Brian Helgeland, the fisherman, who became a director

November 12, the students of St.Petersburg state University of Film and Television met with Brian Helgeland, an Oscar winner, screenwriter and director. Hollywood filmmaker told the students about his professional development and shared some of his secrets.

Brian Helgeland told his history from the beginning, when his parents came to the United States from Norway, and he considers himself a first-generation American:

- I grew up in a house where my grandfather lived when he arrived to the United States and worked as a fisherman. My father was a fisherman. So I grow up in the house where I`ve never went to the movies. I loved movies, but I watched them on television. I was always reading novels when I was a boy. I studied English literature at the university. When I graduate from school, I couldn`t find a job, because in the United States there is no job for man studied English literature.

Brian had to do only one thing - to follow his relatives and become a fisherman. He was fishing for a year and half,  but it was too cold and he decided to go to Florida in the winter. He was in the bookstore and saw at the bottom shelf the book "The Guide to Apply to the Film School":

- I was so naive, I didn`t know such school even existed. I have looked in the book and was really excited, that all of these schools are in Los Angeles, and I knew there was very warm. So I applied into film school. It was necessary to write a script for entering. But I`ve never write any creative works before, just reports.

After graduation, Brian has written six scripts, and none of them was filmed. His life changed when he started working on the sequel of the cult horror film "A Nightmare on Elm Street":

- A horror movie is good that they are very cinematic. And you have to think a lot about the screen and the visuals much less on the dialogues. Early in my career, from 1988 to 1989, I wrote three scenarios for the horror. 

Brian Helgeland is a screenwriter of 19 filmed movies and he is a director of 5 of them.

After three horror films he wanted to try something different.

"LA Confidential" brought to Helgelend "Oscar" and "Golden Globe". The life of Brian started a whole new period. 

 His next directorial work was "A Knight's Tale" with Heath Ledger in the lead role:

- When I was looking for the idea for the film to do, I came cross a book about the Middle Ages and I discovered a rule that knights of noble blood could only participate in tournaments. It's a bit like the story of the fisherman who wanted to become a director. As strange as it may sound, but for me it's very autobiographical film.

Brian went on to write scripts for other directors – two films with Clint Eastwood, two films with British director Tony Scott.  

The last forty minutes of his speech, Brian Helgilend answered the students' questions an then photographed with everyone.