Lost in Translation
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
A Cover Story on Sofia Coppola and Guillermo Del Toro’s approach to starting a script.
In The Industry News: Lionsgate Studios cleaves Starz. Sony pushes Paddington.
Actor Spotlight: Barry Keoghan is Ringo. Helen Mirren is an Associate.
Festivals and Resources: Maria script. Ted Hope podcast.
Indie Filmmaker Spotlight: Mubi’s Sundance short. Bradford Young’s crown.
Let’s go!
Starting a screenplay is a daunting process, no matter what stage you’re at in your screenwriting career.
Although many like to outline before diving into their first draft, Sofia Coppola takes a different approach.
She discussed how she launched into Lost in Translation:
"I wrote that as just like a little paragraph, ideas of scenes and maybe a line of dialogue where he meets the hotel singer, this and that. So I had a collection of all these little scene ideas and then I sat down and started putting it in screenplay form.”
For those who find that strategy too nebulous, another approach is to write as quickly as possible.
Harriet Dyer crushed out the pilot for the hit show Colin From Accounts in 5 days. For Dyer, this speed aligned with the off-the-cuff, irreverent energy of the characters on screen.
On the other end of the spectrum is Guillermo Del Toro, who spent six months writing the first three pages of Pan’s Labyrinth.
Del Toro explained:
“I only write the scenes I want to write. I don't go in order if I can avoid it. For example, in Pan’s Labyrinth it was very difficult because I knew that the way we open was important. I was stuck in the opening... I could not write the rest of the movie.”
Most screenwriters don’t have that luxury.
Industry-standard agreements give professional screenwriters about 12 weeks—three months—to complete a first draft. That usually breaks down in one month for the concept, one month for the outline and one month for the writing. Which imputes a 3pgs/day speed, assuming the script is 90pgs.
For aspiring screenwriters, consistency matters more than speed. Writing 2 to 7 pages daily provides structure and ensures steady progress.
The process isn’t about racing against the clock but committing to the rhythm of creation, shaping your story one word, one page at a time.
However long it takes, writing a screenplay transforms ideas into worlds. With the right tools, that transformation becomes easier—and the story you’ve been waiting to tell can finally come to life.
For More:
Sofia Coppola shares her writing process (clip).
Guillermo del Toro talks about scripting Pan's Labyrinth (clip).
Harriet Dyer talks about writing Colin From Accounts in 5 days.
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THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Lionsgate Studios took the next step in splitting from STARZ, filing a Form S-4 Registration Statement with the SEC. This form, typically used for mergers or acquisitions, facilitates a stock exchange offer related to the separation.
The spin-off will create two companies:
Lionsgate Studios Corp
Starz Entertainment Corp. (LGEC)
Pre-transaction shareholders will hold shares in both entities, while Lionsgate Studios Corp. will be co-owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. shareholders and Lionsgate Studios shareholders.
This split for Lionsgate as a “pure content” entity allows for a few advantages:
$4.6B price tag on Lionsgate Studios Corp
$350M cash raised from the deal
$175M committed from private equity
Split from Starz
Aims to garner a larger valuation if it sells
Pending SEC approval, a shareholder vote is expected soon. The split, which includes Lionsgate’s Motion Picture and Television Studios segments, remains on track for completion by year-end 2024.
Tidbit:
PR firm R&CPMK (clients: Denzel Washington, the Rolling Stones, Jerry Bruckheimer) is accusing PR Firm 2pm Sharp (clients: Hailee Steinfeld, Henry Cavill, Alexandra Daddario) of:
“[Downloading] thousands of R&CPMK files, including confidential, proprietary, and other sensitive business information.”
Sony has moved Paddington in Peru from Jan 17th to Feb. 14th, 2025, capitalizing on Valentine’s/Presidents Day weekend. The franchise’s first two films grossed $600M globally.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Barry Keoghan is Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer in director Sam Mendes’ series of four interconnected Sony biopics about the members of the iconic band set to be released in 2027.
Here’s more details on the project:
https://theindustry.co/p/beatles-are-the-new-bond
Joseph Quinn is rumored to be George Harrison., and Harris Dickinson is rumored to be John Lennon.
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Paramount+’s The Associate has locked in a killer cast:
Tom Hardy
Top Kill: Bane airplane scene (clip)
Helen Mirren
Top Kill: Reds Mirren with a machine gun (clip)
Pierce Brosnan
Top Kill: Jonathan Pryce’s Eliot Carver Tomorrow Never Dies (Clip)
Here’s the synopsis:
Centered around two warring families based in London whose enterprises stretch all corners of the globe and the fiercely loyal ‘fixer’ charged with protecting one of them at all costs.
This is said to be a Ray Donovan spinoff.
Filming has kicked off in London with a 2025 debut as the target.
Tidbit:
Live in glory. Die in shame. Jackie Chan is a legend in the upcoming A Legend featuring a de-aged version of Chan kicking ass. Plus, we also get to see the non-de-aged Chan also kicking ass (Trailer). Out Jan 21
FESTIVALS AND RESOURCES
Read Steven Knight’s Maria screenplay here:
https://theindustry.co/p/prospective-best-screenplay-academy
Pablo Larraín directs. Angelina Jolie stars.
Ted Hope, legendary producer and friend of The Industry, has just done a great podcast.
Here’s the description:
The failures of the current industry model, pinpoint what missteps may have led us to this period of stagnation, and ponder a question close to Ted's heart: is there still Hope for Film?
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Mubi picks up the Sundance short film Dream Creep. This one is haunting, with the teaser showing a couple in bed, with one jamming a needle into the other’s ear.
The synopsis reads:
A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.
The short also played at SXSW, BFI London, Fantasia, and now will be available on December 1 on MUBI (USA & Canada).
Bradford Young will DP Thomas Crown Affair, directed by Michael B. Jordan (Creed). The film reimagines The Thomas Crown Affair and is an Amazon MGM Studios production.
Young is a cinematography savant, lensing:
Pariah (2011)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
A Most Violent Year (2014)
Arrival (2016)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
This will be Young’s first narrative feature film in 6 years.
While The Thomas Crown Affair plot has not yet been revealed, Jordan will direct and star from a script from The Fall Guy (2024) writer Drew Pearce.
There are no production dates announced as of now, although it is set to have a theatrical release.
ON THIS DAY
1950. Ed Harris is born in Englewood, New Jersey.
Happy Thanksgiving! See you Monday.
Written and Edited by Gabriel Miller.
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