Writers Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith discussed their influences and writing relationship at the RTS Student Masterclasses 2019.
Click here to read the session report.
“It all started in sixth form college,” recalled Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan. “We were already friends, having grown up in the same area, and we discovered we were very much into movies; not just watching them but actually wanting to make them – and, specifically, to write them.
“We would write scripts on notepads… and I would exchange my pages with Marlon and we discovered we were ripping off… the same film-makers and doing really bad versions of their movies.”
Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the sci-fi cartoon follows scientist and intergalactic felon, Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland), who drags his grandson, Morty Smith (Roiland), on a series of insane adventures across the galaxy.
Fans of the show predict the new series will see Sanchez and Smith at odds with Smith’s tyrannical counterpart, Evil Morty (Roiland), alongside a deadly reunion between Sanchez and his lifetime friend turned enemy, Phoenixperson (Harmon).
The Glasgow-born, Yorkshire-based entrepreneur, who lost his sight at the age of 18, runs Traveleyes, a company that takes blind and partially sighted travellers on action-packed holidays around the world.
The new streaming service offers content from ITV, the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
BritBox, created by ITV and the BBC, marks the UK’s entry into the paid streaming market alongside international giants such as Netflix and Amazon.
Priced at £5.99 per month, BritBox will offer the biggest collection of British boxsets such as Broadchurch, Doctor Who, Gavin and Stacey, Wolf Hall and Downton Abbey.
The four-part series will follow the aftermath of the shocking murder of a seemingly perfect family at the hands of one of their trusted friends. The small Scottish town of Kirkdarroch is rocked by the incident, as mistrust and suspicion begin to run rife.
David Tennant (Broadchurch) plays Tom, a local GP and respected member of the community, who is married to local primary school teacher Kate, played by Anna Madeley (The Crown). Both lovingly care for their three young daughters.
RTS Cymru Wales Chair Judith Winnan made the award at the end of a sold-out event at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to mark the RTS Centre’s 60th anniversary.
The multi-award-winning writer and regenerator of Doctor Who had been discussing his career with Gethin Jones. The TV presenter met Davies when he was working on Blue Peter 15 years ago – and went on to appear in Doctor Who, albeit as a Dalek and Cyberman.
Jessica Barden returns as Alyssa, runaway teenager turned café waitress, who adjusts to normal life after being detained by the police in connection with the death of rapist and murderer Professor Clive Koch (Jonathan Aris).
Killed by Alyssa’s boyfriend and fellow runaway James (Alex Lawther), the teenager was last seen being fired upon by the police, with his fate still to be revealed.
The highlights from our panel discussion on how the entertainment values of editorial TV content, talent and other editorial assets are being used to create more advertising and funding opportunities across the UK TV industry.
The panel included Channel 5's Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment, Greg Barnett, Joint Managing Director at Rumpus Media, Emily Hudd, Wavemaker's Head of Integrated Delivery, Saj Nazir and Channel 4's Controller of Funded Content, Simon Wells.
At a jam-packed RTS early evening event in late October, a panel of leading commissioners, producers and advertising experts explained how to make branded programming – and identified some of the pitfalls.
Greg Barnett, long-serving commissioning editor for factual entertainment at Channel 5, argued that the way programmes are being made is changing.
