Sir Christopher Hampton (Act I)

This week Jonny’s guest is on British theatre and film’s Mt Rushmore of writers. Two time Oscar winning screenwriter Sir Christopher Hampton is one of the finest playwrights of the 20 and 21st centuries and in Christopher’s office in Notting Hill that spawned so much of his work they discuss the conditions he needs to write, sometimes needing to go to a posh hotel to finish a script and writing his first west end play in the pub at 18. The crown prince of youthful prodigies tells Jonny about the lesson of terrible reviews, acting with Leonardo di Caprio, why a Christopher Hampton part blighted Jonny’s daughter’s baby photos, the importance of relationships with theatres from Vienna to LA, winning an Oscar and then being unable to get a film made for six years, why writing plays is hard and writing film is a joy- and the remarkable story of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and its journey to becoming the Oscar winning Dangerous Liasons.

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