BILL JORDAN
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Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
St Louis Park, Minnesota (It’s a Twin Cities Suburb)

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your
story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
I was 19 in 1976 (the time of the film) when I first visited Yosemite National Park. As a
fledgling rock climber, I was awestruck, because I knew that Yosemite was “it” for the best
climbers in the world. I only got to look, not climb, but the images stuck (and little did I
know what else was actually going on during that time!).
Fast forward to 2022 and visiting Yosemite with family. I wandered into the climbing shop (a
true climbing mecca) and watched part of a documentary about the climbers in the park in the
seventies. The climbers were very “colorful” characters and the images of their daring
climbs was spectacular. Within the documentary, there was a brief segment about the “pot
plane”
. That was all it took: Spectacular scenery, fabulous characters climbing 3000-foot
cliffs and an almost absurd inciting event. I was immediately struck with “that would make a
great movie”. That happens with me a lot – my imagination starts to run wild.
I had recently discovered a keen interest in visual storytelling and been taking taking writing
classes at a local college. I’ve always thought visually and I love telling stories, so it only
took me thirty plus years to make the connection. I chose to write the first draft of Climbing
High for one of my classes because the story and particularly the visuals would not leave me
alone.

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?
The actual writing went relatively quickly – about two months. The research and finding the
balance between real and fabricated elements was the biggest challenge. Plus, finding a way
into the story and determining whose POV to use and how and where to create the conflict
where very little existed in the facts were also stumbling blocks. There was a lot more
material than time, so I ended up leaving a lot of the original components out or finding ways
to re-work them for the sake of time and pacing.

I’ve written both ways and enjoy the freedom of not working with an outline. With Climbing
High, I started with FADE IN and had a great first act, but figuring out how to work around a
set timeline to get the right elements in the right places in the script proved a challenge. I
quickly found that I needed much more structure to keep the film moving and to make sure I
wasn’t missing critical plot points.I resorted to setting up a “Beat Board” with everything I already had (both fact and fiction)
and then added / subtracted from that. Having that structure in place made subsequent
revisions much easier as well.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I have a real passion for the stories I’m telling and I’m looking forward to seeing at least one
or two become finished productions. I also have a large backlog of story ideas that I’d like to
tell and I’m enjoying learning as I push my own limits and dig deeper to create the elements
of surprise, delight and mystery in whatever story and environment I’m building. I look
forward to getting as many of those down on paper and then seeing where they end up.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”?
Why did you make that choice?
It was a full script. It had already been completed and had a couple of rounds of feedback by
the time I discovered the contest, so it didn’t make sense to only do the first ten pages.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
Such a difficult question, since the answer depends on mood and what I’m looking for at the
moment. Kelly’s Heroes. It’s such a classically structured script with great dialogue and an
amazingly deep and talented cast. I also must throw in Casablanca. Tight, sparse writing and
again, amazing acting.
Two TV shows: Weeds and House of Cards. I appreciate them both for the same reasons –
Great, really flawed lead characters who artfully push the boundaries way past expectations
and keep the viewer wondering what’s coming next.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you
have?
Keep working at it and be open to (and aggressively look for) feedback. Climbing High was
a much different script five drafts ago. It’s a much better now but I still find pieces that need
tweaking. And, learn how to listen to the feedback critically. Realize it’s also “your” story, so
ultimately you get to decide and stay true to your vision.
Also, be willing to go out on a limb, all along the way. Learning to push boundaries
creatively is a constant, conscious endeavor.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
Wow, lots. I’m focused on an adaptation of a romantic short story by a local author. I’ve also
got a couple of web series that I’m polishing and a concept for an hour-long series about a
nefarious toy company that needs to get fleshed out. On the back burner I’ve got an historical
fiction passion project in Zimbabwe and a female-focused spy-action film.

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