SAM ELLIS
 SAM ELLIS
How did you discover The Wiki Screenplay Contest and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
As Eleanor Roosevelt told us (or at least as attributed to herin Talladega Nights) – “America is all about speed. Hot, nasty bad-ass speed” Where do you live (City, State, or Country)? ‘Merica 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? What inspires your overall journey into screenwriting? I love movies and I love movies. How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes? I’d like to say I have a plan, but something fun strikes me and I start working my way through it. When the themes come out, it just makes it more likely I keep going. What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive? When I’m really rolling, it’s really quiet. As I learned long ago, the “having TV on” thing really doesn’t work. Has to be quiet. Occasionally, music will spur something, but it usually does that for the next day of writing, a delayed reaction. And when I turn on the music, I’m conceding defeat for the day, which can be fine. Let the subconscious work. Music is very important for me in the process though. The beginnings of most of my screenplays are actually one song. You wouldn’t necessarily know the song by my finished product, but a good song creates a world. 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? As I said earlier, something strikes me and I start wandering around with the characters. I should probably be a better planner, but basically, I follow my characters into corners and then try to get them out of them. This is probably why it takes so long to finish! Generally, between 6 and 9 months. I have started working on a few screenplays at one time, which has turned out better than I thought, but eventually one takes a back seat and gets worked on subconsciously while another is finished. How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process? Not well. It’s awful, but at least after some success, you come to an understanding that it will happen, it will be horrible, and it will end. And the tragic part is it really is like quicksand, the more you struggle, the worse it gets. I find it’s time to jump on another script until the subconscious works through the block. Sometimes it doesn’t for a story. There’s always another story. What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter? Love the free stuff. Story Architect. How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests? Which contests have you entered...and how has your work been received overall? Have those contests been helpful to you in your writing? I enter a lot of contests, too numerous to mention. I like the ones with feedback included because you can never have too much of that, but I don’t restrict myself. As I’d like to earn a living at this, but it’s not necessary (nor likely), the contests are just a lot of fun. Of course you need to budget. It’s how I spend my money to enjoy myself. It’s like my golf. Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it? Including too much description/dialogue/characters – too much everything. Repetition and success teaches you that you need to trust the reader and not everything needs said. Although I generally start with everything being said, and then some! It helps me fully flesh out the world and the vibe. As I’ve gotten better at it (hopefully), I just start slashing much more quickly and ferociously. Proofreads are a good mirror to hold up. If you find yourself getting bored with elements of your script in the 3rd or 4th proofread, probably needs a further polish. If you are balancing your “writing time” with a “day job”...how are you managing that? Just good ole’ fashion self-inflicted guilt. Nothing harsh, just “You’ll be dead soon and you won’t have written a single screenplay that’s any good.” Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter? Recognized as an influential generational talent, of course, with people wondering how I do it. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? Note that generational talent thing above. Actually, that’s really not it. I want to watch my movies in theaters with audiences. I would like someone to carry along a movie written by me just like all the ones I carry along written by the masters. The film and television industry is constantly evolving. How do you see the role of screenwriters changing, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence? Have you used A.I. in your writing; if so, how have you used it? I think social media such as Instagram and YouTube have obviously adjusted the attention span of the audience. Similarly, those platforms, by necessity, sacrifice production values for content and really highlight the individual performer. (Kind of like the focus has shifted in music from the perfect sound system to variety and availability) I see these trends bleed into current movies, where there seems to be more focus on big personalities and “bits” than perhaps the classic plot or character development of the past. It’s almost like a return to the age of the Elvis or Rat Pack movie, where you don’t care about the plot, story, and character development as much as seeing Elvis water ski. Nothing wrong with any of that as it’s cool to see Elvis water ski. It’s just a change/trend that I think a screenwriter needs to acknowledge and try to accommodate to a degree in his or her work. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? Tarantino, which is, of course, cliché. But a cliché is cliché for a reason. I think maybe the best screenplay ever written is L.A. Confidential, followed closely by Raiders of the Lost Ark, which isn’t generally cited for screenplay – but that thing really sings – Kasdan! Supremely underrated. Those examples are constant inspiration. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? The Big Lebowski and The Wire. What advice do you have for aspiring screenwriters? I’m very much in the phase of my life where it’s painfully apparent I don’t know much. I’m more in the advice seeking phase. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?) After some edgy, dark comedy and cynical horror in my last two projects, I challenged myself to write a warm holiday hug – something you could take your aunt and grandma to see over Christmas vacation. Although the shift in tone was a bit harrowing, I’m really happy with the finished project, “It’s Coming on Christmas”. Check it out along with my other projects at https://filmfreeway.com/SamEllis. Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.) https://filmfreeway.com/SamEllis and email [email protected] |
