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What drew you to the entertainment industry?
I started out producing theatre at university which I loved because I love organizing, I love people and I love working under pressure. I realized I loved the balance of business and creative and was good at bringing together a team to get the best out of everyone for the united purpose of making something magical. Once in the real world, in order to pay rent, I got a job as an assistant to a talent agent and realised the people I was most in awe of was the film and TV producers. A friend from uni convinced me that I’d produced theatre and I loved cinema so I should start producing short films with him and from the first time I was on set I was hooked. I moved from an agent's office to the Producers’ Office at Ealing Studios and the rest is history.
What's your favorite part about working with writers?
My favorite thing about development is finding a writer who is smarter than me. I love getting a new draft in, having given a note about something, perhaps an emotional beat, not working and rather than them tweaking the dialogue in one scene, they’ve worked backwards and planted lots of little seeds which bring about the change. I also love the really early stages of an idea, sitting around talking it all over figuring out the jigsaw puzzle - the overall picture, the individual piece and how they come together.
What gets you most excited about a writer's pitch?
When a story feels really fresh and original, passionately pitched and chimes with things I care about, particularly stories we don’t hear enough of: authentic and diverse stories that make us think and feel.
What's one bit of advice that helps you the most in this industry?
Work hard and be nice to people. Always.
What's your favorite non-industry-related hobby or activity?
Reading. I’ve always read voraciously, ever since I was little. Obviously I read a lot for work but I love nothing more than sinking my teeth into a crime thriller or an old classic or anything that wipes any ideas of adaptation out of my mind, and just being transported to a different time and place, into being a totally different person.
I started out producing theatre at university which I loved because I love organizing, I love people and I love working under pressure. I realized I loved the balance of business and creative and was good at bringing together a team to get the best out of everyone for the united purpose of making something magical. Once in the real world, in order to pay rent, I got a job as an assistant to a talent agent and realised the people I was most in awe of was the film and TV producers. A friend from uni convinced me that I’d produced theatre and I loved cinema so I should start producing short films with him and from the first time I was on set I was hooked. I moved from an agent's office to the Producers’ Office at Ealing Studios and the rest is history.
What's your favorite part about working with writers?
My favorite thing about development is finding a writer who is smarter than me. I love getting a new draft in, having given a note about something, perhaps an emotional beat, not working and rather than them tweaking the dialogue in one scene, they’ve worked backwards and planted lots of little seeds which bring about the change. I also love the really early stages of an idea, sitting around talking it all over figuring out the jigsaw puzzle - the overall picture, the individual piece and how they come together.
What gets you most excited about a writer's pitch?
When a story feels really fresh and original, passionately pitched and chimes with things I care about, particularly stories we don’t hear enough of: authentic and diverse stories that make us think and feel.
What's one bit of advice that helps you the most in this industry?
Work hard and be nice to people. Always.
What's your favorite non-industry-related hobby or activity?
Reading. I’ve always read voraciously, ever since I was little. Obviously I read a lot for work but I love nothing more than sinking my teeth into a crime thriller or an old classic or anything that wipes any ideas of adaptation out of my mind, and just being transported to a different time and place, into being a totally different person.