MOLLY VERNON
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
League City, Texas, USA (2 miles from NASA) 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’m a filmmaker and film professor, and I don’t write short stories or novels. I’m also a senior female, and only in recent years can I move past working as a 1st AD and Unit Production Manager for film into directing films myself. I am a science fiction fan fortunate enough to live close enough to NASA to feel a connection. That connection inspired me to build a world and take a journey with a young female character strong enough and intelligent enough to save humankind. She inspires me to follow her down the rabbit hole. 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? I worked on the script on and off through the summer of 2023 between traveling, research, and commercial shoots. I did a little alien research in Scotland, which was glorious. I use notes and index cards, often prompted by location scouting and seeing images that tell the story. Again, as a filmmaker, I’m very visual. I write what I see. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? It is very exciting to be able to direct scripts that I write, and I hope to continue writing and directing for some time. I/O (Input-Output) is the first script I have submitted to a screenplay contest, and getting feedback is enlightening. I am that crazy lady who loves horror and science fiction, and there are many deep recesses to mine for those genres. It would be fantastic to work as a Showrunner someday. Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice? I started with the first 10 pages because all I had was 12 pages, and I was surprised to get solid feedback and constructive criticism. This round, it was the full half-hour television pilot script at 27 pages. That half-hour will develop into a full-hour script, as suggested, around 55 pages when completed. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? I am in love with BREAKING BAD for the best character arch I’ve been touched by in television and BLACK MIRROR for technology bashing. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION is one of the most solid scripts developed into a film I know, and I teach it for Film Appreciation. I’m a huge Hitchcock fan and would say PSYCHO for brilliant use of framing and composition. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? There is no box. Write and experiment with your story before you get to the ever-important formatting for a screenplay and/or television series. When you get to formatting, edit your work, and remember your mom and friends aren’t the best folks to give you constructive feedback. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? I’m currently in development on a comedy titled SEXY NAILS FOR AUNT TOOTSIE, a feature version of my award-winning short historical film LILLIAN, and updates and rewrites on my feature thriller TRASHMAN about the I-45 serial killings. I’d also like to be an astronaut for a day, but I must settle for speaking with several cool ones working on the ISS and prepping Artemis for Mars. |
