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  • 2023 "WALK OF FAME"
    • JOHN THIBAULT
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MAGGIE GRANT

Picture
 Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Los Angeles, CA and Atlanta, GA

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?
MercenAir is a true story about the amazing exploits of my ex-husband, who is still a great friend, the one and only Bob Fleming a true pilot of fortune. I have been listening to Bob’s incredible life stories for decades. I had begged Bob for years to write his memoirs down. He finally agreed and one year later, he sent me a 280page draft. My goal was to adapt it into a screenplay. I read the first three chapters, and I called him and said, “Forget the film this is a series!” Bob has scores more stories. All as exciting, fun and even more amazing. I created a series bible that spans 5 seasons and there are many more of his adventures just waiting to be brought to life.

How long did it take you to write your script?
The script has gone through many drafts, we worked on it for 3 months.

And what is your writing process?
Actually, I start with FADE IN and the words seem to pour out. I try not to get in the way of the thoughts and images that flood my head. It seems I get stuck in the mire when I overthink. 
​
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
Wow, that is a huge question. I have been writing since I was 6. I wrote my first musical,  and directed, produced and performed in it too. I even hung a blanket as a curtain and charged .5c for tickets. I gave them a show, kool-aid and cookies. What a deal! I want to be a working writer/showrunner on a show that I’ve created.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”?
I entered MercenAir as the first 10 pages. 

Why did you make that choice?
I have always felt the first 10-pages are the most important. If you don’t hook the reader in the first 10, I feel it isn’t going to happen. It is exciting to have a reception like this on the first 10. My mom and dad had an Arthur Murray Dance Studio. They were amazing teachers and my dad always had a saying: “A good beginning is a good dance, a bad beginning is a bad dance.” I feel that applies to the first 10 pages as well. 

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?

Movies: Citizen Kane and Godfather II. 
Hands down my favorite show was TAXI, the writing, the cast, the acting. It was the best. It is also very personal for me because Jeff Conaway (Bobby Wheeler, the actor) was my beloved cousin. Jeff got me started as an actor when I was four years old. Jeff was my idol, my mentor and my friend. I was a kid so it was really fun to “visit” with Jeff once a week. All TAXI fans will remember this line: “What does a yellow light mean?”

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Never, ever, ever, ever give up. No. Matter. What. Believe in yourself. Always keep working hard to perfect your craft. Work on it every single day. Set goals for yourself. When I sit down to write, I always match a genre of music to what I am writing and I play that music while I write. It keeps me in the mood, and it motivates and energizes me. Try it, see if it works for you. Writing is a very personal and solitary choice that we have made. We sit there alone for hours, weeks, months, sometimes even years wondering if our work will ever be noticed. Ever be appreciated. Ever “get somewhere.” 
It isn’t easy. Ask yourselves, is there anything else in the world I would rather be doing? Anything else, I could be doing that would make me as happy? If you have an answer think long and hard about doing that, instead.
If you keep coming up with “no” as your answer, that writing is all you want to do, then you will know for sure. And you know you are on the right path. Even if the road seems steep, rocky, and impenetrable at times; if it is what makes your heart beat, then don’t ever give up.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
Thank you for asking.  2022 has been a very prolific and busy year. Currently, I have two features that I wrote: Dark Paradise and a “soon to be re-titled” feature, that are in pre-production. 
I have another feature that is near and dear to my heart. It’s an award-winning biopic: Untethered, about an unforgettable fearless, courageous and desperate woman. She achieved the most incredible, never before accomplished, world-renowned deathdefying feat; with barely any help, and at the age of 63. She will always be my hero. 
I have four television series that are looking for homes: MercenAir, The Dinner, Rosie’s Wall Of Fame (a series I created for the amazing Barbara Bain, based on her idea) and Time Of Your Life. All were FINALISTS in the Wiki screenplay contest.
And, we just started re-writes on a feature, Match Made, that stemmed from a multiaward-winning short film, that I directed and co-produced. We started on that today to be exact. 
I am very excited and focused of having as many “what else you gots?” as possible. I am hoping that all of these thousands of hours, (I surpassed the first 10,000 hours to be an “outlier” in 1980), I am working on my fourth installment [40,000 hours], as I type, will finally come to fruition. 

