MATT NEFF
Where do you live (City, State, or Country?
Missouri. 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? The Tortoise is about a homeless gambling addict who embarks on a 30-mile trek along the interstate to cash in $1,000 worth of casino chips. In 2020, I was dealing with the same horror show as everyone else in the world. Toward the end of November, I realized I hadn’t written anything new all year. I turned to my writer’s group on Facebook and made a poll with eight different loglines. I decided that whichever logline got the most votes, I’d turn it into a full script before the end of the year. Much to my surprise, The Tortoise received the most votes, so that’s what I set out to write. How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...whiteboard...or just start with FADE IN? I finished the first draft in just under a month. After I posted the Facebook poll, I outlined The Tortoise scene by scene. I had set a deadline for myself to finish the short before the end of the year, so I knew I had no time to waste. On December 29th, I was only halfway through the first draft, so I spent the next two days hammering out as many pages as I could. On the morning of New Year’s Eve, I posted the completed first draft of The Tortoise on Facebook. After reaching my milestone, I spent the next few weeks rewriting and polishing The Tortoise until I felt it was good enough for the competition circuit. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? My ambition as a writer/producer is to be involved in the filmmaking process from development to post-production. I want to work with filmmakers who are just as driven as I am to bring my stories to life. My long-term goal is to write for television and become the showrunner of my own TV series. Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice? My entry was a full script. Since my screenplay was less than 30 pages, I wanted the judges to see the full scope of my story from start to finish. I didn’t want the readers to be asking, “where is this story going?” I wanted to show them where it was going. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? My favorite TV show of all time is The Twilight Zone. As a kid who grew up reading Goosebumps, I loved the show for its spooky aesthetic and brilliant twist endings. I would constantly rent the DVDs from the public library and watch the New Year’s marathons on TV. I revisited the show when I was older and realized just how smart the writing was and appreciated the deeper themes of the show. When writing The Tortoise, I wanted the story to feel like a modern version of The Twilight Zone. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? Focus on writing a good story rather than trying to create an “award-winning script.” Don’t be afraid to write the script you want just because you’re worried it won’t be as good as the version in your mind. A bad script on paper is worth infinitely more than a great script in your head. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? Since entering the Wiki Screenplay Contest, I adapted The Tortoise into a feature-length screenplay, which was recently optioned by Stray Productions LTD. Stray Productions is a production company in Glasgow and was named the Best Filmmaking Production Company in Scotland at the 2022 UK Enterprise Awards. |
