MORGAN RUSSELL
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I live in San Rafael, California. 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 was inspired by the history of American racial relations, specifically between white and black Americans. I majored in cinema at San Francisco State University, but the course required numerous ethnic study classes, so thus I became engrossed with American racial history. I was deeply moved by that history and was further moved at how it continues to perpetuate. I knew I wanted to make a work of art reflective of the world around me, which is how I came up with the script. I’m a visual artist, so I came up with the script because I’d like to one day direct the script 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 about a year and a half to come up with the script you just read. The way I write scripts is a gradual process. Throughout any given day I’ll think about the script I’m writing and from morning to sunset ideas will naturally come to me. It’s only at the end of the day, likely after dinner, that I’ll write down those ideas either into the script or as notes I’ll come back to. I like refering to my process as “Stirring the pot”. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? My ultimate ambition is to become a director, because every script I write is one I want to direct. I meticulously think about how I’d like to visually present the theme, characterization, and nuances inherent to the script and I surmise that only I could faithfully visualise it. 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 “both” you could say. My script ended up being 11 pages, and I saw that “the first ten pages” option was less expensive, so I chose that. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? That’s always a tough question to answer because I like a lot of different things. I would definitively say though that I love certain Russian, Iranian, and Japanese films. Each of those countries have such great filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Abbas Kiarostami, and Akira Kurosawa to name just a few. I keep finding myself thinking about their work and unique abilities to transcend cinematic pleasure with their symbolic storytelling. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? I would simply say to continue writing and don’t let the placement of other festivals discourage you. I remember I had submitted an earlier version of this script to different festivals over the previous summer of ‘22 and most of them didn’t select my script for inclusion, however they did include constructive feedback. Undeterred, I carefully rewrote my script, and lo and behold, I got placed as a finalist for this screenplay competition. Ultimately, the two pieces of advice I could give are to listen and don’t give up! What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? Currently I’m in the conceptual phase of two writing projects. I have an idea for a short whose premise is along the lines of “Be careful what you wish for” and a feature length screenplay about a film school graduate struggling to get back into filmmaking in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. |