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  • Home
  • Screenplay Contest
  • TV Script Contest
    • Treatment/Bible Contest
  • Short Film Script Contest
  • Contest Results
    • 2024 Contest Results
    • 2023 Screenplay Contest Results
    • 2022 Screenplay Contest Results
  • FEATURED "WALK OF FAME"
    • MARCIA P. SAMUELS >
      • MARCIA P. SAMUELS BIO
      • Marcia P. Samuels Projects
    • Cary Singleton >
      • Cary Singleton Bio
      • Cary Singleton Projects
    • Michael Elliott
    • Gary DeMoss >
      • GARY DEMOSS BIO
      • GARY DEMOSS PROJECTS
    • Caoimhín Mac an Bhreitheamhan >
      • Caoimhín Mac an Bhreitheamhan PROJECTS
    • JOHN RICHMOND >
      • JOHN RICHMOND PROJECTS
  • 2024 "Walk of Fame"
    • CAROL HOFFMAN
    • DREW ATCHISON
    • THORSTEN SCHADE
    • ANTHONY J ANDERSEN
    • GARY DEMOSS
    • ALI HABIB
    • JOE LEONE
    • MUJLI GLASBERG
    • MEGMILLER
    • NEIL WATSON
    • MARK ROBYN
    • GARY DEMOSS
    • DAVID H. FEIN
    • BROOKE DE ROSA
    • COLLEEN AYCOCK INTERVIEW
    • MARCIA SAMUELS
    • Henry Sarwer-Foner
    • DIANE TOMASSIN
    • TRICIA TRIBBLE
    • RICHARD HUTTNER
    • MICHAEL MONTEIRO
    • SEAN ROPER
    • ROBERT BRIDGE
    • JAMES C. BOYD
    • TOM WHELAN
    • ROBERTO S. OREGEL
    • NONO TAMURA-TASHA HARDY
    • BILL WELLS
    • STUART FRYER
    • MICHAEL GOSSETTE
    • KC BIBO
    • JOSH GOLDMAN
    • JASON WHITE
    • KAREN FRANKOLA
    • BILL JORDAN
    • CHRISTOPHER SCHULTZ
    • CAMERON MARTIN
    • CHARLIE SHOUP
    • JOHN ARNAU
    • PAM PRICE
    • ROB MCNEIL
    • SHANNON MCINTYRE
    • John Richmond
    • JEFF WALKER
    • DONALD MORGAN
    • LIZ MAYER
    • EMILY PELPHREY
    • DEBRA TOBIN
    • ANHTUAN DOVENTRY
    • GREGORY GEORGIOU
    • CAROL HOFFMAN
    • C.R. SHERMAN
    • JAMES FREEMAN
    • HANK ISAAC
    • ERIKA STONE
    • TODD HOLDEN
    • RAVEN PETRETTI-STAMPER
    • ANDREW EDMUNDS
    • ERIC WEBER
    • MOLLY FRANKLIN-LEARY
    • MATTHEW NICHOLSON
    • BRIAN NOLIN
    • ALGIS DANAITIS
    • HANK ISAAC
  • 2025 "Walk of Fame"
    • DARIUS WILSON
    • CHRISTOPHER WALKER
    • EDWARD ABRAHAMS
    • ERIC LOTTER
    • RITA REINECKER
    • BENJAMIN H SEHAT
    • DONOVAN CAGE
    • CHRIS LOVELAND
    • LILY SANDERS
    • RYAN CONRAN
    • MICHAEL HERRMANN
    • DANIEL R STEVENS
    • ADRIANO BELCASTRO
    • MITCHELL BOLING
    • MOHAMED MOHSEN
    • GRANT CHAUNCEY
    • JEFFREY PEMBERTON
