Frank Cottrell Boyce's Blog

In case you're interested, this is the poster for Grow Your Own.

And here is a still:

I've worked with Danny Boyle twice now and one of the first and most useful things he does when he sets up a production office is set up a knd of Library Corner, full of pictures, books and films that have inspired him. He also invites people from the Art Department, the Camera Department etc. to do the same. The Library Corner for Millions was plastered with El Greco reproductions and the films of Satajit Ray, and the short stories of Frank O'Connor.
I've been thinking about what I would...

On the Cheap

So we're planning to make this film cheaply and quickly. The thing is, I don't know how often I've said that.
The first film I made was set in and out of Happy Eaters and A-Road diners. We thought that because they were cheap to eat in they would be cheap to film in. In fact of course they take thousands of pounds every hour of the day and into the night and it would be cheaper to close the Ritz than to close an A-6 OK Diner.
In Grow Your Own we were convinced that an allotment...

They loved the allotment film in Stevenage but they hated the title.

So now it's called ...

Grow Your Own.

After weeks of agony and mortification ("So what's your new film called?" "Errrm") we're back to the original title. You can't be too druggy for Stevenage apparently.

Like I said, I don't feel that confident talking about screenwriting but ...
There is one thing I can say with absolute certainty:
Never, never never start work on a film (or a book) without having a title. You will never get a good title once shooting has started. There's a reason for this. Before you start work you're full of hope, aspiration and excitement - as in the early days of a love affair. You're full of poetry.
Thinking of a title after the film is made is like asking someone...

So. For the record, here are some of Carl's geniusy notes:

When the game begins, the room is filled with the sound of rumbling scrabble tiles, this noise punctuates the game as players put their hands into bags to pick titles.

Players personalise their bags, embrioded names, tapestry, thomas the tan engine etc.

When a player wants to challenge an oponents word, it is written on piece of paper and waved. This is collected and handed to the adjudicator.
Some players want absolute silence, Daryl...

The question that you get asked most frequently as a writer is "where do you get your ideas from?"
Douglas Adams used to answer, "From Ideas-R-Us near Swindon."
I think Stephen King says, "If I knew where they came from, I'd go there more often."
One thing I've noticed is that ideas are sometimes attracted to other ideas.
When Carl and I first started talking about doing a very low budget film, I remembered an idea I'd had ages ago about a boy who had gone missing and the effect it had on his...

People are always asking me for advice on screenwriting and I'm always hesitant to give it. After all, as everyone knows, "nobody knows anything". This is my attempt to blog one film from first idea to release. Of course I don't know if it ever will be released. I haven't even started writing it yet. This could be a catalogue of failure. Or it could be a step-by-step guide to box office success.

The movie in question will be very low budget, made in Liverpool and directed by my friend Carl...