A Study of the Screenplays in the British Film Institute Special Collections

The screenplays held in the Special Collections of the British Film Institute are an important and under-researched part of our cultural heritage. This is the only collection of British screenplays available to researchers on such a scale and they are a unique and valuable resource. Yet, there has been no detailed study of the screenplays held in the Special Collections. Several of the collections contain screenplays, screenplay drafts, correspondence and other related material which has received very little academic attention or analysis. Collections which directly relate to a director such as David Lean, or director/producer partnership such as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger have been explored, but not in relation to the screenplay as an object of study. Screenwriting has received very little academic scrutiny, because the focus of attention has been on the role of the director and producer in the film development process with the screenplay seen as a mere blueprint. Likewise, the film industry, which considered the writer as central to the process in the early 20th Century, shifted to the director being the creative force behind the film. Thus in contrast to the theatre and television industry, the film industry has tended to undervalue the contribution of the writer. The study of the screenplay is an emerging subject area within academia and there is an increasing interest in the screenplay as a form, separate from film, allowing the screenplay to become a textual object in the same way that prose or a stage play would be considered. Steven Maras refers to this as the 'object problem' (2009:9) and this re-evaluation underlines the value of the many unrealised screenplays held in the Special Collections; for instance the screenplay drafts of Nostradamus, written by Robert Bolt and part of an unrealised project set up by David Lean, are of considerable academic interest and will contribute to our understanding of the screenplay development process, the relationship between writer and director, and a greater understanding of Bolt's trajectory as a writer. The Special Collections not only allow for case studies of particular authors but also an assessment of writing partnerships and collaborations. I have chosen to study collections where different screenplay drafts are held from a range of films, and which include some related correspondence. These are; Jeffrey Dell, Muriel Box, T.E.B. Clarke, Emeric Pressburger, Janet Green, Mark Grantham, Peter Rogers and the Carry On Films, Robert Bolt from the David Lean Collection, the David Puttnam Collection, and finally, Paul Laverty, who has written nine screenplays for Ken Loach. I have considerable expertise in the study of screenplay development and analysis of the drafting and rewriting process. This is reflected in my own experience as a screenwriter and academic, Principal Editor of the Journal of Screenwriting and editor and contributor of Analysing the Screenplay. I have a contract with BFI/Palgrave for the proposed research to be published as a monograph in 2012/13. Finally, I hope this research will encourage interest in ensuring that screenplays are preserved as part of a national collection. Ian Macdonald underlines the need to safeguard future screenplay collections in his article 'Lost and Gone' (JOS 2.2) which describes the dearth of early British scenarios and screenplays, most of which have been destroyed.

The research will make an important contribution to increasing academic and public awareness of the under researched field of screenwriting, while drawing attention to the archives held in the Special Collections. This study will draw attention to the importance of continuing to foster and develop a national collection of screenplays and the need to research these collections. The research will draw public attention to the content of the Special Collections and its importance as a part of our national and cultural heritage. It is proposed there will be a linking season of films and talks at the BFI/National Film Theatre about the screenwriters discussed in the research from the Special Collections. I have already discussed the early research on this project in the seminar I gave at the Researchers Tales, BFI, September 2009. There is potential media interest in the area which will broaden the impact of the research. This is partly because of the unique nature of the research and of the collections, which have received scant attention, yet are of great interest in revealing the working practices of writers in the film industry. The BBC is interested in a dramatisation of one of the writers in the collection, Janet Green, and there is the possibility of a documentary on the subject of other screenplays held in the collections. The study and resulting publication will increase the likelihood of support in further building a national collection and recognising the need for its future safekeeping. The study will increase the possibility of collaborations with other screenplay collections and archives such as the Harold Pinter collection at the British Library which includes many screenplay drafts and papers relating to Pinter's film writing. The results of the close analysis of the screenplays and the drafts in the collections will be of benefit to the film industry in determining how they approach the rewriting and screenplay development process.