We had the chance to speak with former LFS Student and MA Screenwriting Grad, Ameir Brown as he has just been announced as one of the writing team for forthcoming Disney+ drama, A Thousand Blows. Ameir has worked on the new project from Steven Knight and Stephen Graham with a group of writers including Insook Chappell, Harlan Davies and Yasmin Joseph. The UK original series is set in the world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London, based on real-life figures and stories.
We were delighted to be able to speak with Ameir as he told us about his career so far and the highlights of working with Steven Knight.
Huge congratulations on the forthcoming project A Thousand Blows. How did you come to be part of the project?
Thank you! It’s a pleasure to be a part of such an amazing project with so much brilliant talent. I first heard about the project when my agent, Hannah made an off-hand comment during one of our phone-calls saying: “oh and I’ve also put you forward for an upcoming Steve Knight project” and it made my ears prick up immediately. I believe the producers approached my agent with the project asking if she had any suitable writers on her roster and my name was put forward. After that the producers read two of my screenplays and before I knew it, I was in a meeting with Kate Lewis (producer), Charlotte Robinson (story editor) and Hannah Graham (co-producer and head of Matriarch Productions alongside her husband Stephen). I guess the meeting went well because within a couple of hours I was getting confirmation from my agent that they wanted me to be in the writers’ room.
What was it like working with such an industry heavyweight as Steven Knight on a Disney+ project?
It was extremely exciting to be working on this series with a brilliant creative in Steven Knight. Firstly, I couldn’t believe how busy he was - the guy doesn’t stop! - but the fact that before we’d even begun the writers' room, he had churned out the first two episodes of the series was incredible. To be able to see his creative process in person was a real joy and something I believe will only improve me as a writer as I continue this journey. It’s funny because it was only when the show was announced to the press that I truly internalised how big of a project this is because sitting in the room with Steven, my writer colleagues and the producers I just saw it as work (fun work) but work to do, I wasn’t awed, I knew I was there to do a job.
P.S as a Brummy it was great to be working with a fellow Brummy in Steven on a series this size!
What has the experience of working with a team of writers been like?
A Thousand Blows is actually the fourth series I’ve worked on and my third writers room so I came into it fairly experienced. In that sense I was sort of a veteran because while this was my third room it was the first for the other writers in Insook, Harlan and Yasmin. That being said this was absolutely the most unique writers room I’ve done to date. For a start, it was my first in-person room, having done the others over zoom during the COVID period and secondly, we did the room on a houseboat (yes) in the Thames near Hammersmith. Whenever I say that people laugh but it was a really unique experience for my first in-person room. I’d also say I prefer the in-person element, the fact we writers bonded straight away, had breakfast and lunch together, sometimes even travelled to and from the boat together. It really helped us build a camaraderie, a closeness and a creative energy that helped us beat this series into shape. Being a part of this group of writers is a creative experience I’ve enjoyed to the fullest and this is how I plan to run my own rooms in the future.
What led you to study at LFS and what was your background before you ended up at London Film School?
Before coming to LFS I’d always wanted to somehow get into the industry and become a screenwriter, so I studied filmmaking at undergrad at Birmingham City University. Upon graduating, however, I couldn’t find a way through the door so was stuck in retail for a year. It was during this year that I began considering moving to London, both to kickstart my career and also for a change of scenery as I felt I’d become stagnant in Birmingham. I applied to LFS in the spring of 2017 and thankfully was accepted onto the master's Screenwriting course by July.
What’s the most important thing you learned at LFS and what was the best thing about the MA Screenwriting programme?
It’s honestly hard just to pick one important thing I learned at LFS but if I really had to pick one it was that I learned to be authentic in my voice. I think before LFS my writing felt generic, as though I was trying to emulate my favourite films because they’d clearly cracked the code. I think that’s something many fledgling screenwriters do and through my seminars, lessons and just writing constantly in that environment, I learned my voice, I learned what drew me to writing and gradually (slowly) I felt more comfortable in this voice and what made me an authentic writer. Since leaving LFS and entering the industry, it’s this authentic voice that’s driven my career and led me into rooms with names I wouldn’t have dreamed of sitting beside so early in my career.
What piece of work are you most proud of?
Considering the projects I’ve worked on and even the screenplay that got me into the industry by winning the BAFTA Rocliffe for comedy in 2019 with my comedy-drama Nu-Britannia, the piece of work I’m most proud of is my original drama called Tivoli. Tivoli is a story based on true events that took place in my birthplace of Jamaica in 2010 when the Jamaican government went to war with a drug lord in an attempt to extradite him to the USA to face charges. I’d been planning Tivoli since I was actually in my last term at LFS in 2018 but it wasn’t until the first lockdown in 2020 that I finally sat down, finished my research and wrote the pilot. To say that Tivoli supercharged my career would be an understatement. My agent shared the script far and wide once I’d finished it and it absolutely blasted doors off hinges in the industry, ending up on the Brit List 2020 for best unproduced screenplays in the country, getting me into my first writers room for the BBC drama The Capture and being picked up by a US production company where we continue to develop it having attached a director. Away from that, however, Tivoli is one of my most personal screenplays. I’ve long wanted to tell a story set in my birth island and to tell this important and true story about an event that - to this day - affects the island while also writing most of the dialogue not in English but in Jamaican Patois makes Tivoli my proudest work to this day.
We’re looking forward to seeing A Thousand Blows once it’s wrapped and aired. What’s next, do you have any more projects lined up?
I can’t wait for you all to see A Thousand Blows! But there are a few shows coming even before that that I’ve been working on.
I’ve written two episodes of Candice Carty-Williams’ upcoming BBC / Netflix drama, Champion, and that is currently filming now for release in 2023. I’ve written an episode on Paul Rutman’s police drama, Criminal Record for Apple TV+ which is also currently filming for a 2023 release so do keep an eye out for those two next year!
Away from writers rooms I’m also continuing to develop projects such as Tivoli, Nu-Britannia and others with producers across various production companies and even a streamer but I can’t say anything about that yet at this early stage! My projects cover a range of genres and mediums from drama to comedy to even animation. I’m deep into developing, meeting, reading and writing on these and I’m excited about every one of them.
What advice would you give to someone who’s been accepted to LFS, to help them make the most of their time here?
My biggest advice would be to not panic or rush anything. It’s easy to feel anxious especially as the course comes to an end and you feel like the safety net at LFS is about to come from beneath you (I know I did). But my advice would be to remain calm, look around for any opportunities to get your work seen or even made. Don’t worry about agents at this early stage and focus on you and your craft, the agents will come when the work calls them. Lastly, find those you gel with best in your cohort and remain in contact with them even after the course has ended. This can be a lonely journey at times, even frightening with many moments of doubt - again, speaking from experience - so if you have someone you can chat to, get advice from, or even just someone to read your work and give you notes, that is invaluable. I’ve found that with a member of my cohort, Nicole, we’ve never stopped speaking since our days at LFS and we’ve always read each other’s work, encouraged each other, brought each other up in meetings with producers we know and we’re reaping the benefits of that now in our careers.
A release date is yet to be confirmed for the drama, but the 12-part UK original series will premiere on Disney+ globally. We’re really looking forward to seeing it and well done Ameir!
Image of Hezekiah Moscow, the real life boxer that A Thousand Blows is based on