Andrea Mann

Andrea Mann is a British screenwriter

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Wishin’ and Hopin’ and Musin’

09.22.2024 by Andrea Mann // Leave a Comment

Not saying I had a mild panic attack halfway up those steps, but… I don’t wanna talk about things I’ve gone through

I have just returned from the most wonderful holiday on the most beautiful Greek island: Skopelos, aka where they filmed Mamma Mia!. Just as it took me approximately 20 years to start watching The Sopranos – no spoilers please, I’m still on season 5! – I waited for Skopelos’s ABBA-related tourism craziness to die down a little before heading there, ie I lay low for a mere 16 years. I can attest that the craziness has indeed died down, though I can also attest that a) the hour-long boat ride which took us from Skiathos to Skopelos played the soundtrack for the final half of that hour, as did our bus to the boat taking us back; and b) my husband and I ended up in a bar in Skopelos Town on Saturday night dancing to Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! with big goofy smiles on our faces.

So… I’m writing this because I realised on holiday that I wanted to start writing about some of the thoughts that ping around my head – and the ‘Musings’ section of my website seems like a good place to post these, well, musings. They will most likely my thoughts about writing, and screenwriting in particular, and creativity in general. But no doubt other things, too – like life after breast cancer.  

I hope these posts can be in some way interesting and/or helpful; I suspect that they will at least be the latter for me personally. Because I’m also doing this as a result of being inspired by a tweet I read some time ago (apologies but I don’t remember who posted it), which advised people who do creative work – especially those of us whose work and careers are very dependent upon other people’s decisions and actions – to do something creative which is purely for you, and controlled by you from start to finish.

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Categories // Musings Tags // creative advice, creativity, creativity tips, screenwriting, writing, writing tips

So Fado! So good

06.18.2021 by Andrea Mann // Leave a Comment

Emily Watson and Richard E. Grant

Am beyond excited that the film of my first feature spec script Fado! has been announced – and doubly, triply excited that it’s going to star living legends and Oscar nominees Emily Watson and Richard E. Grant, and be directed by the lovely and talented Jason Wingard (In Another Life, Eaten By Lions), with the lovely and brilliant Gareth Wiley (Match Point, Vicky Christina Barcelona) producing.

You can read more about it in the news stories from Screen International, Deadline and Variety.

Feeling incredibly lucky and grateful about it all. And at some point I’ll write about the hashtag journey… But for now, I’ll just say – to mix my 80s/90s pop references – dreams CAN come true, so don’t stop believing. 🙂

Categories // Musings Tags // fado, screenwriting, writing

Playing the Long Game

02.10.2021 by Andrea Mann // Leave a Comment

Life is a marathon, not a sprint – and so is the world of filmmaking. On the back of the brilliant The Queen’s Gambit, whose journey from book to Netflix took a mere 30 years, I wrote a two-part piece for Lucy V. Hay’s excellent screenwriting website Bang2Write about 12 films which took a long time to get from idea to script to screen – and the lessons we creatives can learn from the writer’s journey on each. Here’s part one (ft. Arrival, Get Out, Jojo Rabbit, Carol, Superbad, The Theory of Everything) and here’s part two (ft. A Quiet Place, One Night in Miami, Saving Mr Banks, The King’s Speech, Thelma & Louise, Bohemian Rhapsody). I hope it’s a helpful-slash-inspiring read for fellow writers and creatives!

Categories // Musings Tags // screenwriting, writing, writing advice, writing tips

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