Leigh : I am a filmmaker who is both a writer and director and I have this way of making films where the writing and the actors and the shooting is all combined together . I do n't make a conventional screenplay ... it 's a whole organic process . TSR : What do you think other scriptwriters can learn from you ? ML : I think screenwriters who , because of the politics and economics of the film industry , are forced to work in a much more conventional way , are always fascinated to discuss with me how I work . TSR : There is this romantic idea that screenwriting has to be a painful , solitary experience . That 's not what you experience , though . ML : No , I do n't sit in a room writing a script solo . My films are highly structured . Everything you see in my films is very precisely written , very thoroughly researched , but actually it is done through rehearsal , it 's done through improvisation and research . I work for six months with the actors before we shoot anything , then the shooting of
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- British filmmaker , screenwriter and playwright , Mike Leigh has been in the movie business for over 35 years . Leigh on screenwriting : `` I do n't make a conventional screenplay ... it 's a whole organic process . '' In that time , he has been nominated for five Oscars , as well as winning the Best Director award at Cannes Film Festival for `` Naked '' in 1993 , the Palme d'Or there for `` Secrets & Lies '' in 1996 and the Leono d'Oro at Venice Film Festival in 2004 for `` Vera Drake . '' Famous for his fierce independence -LRB- read refusal to work in Hollywood -RRB- , Leigh 's work is known for gritty realism and a focus on underprivileged sections of British society . Another of Leigh 's calling cards is an unconventional approach to screenwriting . `` The Screening Room '' caught up with the veteran director at the International Screenwriters ' Festival in the UK earlier this year to ask him more about his approach to making films . The Screening Room : Why is this festival so important to you ? Mike