In-Depth screenwriting podcast, focusing on the great films of the 21st century. We have three episode formats, either individual screenplay breakdowns, subject-matter experts coming on to discuss a film they love, and interviews with prominent screenwriters.
Episodes
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
This week’s episode is all about the feature screenplay ‘Good Vibrations (2013)’ with a special interview with one of the writers, Glenn Patterson. The story centres on the life of Terri Hooley, who sets up a record shop right in the middle of the bombs, security cordons and danger of Belfast at the height of the Troubles. We cover a range of topics including how to authentically portray a protagonist who you personally know, the impact of using music to give your film a strong identity, perseverance in finding your audience and how it is for a novelist to try begin working on a screenplay.
The BBC writer’s room has made the script publicly available to download here, we recommend you check it out!
Learn more about Glenn Patterson
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
This is a bonus episode in which we discuss the merits of all of the screenplays nominated for the Academy Awards this year, in the two categories of Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. Now that we know who the winners are, we talk about whether we felt the right choices were made. This is a spoiler-free episode so if you haven’t seen all the films, don’t fear, we won’t ruin any of them for you.
Note: the Academy does not have ‘judges’ but there are specific members of the Academy who can vote on these categories, in the podcast we used the word ‘judge’ as shorthand to mean anyone who is meant to be casting a vote and making that judgement about which screenplays they felt should win.
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Jan 20, 2020
Monday Jan 20, 2020
Brian Dunnigan is a writer and filmmaker from Edinburgh. He is the author of the new book ‘Screenwriting is Filmmaking’ and was the head of the London Film School’s screenwriting programme for twelve years. In this episode William met with Brian in London to discuss the Michael Haneke film ‘The White Ribbon’, which won the Palme d’Or at Canne in 2009. We also hope you enjoy the twenty minutes of bonus content at the end in which we discuss some of Brian’s advice and teachings to screenwriters in his new book.
Buy ‘Screenwriting is Filmmaking’!
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Happy new year everyone! This week, writer and director Mark Herman is on the show to discuss his 2008 adaptation of John Boyne’s novel ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. We talk about difficult questions regarding holocaust fiction, how he went about adapting the book into a screenplay, and lessons he has learnt over his career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. This is second recording from York St John University, with many thanks to Mark for his time and to Robert Edgar for facilitating.
Learn more about Mark Herman // Watch the film // Read the book
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Dec 23, 2019
Monday Dec 23, 2019
This week William is in York to chat with Robert Edgar, co-author of the new guide 'Adaptation for Screenwriters'. They discuss the Coen Brother’s popular adaptation ‘No Country For Old Men’, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. Their conversation covers many interesting topics and ideas including the techniques the writers used to compress the timeline, some of the key differences that are apparent in the screenplay, what we mean when we talk about a film’s faithfulness to a book, and the elusive nature of the story’s antagonist Anton Chigurh.
Buy 'Adaptation for Screenwriters': Bloomsbury UK // Amazon US
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Dec 09, 2019
Monday Dec 09, 2019
Young and Old, black and white, good and evil, truth and fiction: ‘The Lighthouse’ is full of binaries. On a remote island in the 1890s, two wickies arrive to tend the lighthouse, and find themselves assaulted by fog, waves, storms, rogue seagulls and the onset of madness. William sits down with Alan to discuss this brilliant screenplay written by the brothers Robert and Max Eggers, paying particular attention in this episode to the symbolism and literary themes.
We encourage you to download and read the screenplay while it remains available. Disclaimer: This is a link to the production company A24’s website where they have chosen to make it available for fans to read. We are not hosting the screenplay and no copyright infringement is intended.
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Nov 25, 2019
Monday Nov 25, 2019
Stuart Voytilla (author of ‘Myth and the Movies’) joins The 21st Rewrite to discuss the iconic film Gladiator. We analyse the screenplay using the ‘Hero’s Journey’ model, which is explored in detail in Stuart’s book. Learn about the functions of the archetypes, audience expectations regarding story structure, and much more as we delve into the characters and themes of this epic historical drama.
Buy Stuart Voytilla's Myth and the Movies
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Eventually 'The 21st Rewrite' may cover all of the films in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth trilogies, and we’ll be aiming to feature special guests to create a special series of 'Perspectives on Tolkien'. To begin with, William has chosen to feature Cube Command’s Tommy Savoia as a representative of the new generation which is responding enthusiastically to Tolkien’s work. This episode covers differences between the novel and the screenplay, an assessment of the nature of iconic characters such as Bilbo Baggins, Gollum and Gandalf, and the larger themes that were highlighted in the blockbuster film adaptations of the original literary work.
Learn more about Tommy Savoia
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Monday Oct 28, 2019
It's finally time to take on possibly the most controversial winner of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay (not to mention Best Picture!). Eposi Litumbe, a wonderful and talented writer, is taking over as guest co-host to discuss this parable of racial tensions in early twenty-first century Los Angeles.
Learn more about Eposi Litumbe
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Monday Oct 14, 2019
In his masterpiece 'The New World' Terrence Malick sets out to chart both sides of the forces of human history: love and betrayal, coexistence and genocide, the simultaneously miraculous and tragic nature of life on this troubled planet. William and Alan sit down for one of their most detailed discussions yet, sharing their experiences of reading the original screenplay (which was written almost in the style of a beautiful historical novel) and the profound experience of rewatching the new extended cut of the film. You will learn more about the real lives of John Smith and Pocahontas, the history of the Jamestown colony and the use of metaphor and allegory in Malick's version of the story.
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Jet-lagged, worn-out and struggling to get his life back on track … no, we're not talking about Bill Murray in 'Lost in Translation', but William, who returns from Japan ready to catch up with Alan and dig into this screenplay by Sofia Coppola. We consider the two intimate portraits that the writing provides for the main characters of Bob and Charlotte, the anecdotal initial impressions of Japanese culture that form the setting for the story, and provide our view of the romantic connection that forms between the protagonists over a few short days in a luxury hotel in Tokyo.
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Monday Sep 16, 2019
For this episode, William and Alan brushed off their French dictionaries in order to read the screenplay to Amélie, written by Jean-Pierre Jeaunet and Guillaume Laurant. A classic that has come to define the identity of French cinema for audiences in the rest of the world, it is a vibrant tale of a young woman facing her first steps into adulthood, a realm filled with the dangers of love, pain, grief and risk. A memorable cast of characters and some magical elements combine to create an unforgettable and touching story.
***
Want to comment, get news and join episode discussions? Join the community on Syncify: https://syncify.fm/podcast/the-21st-rewrite. Instagram: @the21strewrite. Website contact page: https://www.the21strewrite.com/contact