Acting is glamorous, and everyone wants to direct, but what about the most vital ingredient of all—the script? In this illuminating collection of interviews, Alistair Owen explores the often overlooked role of screenwriting. From Billy Elliot to James Bond, and from Notting Hill to Beverly Hills, ten leading British writers—including Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove), and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty)—reveal the tricks of—and the truth about—the screen trade.