michael alan elliott
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Annapolis, MD, USA 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 wrote the first draft in early 1984, after attending the dedication of the Vietnam veteran’s memorial. My goal was to present a balanced overview of the war, the era and the impact it had on draft-eligible men; vets, protestors and college-deferred men. I wrote it as a screenplay because I possess a cinematic approach from my years as a TV commercial writer/director. 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? Well, it’s disingenuous to say it took 40 years. I put the script and my screenwriting ambitions away in 1987. I found my way back to screenwriting in 2020 and it was natural for me to revive it. In these three years I’ve probably done a dozen rewrites. I don’t do outlines, cards or beat sheets. I actually construct the entire screenplay in my head and then start writing. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? I want to create something cinematically that will live on after me. 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. The story has three different plots that finally weave together as a complete, single narrative in the second act. I don’t believe a reader can get the full impact of what’s to come in the first 10 pages. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? Favorite movie…the original “Magnificent Seven”. It’s an old fashioned morality play about sin and redemption presented as action-oriented Western. Favorite television show. “Cheers”. Funny, excellent cast and writing. A real treasure. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? You need humility, a thick skin and a fever-like madness to write. You need to put the work out there, suffer rejection and criticism, seek advice and rewrite until you can’t stand it. Again, since 2020, “Nobody’s Heroes” has been rewritten, in whole or in part at least 12 times. You want to scale the mountain? You’re going to start at the bottom, like it or not. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? My latest script is a romantic drama, “(I’ll Never Find) Another You”. In September, 2023 it was voted Best Screenplay in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Diversity iv contest and it was voted “Best Romantic Screenplay” in the Chicago Script Awards. |
