Sometimes, perhaps once in every generation, a man comes along who is simply destined for greatness. It is ordained by the gods, written in the stars, mapped by forces beyond our mortal ken. This man is a force of nature; forged in fire, tempered by experience, and crafted to become the leader of men. He is a man for our time, a man for all times; a man, simply put, like no other.
When you meet him, tell him I said hello. In the meantime, let me introduce myself. My name is Richard, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m destined for. I used to think I knew, but it turns out that was just youthful optimism. Hey ho.
I consider myself a screenwriter, first and foremost, having spent my life worshipping at the altar of cinema. However, I am also currently involved in the creation of two novels. One is a purely solitary project; the other is a collaborative project with a published author. All that and, of course, this blog, which I hope you’re enjoying.
I’ve written eight screenplays; horror, romantic comedy and drama. Over the last few years I’ve touched success (albeit a rather light, teasing, touch) a couple of times. Two of my scripts were optioned before being dropped; one due to financial concerns, the other due to ‘creative differences’. A third is currently in the hands of a fairly well-known producer, and has been for an aeon.
I also won the Rocliffe writers forum contest at BAFTA in 2008, with a screenplay entitled Debunking Dad. I saw 10 minutes of my script performed by professional actors, after which I was the subject of a Q&A session with the audience. I can honestly say it was one of the most rewarding nights of my life. So far (that’s a residue of that optimism I mentioned earlier).
My background is an artistic one, I studied Art and Design, and I design websites, specialising in simple sites for small businesses and first time authors. Check out my site at http://www.rich-lamb.com/ if you want to know more.
Blah! Movie Edition 
July 8, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Hey Richard…that’s the beauty of the wordpress blogosphere, stumbling upon other sites of interest and the occasional indirect stumblings from other stumblings – caught your note on the moviebros blog. Will look around and extend the welcome for you to do the same – cheers
July 8, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Rory. I’ll accept your welcome and add you to my blogroll. Heading over there now.
August 4, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Hi Richard glad to be your friend. This is Manikandan, author of MoviesCrunch blog. I saw your comments in my blog. I was happy and just wanna like to know about you and your stuff. Can we be friends and also share lot of things about Movies. Take care…Cheers 🙂
September 18, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Sure. Thanks for stopping by, Manikandan.
September 18, 2010 at 10:33 am
Hey Richard, I didn’t realise you were a screenwriter. That’s great to hear you’ve had a couple of options even if the films didn’t get made. I wrote a couple of feature films a few years ago and nothing came of them. Started making my own short films and promo-ing them around various festivals, thinking that was the best way to get noticed. I must sit down and write another screenplay though.
September 18, 2010 at 2:28 pm
It’s like waving your arms in a sea of people waving their arms too, and hoping someone will throw you the lifesaver. I did come very close, but there’s a lot of BS to navigate. I’ve kind of dropped the efforts lately, and really must start getting my stuff out there again.
How did the festival efforts go for you?
September 20, 2010 at 7:48 pm
…they really only allowed me to meet like-minded and similarly determined people starting out their careers as well. It was good for future collaborations and I made some contacts but as yet no one has requested to read my feature-length screenplays.
I like the waving your arms in a sea of people doing the same analogy – spot on. That’s where you hope the passion doesn’t stop burning and keeps you motivated…at least that’s how I look at it.
December 9, 2010 at 4:19 pm
You should join us for a guest spot on our podcast some time!
December 10, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Wow. I’d be honoured. Thank you. 🙂