Neal Purvis
FLASHBACK TO: 1982. I was 21, had dropped out of University, and was now in my second year on a film and photography degree at the Polytechnic of Central London. I had always loved cinema. But I was also in a band. We were extremely tight, well rehearsed, but never actually played anywhere. We would always argue with one another just before each gig we’d arranged – and then we wouldn't turn up.
Not surprisingly, the band didn’t take off. I think you need to play places to do that. You need to stick at it. And so I went on to graduate, specializing in editing. But I couldn’t get any work as an editor. So while on social security I started writing scripts with the other guitarist in the band (who I'd met when we shared a bunk bed at University – he’d just finished a Film Theory degree).
CUT TO: PRESENT DAY
We're still writing together, having written the last four James Bond films. We obviously cared more about cinema than music. You can’t plan your future. We just stuck at something we loved. And we got lucky.
