and just do it anyway! In the end you get better, and maybe even good enough. 

As for being a film maker... first buy a camera! 

But never forget that the script counts for far more than fancy camera work. Some decent actors help as well. And as long as the director doesn't get in the way too much, you can have a decent product for remarkably little money. 

You might like to check in on my BLOG for a hefty dose of negativity, pessimism, and what I like to call reality. Though I cannot guarantee it bears any resemblance.

If you really want to suffer for your art, I'm giving a screenwriting course in Singapore at the end of June 2010 and again in October.

And another thing about me:
 
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I have a production company called Idol Films Ltd. We've got a film in development in the US, with James Keach who produced the Oscar winning movie "Walk The Line".

Since my partner in this venture is Asad Sultan, all round financial whiz, we also have Indian projects doing the rounds. Our current one is "Money Men."  You can see me negotiating the option in the picture.

Indie Film Making was not my great passion in the past. TV was my thing. However, times have changed and the cameras that are on the market now are fantastic. Suddenly it seems more fun to be pursuing Indie film projects than anything else. Don't let people tell you there is no money for these things. There is always enough money if you make them for nothing! 
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I am also the chairman of the Hong Kong Writers Circle and have been for sixteen years. I try to pull away but they keep dragging me back in. We hold workshops and publish members' works in Asia. We have a huge membership nowadays and we like to think that without us, there would be no creative writing in Hong Kong. This is possibly not entirely true but we stirred things up a bit and have put the place on the Literary Festival circuit if nothing else. Many of the members have gone on to publish works all around the world, as well as bringing out many books locally. Despite my telling people about how many writers are destitute after a life time of hard brilliant work, it does not seem to stop people wanting to try their luck.

So if you are feeling particularly chipper, either from caffeine, cocaine or casual sex, feel free to drop in and let me beat you with a wet fish. Who knows, you might learn something useful. And at least buy a book or shove a dollar in the hat. We all like free stuff, but there are those who charge a fortune for next to nothing, whereas I charge next to nothing for a fortune, metaphorically.

3 Aug 2009 4:28 PM

(c) Lawrence Gray 2010