    • LISA DUFFY
    • CATHY CIMATO
    • JULIE KOROGODON
    • STEPHANIE GOULD
    • LAWRENCE BERGMAN
    • JOSHUA CARTWRIGHT
    • KEVIN HARPER
    • LILY SANDERS
    • DARREN ANDREW NASH
    • SISI LIU
    • Henry Sarwer-Foner
    • KAREN MARGARET MURPHY
    • JANNE PULKKILA
    • RICHARD HOHENRATH
    • ANTHONY VOLLMER & CRAIG HORWITZ
    • Karen Siff Exkorn
    • GREG STELLEY
    • SUZANNE BUI LOC LUTAS
    • CHRIS CHURILLA
    • ROGER HILL
    • ROY EDMONDSON
    • ERIC LOTTER
    • JORDAN DAVENPORT
    • GREG MCCABE JR
    • TASHA HARDY
    • CATRYN BECKER
    • SEAN FOX
    • SHAUN DELLISKAVE
    • GIACOMO GIAMMATTEO
    • ROGERS WILSON
    • KAT-BYLSKA PRIMARY
    • MACK GORDON
    • Kristopher Pierce
    • Jerzy suchocki
    • DJ Alvine
    • KATE REMELIUS
    • VP BOYLE
    • Mohamed Mohsen
    • Frances Mccoy
    • Neil Goodchild
    • TERRY GEHRING
    • RUSSELL PUNTENNEY
    • TEEJAY SMALL
    • MIKE NIELSEN
    • TOM NEWMAN
    • MARIA GOMEZ
    • PEDRO CANAIS
    • MARK COHEN
    • VAL SERVINO
  • JOIN THE "Walk of Fame"
  • 2023 "WALK OF FAME"
    • JOHN THIBAULT
    • RICHARD HOHENRATH
    • BILL ALBERT
    • Dilece Connor
    • BILL WALKER
    • OZZIE LOGOZZO
    • FRANK CHARLES SCOTT
    • MOLLY VERNON
    • DIANE HALL
    • MARCIA SAMUELS
    • NILES WELICKSON
    • JULIA SAUDER
    • DEANNE GITTENS
    • J. thomas Peterson
    • RICHARD JELLERSON
    • LOUIS LEHRMAN
    • COLI B. SYLLA
    • LISA TRIANO
    • KEVEN WICKHAM
    • CLAUDIA DATO
    • STEVEN HART
    • KATREANA BELLEW
    • BARON ROTZA
    • PAUL HUENEMANN
    • JESUS GONZALEZ
    • WILL SADAROS
    • JOHN KUCZA
    • MAGGIE GRANT
    • ROB NIGHTINGALE
    • CRYSTAL STEVENS
    • LASHAWN KELLEY
    • JOHN RAVITZ
    • JIMMY PROSSER
    • SHAMIRA CLARK
    • WILLIAM LIPERA
    • CANDACE EGAN
    • RANDALL HAHN
    • Elija Maier
    • BARUH BENJAMINS
    • MORGAN RUSSELL
    • LEAH POLLOCK
    • NEIL GOODCHILD
    • Luke Duffy
    • Frank Tomasulo
    • Roy Rhodes
    • Mark Wallinger
    • Travis Levasseur
    • Dermot Davis
    • ERIC GILLIATT
    • MARGARET MORGAN
    • SAM SAMORE-MARIA MARSHALL INTERVIEW
    • THOMAS MCCONE INTERVIEW
    • JOAN BARRETT INTERVIEW
    • JASON NG INTERVIEW
    • CATHY CIMATO INTERVIEW
    • GUY PRIDY INTERVIEW
    • CANDACE EGAN INTERVIEW
    • JACK SHERRY INTERVIEW
  • KEYS TO SUCCESS
    • What Writers Say
    • Why this screenplay contest?
    • Screenwriting Inspiration
  • Judges