Where do you live (City, State, or Country)? Tel-Aviv, Israel
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? Having NEANDERLAND’s Logline may make the answer more relatable: “In a world on the brink of collapse due to a mutating disease, a checkered doctor ventures deep into an uncharted civilization of evolved human species, where he and a resilient tribe leader must bridge science and ancient tradition to find a cure, navigating alien-like landscapes, corporate grid, and personal demons.”
I had a thought or question: What unknown realities are left to discover on Earth? I mean in the Jules-Verne style. One of the answers led to the preliminary ideas for NEANDERLAND. I then looked for relevant contemporary examples of “realistic” SF stories, and Jurassic Park stood out. I liked its screenplay more than the book and decided to write a feature screenplay.
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 two years. I moved back and forth several times between an outline and full text. Some of it is surely a learning curve.
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? To watch NEANDERLAND as a feature movie.
Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice? Full script. As an aspiring screenwriter, this is the only way to go (for me).
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? Surely many. A recent relevant one is “Inception”. It is a masterpiece of realistic, believable SF (yes, with and because of the layered dream travels). I hope I learned from this screenplay/movie and continue to learn.
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? If you are an aspiring artist, your work may be your only ticket – so it must be a mature – complete – best- work of art. Have enough feedback to verify you haven’t given up on that and rushed to publish.
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? Multiple scripts for a two-season SF TV series, so the whole story is largely envisioned, not only a pilot. Still a lot of room for additional or alternative writing by others.