A Brighton film-maker is off to Hollywood to learn from the experts.

During his time in California, Jonathon Sendall will be rubbing shoulders with the stars and sharing the secrets of an Oscar-winning team.

Jonathon, 37, is head of development at Peacehaven-based Spice Factory and has received funding for the project from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

He will be seconded for eight months to a leading American film company. The secondment is supported by the DTI's International Technology Service.

He will study how the Americans develop film scripts for multi-million-dollar productions with Red Wagon Entertainment, located in Los Angeles, the lead producer of the blockbuster film Gladiator.

Jonathon said: "I will be looking at all aspects of film production, especially at how they develop film scripts. This is a great opportunity to learn how Hollywood works.

"The DTI secondment will help me to learn in the most successful film business environment in the world.

"My aim will be to transfer the knowledge I gain on successful working practices in the United States to our own company and the rest of the industry in the United Kingdom".

Jonathon will also look at ways British film companies can forge strong business links with Hollywood film makers.

"We also want to expand our business and we have plans to enhance the business as a base from which new writers, directors and producers can access the Hollywood studio development process, thereby generating more commercially-successful films.

"I was surprised at how easy it was to get the backing of the DTI, basically I just had to tell them why I wanted to go and argue my case.

"Everyone at Spice Factory is jealous."

The Spice Factory is a prolific feature film company that has won a number of awards. It will be producing up to 12 feature films this year with its six-strong staff.

It expects the new knowledge Jonathon picks up will enable it to increase its output of films - thus increasing the number of staff.

Jason Piette, Spice Factory founder and director and a film producer himself, said: "It is recognised in the UK that the success of the American film 'factory', in the form of Hollywood, depends not only on a controlled integrated business of prod-uction, distribution and exhibition but also a well thought-out attitude towards a much more intensive and market-led script development activity.

"The DTI secondment will help us to copy that attitude across the company and develop scripts that Hollywood studios find attractive".

The DTI's International Technology Service supports UK employees from any discipline on secondments to any country for periods of three to 12 months. It aims to help organisations improve their performance by benchmarking themselves against overseas companies and adopting leading-edge techniques and management practices.

It enables them to learn best practice, improve productivity and develop overseas links with other businesses.

Successful films the Spice Factory has been involved with include Killer Tongue, about weird happenings after a meteorite crashes to earth; New Blood, a gangster thriller starring John Hurt and Nick Moran; and Pilgrim, the story of a man who loses his memory as he is pursued by a gang of hoodlums.