Letter: Lives on film

Sir: It is possible to agree with Kevin Maher's scathing criticism of the biopic (Eye, 30 January) by closing one eye and excluding such dire Oscar-winning flops as Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi, forgetting that commercial disaster The Sound of Music, passing over an enormous range of films from Bonnie and Clyde and Raging Bull to Schindler's List.

Of course, biopic is a difficult genre and there are failures, but this shouldn't discourage writers and directors from aiming for success, which is why we at the London Screenwriters Workshop have set up seminars on writing fiction based on fact.

After all, two versions of Henry V should remind us that at least one adventurous writer was rather partial to biography - and it did no harm to his financial and artistic career.