A few years ago Hollywood attorney David Garrett saw so many movie scripts come across his desk he thought he might as well try to write one.

Now Mr. Garrett is a screenwriter who has worked on, 'Deuce Bigalow, European Gigolo' (2005), and was one of the creators of 'The Nanny' spin-off 'Living with Fran' with Fran Drescher, among many other things.

He and two other screenwriters, Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer, will be in Bermuda this month to give a screenwriting lab for the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF).

"The screenwriting lab will be over a couple of days," said Mr. Rossen, who lives in Los Angeles, California. "We have given similar seminars before.

"We want to help people who have done some screenwriting, or people who have never learned the basic ways that Hollywood movies are structured and made."

Mr. Rossen said many people mistakenly believe that actors just open their mouths and words come out off the cuff.

"From a Hollywood perspective, movies are highly structured," said Mr. Rossen. "It is a very tricky structure and skill to implement that structure."

The three-day lab will help beginners and more advanced screenwriters. It will be geared towards narrative storytelling, and character development.

Topics covered will include, the business of movie making, what makes a good idea, marketing an idea, and executing the idea, among other things.

"For those who have tried their hand at it before, we would like to work on improving the screenplay they have," said Mr. Rossen. "We will be identifying structural problems and things that might give a hiccup in terms of selling the idea."

The trio have worked together and separately on a number of screenplays.

Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Rossen worked together on a film called 'Nascar Girl', which they sold to New Line Cinema.

"It is a 'Legally Blond' type movie in the form of a racecar girl," said Mr. Rossen. "It is about a debutante who inherits a racecar team."

They also worked on 'Guida' which was sold to Revolution Films, and 'Save The Last Dirty Flash Dance for Footloose Billy Elliott', a spoof of dance movies.

"It is a feast or famine sort of business," said Mr. Rossen. "We are all based in Los Angeles. Our most recent project we sold to 20th Century Fox. It is called 'Model Family' with Jamie Kennedy. It is about what it is like to be the ugly duckling in a family of supermodels.

"In the show, Jamie Kennedy's parents were Cheryl Ladd and John Schneider."

The trio has never been to Bermuda before, but they have taught similar workshops in Europe and Iceland.

"We really enjoy travelling and meeting people," said Mr. Rossen. "Everyone has stories that have happened to them, or stories people talk about, or just ideas that pop into their head.

"Even though Brian and David and I have backgrounds primarily in comedy we are talking about issues across the board in terms of Hollywood screenplays.

"Everyone has the potential for the next great idea inside of them. The idea that it is something that only the select few can participate in is ridiculous."

He said although it is one of the hardest industries to get into, there are constantly people being discovered, or pushing their way into Hollywood.

"One way to really push in is to have a really strong screenplay," said Mr. Rossen. "It is all about the idea.

"Producers are looking for an idea that they can bring through the system that will interest other people.

"They want an idea where people will say 'wow, that is a great idea; I would like to see that movie'."

He said it is an industry that you can get into, but you have to be at the top of your game, and know the ropes.

"Brian and I went to film school," said Mr. Rossen. "David's background was he trained as an attorney.

"He had never done any writing before. It is a matter of you continue writing and you keep going and you get better and better.

"That is really what the seminars are about. For those who have never done it before, let's get started. For those who have done it before, it is a matter of honing and finetuning what they have done, trying to massage it and make it better."

Mr. Rossen said he and Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Garrett have taught groups ranging from 20 to 100 people.

The Screenwriting Lab will be held June 20 to 22 at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).

Friday will be an introduction to Hollywood screenwriting with hands on advice from the trenches.

Students will be introduced to the creative, business, and motivational challenges that every screenwriter must face and the tools needed to take on the Hollywood system.

Saturday will be all day and will look at the tools needed for writing a script.

Sunday will also be all day and will focus on writing and improving the script.

On Monday, scriptwriters will be available for one on one consultations as time permits.

The lab costs $199.

For an application form and more information, go to the BIFF websitewhich can be found at: http://www.biff.bm/biff_film_academy/master_classes.html