Oscar Nominee, SDSU Alumnae Discusses Screenplay Writing

SAN DIEGO, CA — Academy Award nominated screen writer Lesley Paterson and research and writing consultant Simon Marshall are returning to San Diego State University to share their journey in writing the Academy Award-nominated film "All Quiet on the Western Front," co-produced by Netflix.

The free event is scheduled at 2 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, and will be held on campus at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theatre.

At the talk, Paterson and Marshall will discuss the triumphs and trials of achieving the film rights for the classic novel and the nearly two decades of work to get her work produced.

Paterson's screenplay for the 2022 movie was cowritten with writing partner Ian Stokel. Director Edward Berger also shares screenwriting credit. Marshall, Paterson's husband, was research and writing consultant and is a former professor of exercise science at SDSU.

The screenplay won the Nation Board of Review and British Academy Film (BAFTA) awards "Best Adapted Screenplay" and were nominated for an Oscar in the same category, one of nine Academy Award nominations for the film. The film took home Academy Awards in the categories of Best International Feature, Cinematography, Original Score and Production Design.

Her journey to writing the adapted screenplay and getting it to production is one she equates with her experience as a five-time world-champion triathlete.

Paterson used her perseverance and some prize money won in a triathlon to purchase the film rights to the famed story, renewing them for 16 years until she ultimately got the screenplay to production, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

She suffered a broken shoulder just days before the race and worked through the pain to achieve her goal.

"I didn’t just want to win this race, I had to win because the option payment for my passion project, All Quiet on the Western Front, was due the following week, and this was the only way I could get five-digit cash together to keep our dream alive."

In her Reporter article, Paterson related the advice of Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl who said "it is only through work, love or suffering that man finds purpose and meaning from life."

Winning ultimately meant perseverance in keeping her rights and ultimately the nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

"A career in film, as in sport, requires a special relationship with the long game, a passion for the process itself," she wrote. "You have to love the hard work, not just the podium."

The SDSU discussion is free and open to the public, and will include a question/answer session at the end.