Crafting a TV Show with Impact - The Royal Drama: The Crown
Transforming the Tide:
Peter Morgan, a modern-day storyteller, specializes in weaving the lives of public figures into dramatized docudramas. At age forty, he realized his creative years were upon him. He's graced various mediums - film, theater, and television - but found his home in theater.
The unconventional screenwriter Morgan, known for his projects like The Queen, Frost/Nixon, and The Damned United, had no initial interest in chronicling historical figures. Yet, as fate would have it, the scripts he penned were a blend of fact and fiction, offering a unique perspective on real-life characters.
Morgan's most ambitious project yet? The Crown, a TV series depicting Queen Elizabeth II's life from her ascension to the throne through 2005, when she wed Camilla Parker Bowles. As the creator, Morgan had no idea what he'd undertaken, but the end result was monumental.
"Ease into it like an innocent fool," advises Morgan. "Gather a fine group of people, and focus on the work at hand." Working on The Crown provided a sense of stability and family that many artists often lack. Morgan shared that after six seasons, there was an extraordinary number of cast and crew members who stuck with him from the beginning to the end.
Writers, take heed of Morgan's advice: consistency and longevity are the keys to success. Practice and persist, focusing on the present, regardless of the outcome.
When it came time to embark on The Crown, a vast television project, Morgan faced daunting challenges. "If you know what you've taken on, you wouldn't do it," Morgan confesses. But, he pushed through, and so did his team, navigating the intricacies of royal life and maintaining a level of historical accuracy while still leaving room for creative liberties.
One of the most powerful scenes in Season 6 revolves around Diana and Dodi Fayed's final moments together. Morgan researched extensively and used his imagination to piece together what they might have discussed in their final moments. "An audience knows when you're lying; they'll reject it swiftly," warns Morgan.
As a writer, Morgan grapples with the dance between truth and imagination, claiming that truthful stories provide reassurance, while creative interpretations add a layer of emotional depth for the audience. "Your role as a writer is to bring something beyond what the audience expects, something extraordinary," he adds.
When mapping the seasons of The Crown, Morgan always knew where he wanted to go, envisioning the story as a train roaring through history. He admits that determining the direction and pace took up most of his time. While writing, Morgan is constantly wrestling with facts and fiction, hoping he's done his best to fill in the missing pieces while staying faithful to history.
Here are five lessons for writers, courtesy of Peter Morgan and The Crown:
- Find the Perfect Platform for Your Story: Morgan initially conceived The Crown as a feature film, but later shifted to a series format as he realized it was better suited. Keep your screenplay's demands in mind when developing concepts.
- True Stories Still Require Imagination: Many writers struggle to balance historical accuracy vs. creative liberties. Embrace the opportunity to use your imagination to bring real-life stories to life in a captivating way.
- Look for the Smaller Historical Gems: The series beautifully covers the well-known historical events while highlighting lesser-known details and gems. Cherry-pick hidden historical nuggets for your screenplay.
- Stories of Love are Universal: Love stories provide a universal theme that connects audiences with otherwise unrelatable characters. Explore love, in all its forms, to help your audience find common ground with historical figures.
- Find the Core of Your Story: Understand the core theme or overarching message that ties your story together, and stay focused on that throughout the writing process. For The Crown, it's the interplay between power and survival.
In the end, Peter Morgan's body of work offers valuable insights for aspiring screenwriters. His ability to craft compelling stories from historical data, combined with his proselytizing of the importance of creative vision, serve as an inspiration for budding writers worldwide.
Top screenwriter Peter Morgan, known for his work in movies-and-tv like The Crown, utilizes his emotional vision and innate storytelling ability to blend fact and fiction, offering unique perspectives on real-life characters.
As a seasoned entertainment professional, Morgan encourages writers to embrace both the dance between truth and imagination, and to find the core of their stories to connect with audiences on a deeper level.
