ARTHUR TIERSKY
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 PictureARTHUR TIERSKY
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I've lived in the Los Angeles area since 1993.  After being born and raised in the Chicago 'burbs and going to school in Oberlin, Ohio, the winds just blew me west.

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a ginstead of a short story or a novel?
The inspiration came from pure happenstance. I was writing a series of  Facebook essays about the films of John Huston, and while researching The Stranger — an Orson Welles film he worked on — I noticed a trivia note saying the movie had been banned in Aiken, South Carolina because Welles had erroneously tagged it on his radio show as the site of “the blinding of Isaac Woodard.”  I'd never heard of any such incident, so I looked it up, and it led me to a terrific book and “American Experience” episode about it and how it had started a chain reaction of events that led to Brown v. Board of Education.  
So it's clear I've stumbled upon this tremendously important but sadly little-known story, and that's basically my jam.  And it just screamed limited series, as it was too sweeping and episodic for a feature, so that spurred me into creating the pitch deck, and once that was done, accompanying it with a pilot script was the obvious next step.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
My process depends a lot on the genre; very plot-heavy features generally demand a lot of outlining, and the more character-driven ones are done more on instinct.  With something like HINDSIGHT, history has laid out your major story beats for you, so it's really just a matter of determining the general structure and then filling in the details.  I'd already been living with the story for months as I worked on the pitch deck, so it came out very smoothly, just did one act per weekend for four weekends, done and done.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My stuff over the years has been an unusual mix of quirky indie comedies and historical dramas, and they both scratch completely different itches.  I've always loved making people laugh more than anything, but there's something irresistible about sort of illuminating these overlooked bits of history and giving important people and moments their due.  So I guess I'd be most satisfied with being known as “that history guy who's also funny”, but if I'm ultimately stuck with being only one of those, that's fine too.


Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
Once I'd finished it, I was eager to get unfiltered reactions to it in full, so submitting less than the whole thing was never an option. And I'll add, in all sincerity, and I'm not blowing smoke here, that the notes that I got from this contest were superb, very thorough, thoughtful and helpful.  That's a genuine rarity in the contest world, so...kudos, guys!


What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
Ah, it's always so hard to pick a single favorite...I think 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is the greatest overall cinematic accomplishment, a perfect combination of spectacle, thematic depth and advancing the potential of the medium.  But if I had to name a favorite screenplay, I'd probably go with Budd Schulberg's chillingly prescient A FACE IN THE CROWD.  And as a dialogue connoisseur, I'd be remiss if I left out the brilliant MILLER'S CROSSING.  But even with that, I feel like I've given some masterpieces the short shrift.  I'd rather list a top 100, but even then, I'd be stressing over all the greats I'd be leaving out.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Contest entries are an investment, and like any investment, you really need to do the research and get a clear understanding of what the possible and likely returns are in each case.  Figure out what you're hoping to get out of it and keep your expectations realistic.  Only a small handful can actually serve as career-changers, but what many of them can provide is valuable objective feedback, a sense of affirmation, and bragging rights, so that's what you want to weigh against your investment.  Anything beyond that is gravy.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
“Needs” is a bit strong, but I'm continuing to seek out stories like this one that deserve wider awareness.  I've already written one feature about the invention of the birth control pill, which I consider one of the most consequential and beneficial developments in modern history, and currently I'm researching another limited series, an epic about the '92 L.A. Riots, the whole Rodney King saga.  And on a lighter note, I've been compiling a book of my wisecrack Facebook updates from over the years, and I'll be starting another online essay project soon, about one of the great unsung husband/wife creative partnerships in Hollywood.  I'm getting married next month at long last, so that probably influenced my choice this time and is itself a pretty major undertaking, so hopefully that one turns out well.