GUY PRIDY
​

 PictureGUY PRIDY
Where do you live? City, State, or Country?
Near Philly, on the New Jersey side of the river.

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 have always loved movies. I also write a lot of short stories and novellas, but my students challenged me to write a screenplay. The urgency of the situation in The Leash was more suited to a script with my writing style.

How long did it take you to write your script, and what is your writing process? Do you outline, use index cards, a whiteboard, or just start with FADE IN?
My writing process is somewhat obsessive. When I get an idea, I have to get it down. Later, I can tweak it, massage it, and often change it in major ways, but the first draft usually comes out in a rush. It is not unusual for me to write ten hours a day for three days straight. I’ll put projects down for weeks, then become obsessive about them and put in another 30 hours in three days. The first 5-page draft of The Leash took me two days; then I came back to it after a couple of months and knocked it out in a week.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
Ultimately, I would love to be a successful writer and director, creating movies that entertain audiences while also making them think and feel something. I work on independent projects all the time - simply because I love the art.

Was your entry in The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
It was a full script. I need the feedback. I am a walking cliché - always trying to get people to read my script.

What is your all-time favorite movie or television show, and why?
My all-time favorite movie is Stand by Me. It reminds me of some of the adventures I went on as a kid. It perfectly recreates a time and place when young people had to go outside, explore, take risks, and make their own fun. My favorite television show of all time is Battlestar Galactica. It is so much more than shiny robots and explosions. It is an intricate story about trust, humanity, survival, and the political struggles that emerge when a society is living through war.