EDWARD BADAL
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 PictureEDWARD BADAL
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
San Diego, CA

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?
As parents, we often claim we’d do anything for our children, but this was a sort of exercise in how far a parent would go to give their children even just a chance at their dream. I’m also a huge baseball fan and wanted to write a baseball movie that belonged to the annals of great baseball films. Swing Away offered me the opportunity to explore both passions in a fun and illuminating way. And since my father who passed away suddenly a few years ago was also a huge baseball fan, this screenplay is dedicated to him. As for the decision to write a screenplay, I’ve found that with the feature format, I can keep up with the sheer number of ideas I generate rather than spending months or
years writing a novel. I’ve always loved movies, and it just feels the most natural given the types of ideas I have and how I want to present them.

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?
It took me a month or two to conceptualize it and develop the plot, characters, pressure test situations and build out the narrative. Once I knew what I wanted and why it would work, I finished the polished draft in about two weeks. My writing process has evolved over time, but generally my process now is to start with a truly compelling and unique idea, pressure test it for storytelling components and big screen viability, develop characters, flesh out the treatment, then a scene-by-scene rubric, then draft each scene based on all that information. I’ll do a few rewrites if I find that my initial draft isn’t as clean or compelling as I want it to be (which is usually the case). Oftentimes when I’m writing specific scenes, I play it in my head like I’m watching the film in my mind’s eye (scenery, shots and angles, color palettes, etc.). Then I write down what I “see”.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My ultimate ambition as a writer is to tell engaging and memorable stories. Story telling is a deeply engrained part of who I am and my family’s culture. I want my family, friends, and most of all, my children to read what I’ve done and be proud and inspired. But, a close second to that would be to see one of my screenplays made into a film. That would be a dream come true to see it all on the big screen. And a third goal would be to be able to replicate success enough to provide for my family financially.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
A full script. I did that because it was a complete story. The first 10 pages may be compelling, but the heart of it all, the emotional payoff, is at the end.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
My favorite film of all time is Braveheart. It’s just a classic mix of everything I want in a film – love story, revenge, passion, acting and cast, scenery, story, action, production, music & score, screenplay! I mean, it won 5 Oscars including Best Picture…. For TV shows, I enjoyed Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Seinfeld, Star Trek Voyager, and Band of Brothers.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
If you don’t have a compelling story, go get one. What makes a compelling story? In my opinion, you must make the reader/viewer experience a heightened sense of their humanity. That could take many forms – love, passion, rage, sorrow, hope. The full spectrum of what people can experience, and you offer that to them in an interesting and unique way. Spend time developing your characters – learn to love them and then challenge them through plot action. Build your world. You want to be unforgettable, which itself is a core human desire. Once you have that, be professional in your craft and then be fearless. Submit to contests, chase those opportunities, advocate for your work and yourself. You are your biggest fan, so act like it!

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I have various polished feature screenplays ready to go including several other prestige dramas, a biographical Feudal Japan period piece, a WW2 based love and war story, a grindhouse revenge story, a trilogy retelling of the Arthurian Legends (think LOTR), and a few books I converted to screenplays for fun. I have about 15 other ideas currently in the development process. I’m also working on several books including a philosophical piece, an academically inclined argumentative piece about the Millennial generation, and a fictional story about a wealthy man who tries to use his money to do the right thing with unexpected results. If you’re a buyer or an agent, I’ve got something for you!