Hello good people. I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Screenwriter and Director Ashley Scott Meyers for his Selling Your Screenplay Podcast. Leading up to the interview I had prepared a lot of things I wanted to say, this way there were no “Um's” or awkward pauses in the interview (Thank you public speaking college course.) Many of these things were said, but time flew by and when the time came to say our goodbyes, I knew I had plenty more to say.
As writers we get to anguish over every word until we say what exactly is intended. That is one of the most appealing elements of being a writer, you have full control over every word, each action of your constructed reality. The kind of circumstance we wish could be found in everyday life. Well this is my chance to do that with this interview, to elaborate on my thoughts with annotated notes you can read below this video:
Feel free to listen to this interview while you read the notes that go along with the corresponding time code of the video.
[19:30] Before my first feature Cam-Girl was financed, I had much more than a web site, business entity and concept art prepared for it. I also had a business plan, budget, storyboards, a shot list and I even made some of the props that were used in the final movie. If it sounds like a ton of work, I can assure you it is, but it is necessary. You have to stand out from the pack if you want your script produced and the way to do that is to have much more than just a great script. Everyone has a script, so you need all of these sales tools to let potential producers see that there is a movie here and to show that you have the ambition to get it done.
[20:20] The other Executive Producer that Jay Aubrey connected me to is Odorico Mendes. He has over a decade of filmmaking and commercial production experience behind him. Cam-Girl would not have been possible without both of them, I cannot thank them enough for giving me this opportunity.
[21:23] This Roger Corman movie Jay Aubrey directed, Looking for Trouble is a family film about a child who runs away from home with the aid of an escaped circus elephant. Here is the trailer, enjoy!
[25:20] The screenplay Tragic Kingdom was Co-Written by Curtis Norton and I. Curtis went on to become our editor on Cam-Girl. Here is a press release that lists Tragic Kingdom as a semi-finalist in the 2008 Bluecat Screenwriting Competition.
[13:21] The book How I made 100 Moviesin Hollywood and never lost a Dime By Roger Corman is a must read for low budget filmmakers. The strategies he used as far back as the 50's can still be applied to film production today. Here is a list of links to many other books on writing/filmmaking that I recommend:
Essentials of screenwriting Richard Walter
Secrets of Film Writing Tom Lazarus
TalesFrom the Script Peter Hanson, Paul Robert Herman [ALSO A DOCUMENTARY]
Aristotle's Poetics forScreenwriters Michael Tierno
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant
Tough Love Screenwriting John Jarrell
The Gurrilla Filmmaker's Handbook Genevieve Jolliffe, Chris Jones
Directing Actors Judith Weston
Clearance and Copyright Michael C. Donaldson
Filmmakers and Financing: BusinessPlans for Independents Louise Levison
Cut To the Chase: Forty-Five Yearsof Editing America's Favorite Movies Sam O'Steen, Bobby O'Steen
In the Blink of An Eye: Aperspective on Film Editing Walter Murch
[15:40] Besides Erin Nicole Cline, our male lead actor Joe Coffey was also a Florida based actor who has moved on to a promising career. He is widely known as Horace Dodge from the Dodge Brothers series of car commercials.
Joe Coffey as Horace Dodge
[22:32] How I met the other people in the cast and crew of Cam-Girl:
Curtis Norton (Editor) and I met years prior in a screenwriting course at the University of Central Florida.
Joe Coffey (Lead Actor) responded to an open casting call online.
Erin Nicole Cline (Lead Actress) worked in Entertainment at the same theme park I did. Erin was the first person cast and we are grateful for that.
Tara Leia (Actress) is a friend of mine who also worked at the same theme park I did. (See a pattern forming here?)
Aurelia Riley (Actress) was referred to us by our make up artist Sarah Okun. Aurelia brought a tremendous amount of energy to the set and her role.
The rest of the cast came from general casting calls.
[18:30] 30 Night Stand is my latest Romantic Comedy script which is in development, the actresses AnnikaMarks (The Sessions) and Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever 2002) are attached.
[29:20] Here is our official site (www.webcamthefilm.com) which features info about the movie, release info and a store with cool new merchandise including shirts designed for the movie.
Here are our official media links:
Official Twitter
Official Facebook
Cam-Girl on YouTube
Cam-Girl on Vimeo
[16:00] By taking the time to outline the script, I knew that this structure would create an entertaining story and how all the scenes would relate to each other. That is how you can be sure that the key elements of your script are there, set ups/pay offs, subtext, foreshadowing, call backs, symbolism and metaphor.
[11:35] I mentioned writing a contained (limited location) script as a way to break in. Many filmmakers have proved this is a possible career path. Big names like ChristopherNolan (Following), Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Darren Aronofsky (Pi), Martin Scorsese (Who's ThatKnocking at my Door?) Frances Ford Coppola (Dementia 13) and screenwriter Chris Sparling who’s break through script Buried starred Mr. Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds as the only on screen character who is buried alive in a coffin. His follow up script ATM, is another great example of how to tell a compelling story that takes place mostly in one location. [ATM TRAILER]
Chris Sparling was interviewed twice on the Selling Your Screenplay Podcast. I found these interviews to be helpful and inspiring, you can listen to them here:
[14:45] Besides the book Candy Girl by Diablo Cody, two movies in particular were a major inspirations for me. They are Hard Candy and Phone Booth. [CLICK THE TITLES FOR TRAILERS]
A screenwriter should also read great scripts to learn what is expected of them if they want to have a chance. I have read the scripts for Hard Candy, Network, The Usual Suspects, Alien, Taxi Driver and Inception. Read a popular script in the genre that you are preparing to write.
[31:27] I really have been listening to the Selling Your Screenplay Podcast. An indie filmmaker should take advantage of every valuable resource they can find.
Here are some other great podcast on Writing/Filmmaking:
On The Page
The Movie Crypt
The Dave Bullis Podcast
Indie Film Hustle
Independent Film Academy
No Film School Podcast
The Q and A with Jeff Goldsmith
Nerdist Writer's Panel
Chicks Who Script
Blacklist Table Reads
Filmmaker's Focus
Creative Writing Career
Scripts & Scribes
Scriptnotes
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