Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Susannah Grant

Since I moved to London last year the Screenwriting Lectures organized by the BFI and the BAFTA have always been my favourite moments.
Yesterday I had both the honour and pleasure of attending a lecture by Susannah Grant.
If you don't know this name, well here's a list of some of her greatest works:

Pocahontas (1995)

28 Days (2000)

Erin Brockovich (2000)

In Her Shoes (2005)

Catch and Release (2006)

Charlotte's Web (2006)

The Soloist (2009)

And titles like these couldn't not have awarded her with important nominations such as:

Academy Award nomination for Erin Brockovich

BAFTA Film Award nomination for Erin Brockovich

Edgar Allan Poe Awards nomination for Erin Brockovich

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards WON for Erin Brockovich

PEN Center USA West Literary Awards WON for Erin Brockovich

Satellite Awards nomination for Erin Brockovich

Writers Guild of America WON

Writers Guild of America nomination for Erin Brockovich

She revealed to be the kind of screenwriter I aspire to be, I felt like she was talking to me and telling me what I've been waiting to hear for years.

First of all, the fact that she, as me, comes from a background in which people prefer discouraging you from your dreams, and from a career in films. Most people I know just look at me thinking:

"Where do you think the film career will take you in life?"

Well, this is what I believe in.

Screenwriters make something out of nothing, they have the ability of making the invisible visible.

Her revelation film was Network (1976) by Paddy Chayefsky. And this is the scene she showed us: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

Going to the movie theatre has been her youth's greatest pleasure, especially because of the love she has for the whole movie-going experience. 

She reminded us that everyone has a unique voice and we don't have to be afraid to spread it: it could be admired by a huge audience, or by a minor one, but it's still our voice, the one and only.

However, the greatest thing that I was expecting to hear was this...

"I write myself into everything. With films is like getting a whole bonus life."

And this is exactly what I've always done since I first held a pen in my hands, and this is what I'll keep doing, knowing that someone who had my own fears and not a lot of support, really made it.

Last, but not least, here's her advice to aspiring screenwriters. Polite Persistence. 

Thank you Susannah, I will keep a note with these two Ps, and remember to look at it when the future gets harder. And this is my thank you:

From how a person talks you can understand she/he is a writer. It couldn't have been more evident with this woman. She was born to tell stories. 

I leave you with some of the best lines written by Susannah:

"Even a pain in the ass needs someone to take care of them."

28 Days

"That's all you got lady. Two wrong feet in fucking ugly shoes."

Erin Brockovich

"I hope you sleep well Mr. Lopez. I hope the whole world sleeps well."

The Soloist