Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan

Peter Straughan, the screenwriter of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Screenwriter Peter Straughan reflects on the complexities of adaptation, and how he strives to weave together "a net of words and silence, images and music" in films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Silence and implication match dialogue for importance, he says, warning against using theatre as a foundation for film and advocating the primacy of simplicity.