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Making Screenwriting Sexy
Five of the hottest talents working in the film industry today.
Writing for film has traditionally been the domain of the old guard, a bunch of crusty old hacks gathered around a typewriter, smoking, drinking, and coughing up their own livers. Now a new wave of hot talent is creating the most exciting cinema for years and tempting even more young writers towards the silver screen
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Zach Helm
Image via WikipediaThe sickeningly young and talented Zach Helm seemingly has it all. He’s the writer that first got noticed when his high-concept literary comedy Stranger Than Fiction was picked up and attracted a star cast including Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman. Ol’Dusty joined him again on the family friendly Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, which Helm also directed, to great acclaim. Next year will see him helm (geddit?) The DisAssociate, a fantasy comedy about a man who receives postcards from God. Oh, and he’s married to Lost actress Kiele Sanchez. Right now, we can’t think of a reason not to hate him.
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Noel Clarke
Is there anyone cooler right now than Noel Clarke? He strutted on to the stage this year at the BAFTAs to accept the Rising Star Award, shockingly the first black actor to ever win one. He’s managed to come through Dr Who intact, and will soon appear in Centurion and Heartless, but it’s his talent behind the camera which really shines out. Having written gritty Brit-flick Kidulthood, he went on to direct its sequel Adulthood, when backers made it clear that they wouldn’t trust anyone else with the material. A gruelling acting schedule beckons, and hopefully more writing.
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Diablo Cody
Image via WikipediaIt’s heartening to know that in the fickle world of the Oscars, tattooed ex-strippers from the Midwest needn’t be left out when it come to the awards for best screenplay. The magnificently named Diablo Cody was first noticed by an independent producer when he came across her stripping blog (no pun intended). After a few awkward emails, she showed him the script for Juno, which then became the film directed by Jason Reitman. In addition to Candy Girl, her memoir on stripping, she’s also managed to create hit sitcom United States of Tara, and Jennifer’s Body, sure to be an instant classic in the teen-cannibalism genre.
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Charlie Kaufman
Image via WikipediaKaufman, the daddy of Hollywood writers (or at least the crazy uncle), has been astounding and confounding cinema goers ever since his first film Being John Malkovich screened in 1999. Reportedly a nervous soul, he rarely interviews, and has found happiness in his collaborations with Malkovich director Spike Jonze and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s Michel Gondry. The king of the harebrained-yet-tightly-plotted script, he included himself as a character in Adaptation, a script he wrote with his fictional twin brother Donald (told you he was crazy). His directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, was released earlier in the year to mixed (or confused) reviews.
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Brian K Vaughan
Image via WikipediaIn the comic world, Vaughan is already a God. He’s contributed to comic mainstays such as Ultimate X-Men and Spiderman, and created hit series Runaways, Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man, all of which he will adapt into film. He was poached by Damon Lindelof to take over scripting duties on the sublime Lost, and recently sold original screenplay Roundtable, which follows Merlin as he attempts to make modern-day knights of the round table out of a bunch of washed up actors, athletes and scientists. With his first film yet to hit the big screen, Vaughan is set to be a big hitter in the movie world.
