I am a screenwriter and have been based in Hong Kong since 1991. I have drama credits in UK prime time TV, and am now writing for Asian TV. In 2007 I wrote thirteen episodes of Life Line, Singapore's first High Definition TV show. After a long time editing and acting as a story consultant on various independent film projects, I have begun writing my own feature scripts and in partnership with financier, Asad Sultan, I have set up a production company: Idol Films Ltd.
I have also been known to write the odd newspaper column, short story and articles too numerous to list. I have edited magazines, taught creative writing and screenwriting in such places as the London University, Hong Kong Fringe Club, Singapore Screenasia, and even had a gig in Las Vegas.
I was very active in the professionalisation of the screenwriting industry in the UK, and in many respects I have been trying to professionalize English language fiction writing in Hong Kong. Essentially this means that when I started screenwriting there were no courses and access to the industry was much less standardised. My friends and I had to create courses and opportunities to make contacts, and we had to educate people on copyright and contractual issues.
In response to these situations I helped found The London Screenwriters' Workshop with Mark Hudson (Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award for "My Grandmother's Drums"), Barbara Cox (BAFTA winning TV producer and occasional writing partner), Mike Belbin, (now lecturing in Media Studies), award winning director Charles Harris, (now with Euroscript), Ray Frensham, (author of "Teach Yourself Screenwriting"), William Sargent (CEO of the Oscar winning facility house, "Framestore" ), Phil Parker (all purpose Screenwriting Guru and lecturer), Phil O'Shea, (writer, producer and director of too many TV shows and horror movies to mention), and Alan Sutherland (disability activist).
The LSW was, for ten years, the largest screenwriting organisation in Europe. Now, though there are many groups, organisations, and professional associations and the LSW has morphed into the New Producers' Alliance and Euroscript. I also created and after fifteen years, am still chairman of The Hong Kong Writers' Circle, founded with XuXi, who recently was nominated for the Man Asia Literary Prize, and Nury Vitacchi, whose popular "Feng Shui Detective" series has recently been gathering rave reviews.
My Credits:
TV SERIES EPISODES
Various numbers of episodes for: The Bill (Thames TV), Yellowthread Street (Yorkshire TV), Medics (Granada TV), The Paradise Club (Zenith/Carlton), Scorpio's People (World Island Films), Leopard Town (Focus Films), Dracula (Robert Halmi/Crossbow Films/Media Concept), Life Line (Head Writer, Mediacorp, Singapore)
ORIGINAL SERIES
"DOC CHAOS!" A twelve part TV series for Limehouse Studios
The 1995 PAWS first prize award for drama for the six part series THE BENCH CONSTANT: a campus comedy featuring scientists fighting for the glittering prizes whilst all around them non-believers turn to psychic flying.
The BBC later commissioned this as a six part drama series for BBC 2..
1997 I was given another PAWS development award for "Cloud Cuckoo", a sit-com about scientists who decide to make a perfect world.
FEATURE FILMS
Various Script Consultant and Script Editing jobs for EDKO Communications, Ekaa Films Ltd, Idol Films Ltd, Ross Media.
In 2005 I went into partnership with Asad Sultan and became Creative Director of Idol Films Ltd. I wrote "Fat Englishmen", winning the Hong Kong Asian Film Finance Forum's best Hong Kong project award, and am co-producing this with James Keach's Catfish Productions in Hollywood.
I have a number of productions in development: "Idol" - an Indian movie, "Driving Beijing Wild" - British/Chinese comedy - and "Keep The Change" - a Hong Kong comedy that I shall be directing in 2008.
PUBLISHED SHORT STORIES
The One Legged Rickshaw Boy - Hong Kong University Press's "City Voices" collection.
The Lubrication Zone - The Silverfish Collection of Asian Stories
The End - Dimsum Magazine
Digital Deficiency Syndrome - The Wild East Magazine
Replicas - The Wild East Magazine
The Chinese Farce - Dimsum Magazine
The Immortals - Haunting Tales of Hong Kong anthology
Soft Boiled Egg - Hong Kong ID anthology
The Devil's Work - Sweat And The City anthology
Going Gweilo - Hong Kong Whodunnits!
Xanadu - Amazon Shorts
The Pussy Man Blog - Love and Lust
In Mid Sentence - 50/50 Haven Press
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