John-Francis Nero

Thank you John-Francis for taking the time to answer all of our questions. We are grateful for everything you have shared with us. At Oxford Script Awards we are wishing you a huge success with your next projects. Keep up the amazing work!

Hello John-Francis, can you tell us about your background and how you got started in screenwriting?

I have always been a writer of stories from a very early age, its only as I got older that I began to apply myself and learn the ‘rules of the game’ story structure, layout, character construction, all the boring stuff, when really all we want to do is put down this idea that we have in our head, and see where it takes us 😊

What's your writing process like? How do you go about creating characters and developing a story?

I know that there are two forms, freeform and structured… Ideally you should be able to dip into both when required, but with Wisdom of Dragons it was something quite different. Wisdom of Dragons is part of my PhD research at Essex University. Because it is by ‘Creative Practice’ I had to create and write an original television drama set in the first European Chinatown, Liverpool. The process is called ‘Factional’ whereby you take qualitative interviews and collected archival data and combine it with a ‘creative license’.

Can you talk about a recent project you've worked on and the challenges you faced while writing it?

With Wisdom of Dragons, the most problematic issue was interviewing local Chinatown residence, whereby I studied Mandarin at University, most Chinatown dialect is Cantonese. So I had to learn Cantonese (slightly) just so I could gain the residents trust when interviewing them.

What do you think is the most important element of a great screenplay?

I’ve always been told two golden points (1) does it make you want to keep turning the page to see what happens next (2) at the end of the last page does it make you want to read it again. The late Bob Hoskins had a rule when reading a new script. He would take it into the lavatory, and if he continued to sit and read after he had finished his business, then he knew he was on to a winner.

How do you approach writing for different genres and audiences?

I write for a small production company (Verona Films) the funding is quite tight, so this limits the ideas that can be produced, which directs the writing somewhat, we use creativity where Hollywood has the ‘Money Hose’ to wash away problems we have to think outside the box. So the writing is always directed in this way, but we are still able to change genres occasionally.

How do you handle feedback and criticism?

F.T.W. ha ha ha! But I can’t say what it means, if you know…….you know 😊

Can you talk about any upcoming projects or collaborations you're excited about?

There are two short films due to go into principle photography both of which I am directing, ‘La conversazione’ and ‘Per Sempre’ and then we have a feature film due to be shot during the summer ‘Once in the Life’ which I am excited about. Again, because funding is low we only have two locations, so we are reliant on the script telling a very twisted tale.

What advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters?

Write , write, write….never stop and never take no for an answer. You will get rejection letters, usually “Thanks , but no thanks” but one day you will get a rejection letter that details why “No thanks” that is when you know you are getting better, when the rejection letters is more than just one line.