John Collee is a former doctor, novelist and screenwriter whose films, often co-written with their respective directors, have three times been nominated for Oscars. His huge body of work defies classification: from blockbuster action, (Master and Commander), to period drama (Creation), and animated family movies (Happy Feet and Walking with Dinosaurs). His foreign language films include the recent Chinese hit Wolf Totem and the Oscar-nominated Tanna. His ensemble thriller Hotel Mumbai starring Dev Patel and Armie Hammer will open in March, and his revenge movie Monkey Man, co-written with Dev Patel, will start filming in August with Dev Patel starring and directing. He’s currently writing a war movie for director Phil Noyce.
John believes that the essential principles of screenwriting apply to every genre and can be taught in a day… but will then require 10 years of painful trial and error.