ZEPHYR QUINTAIN
 ZEPHYR QUINTAIN
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I currently reside in the small village of Ancaster, near Grantham in the East Midlands of the U.K., the hometown of Sir Isaac Newton and Margaret Thatcher. 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 Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’ [2018] and Coralie Fargeat’s ‘Revenge’ [2017]. The idea of the female-centric revenge story has always appealed to me, offering a different range of narrative dynamics than the traditional one-man-army revenge plot, such as ‘Man on Fire’ and ‘Death Wish’. I have always been fascinated by the grim fantasy of bringing justice for those who have been denied it. However, I found that most revenge films have a simplified black-and-white morality with clear heroes and villains. I wanted to explore a main character whose motivations for revenge are more complicated. The main character, Joni Darrington, in ‘At Close of Day’ is a more complex version of the vengeful mother archetype. She is desperate to make up for her own failings regarding her dead son, Reuben, whom she abandoned as a child, as he was a product of abuse by her stepfather. Her revenge is tinged with a shot at her own redemption. As a counterpoint, I created a contrasting character in Zeke Devlin, the son of Darius Devlin, the man who killed Reuben. Joni kidnaps Zeke to draw out Darius Devlin, Reuben’s murderer, but as he begins to challenge Joni’s desire for revenge, he points toward the alternative of forgiveness and achieving her own redemption. I chose a feature film script because it offered a more immediate writing mode than a novel, and its scope was broader than that of a short story. I wanted to explore the issue of revenge versus forgiveness by having the avenger, Joni, challenged by the son of her son’s murderer, Zeke. A film feature screenplay was a good way for me to develop the story as a two-hander, with the opposing arguments of revenge versus forgiveness debated in all their complexity, enabling both Joni and Zeke space for their arcs to shift from their starting points. 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 3 months to write At Close of Day. I started with John Truby’s Anatomy of Story and Blockbuster software to develop the story structure, then used Dramatica to further develop the thematic and character throughlines. I found the 4 storylines structure in Dramatica [Overall Story, Main Character, Impact Character and the Relationship Storyline] useful in developing the central plot, then combined the Impact, Main Character and their relationship at a deeper level than previously planned. The contrasting arcs of Joni going from anger to redemption and Zeke going in the other direction added the layer of complexity I was looking for. This added a deeper level of Thematic complexity than the usual revenge story fare. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? Ever since I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, I have always wanted to be a storyteller. I began studying screenwriting with books from the library. But, like Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face; this somewhat describes me, as life took me down a long detour as a teacher of Film and Media Studies and English. But every cloud and all that jazz applied, as my teaching experience enriched my understanding of film theory, narrative, and language and gave me one of the best experiences in the world by sharing a learning journey with the excitable and eager minds of students. I saw firsthand how spellbinding storytelling can be and the emotional impact of characters and storylines on the audience. I have always wanted to be able to bring joy and thought-provoking ideas to an audience. My ambition is to bring a fresh view to universal themes. I always remember how films and stories have made me feel part of something bigger and that I am not alone; as a story resonates with me, it resonates with millions of others, but in a personal way. I have always wanted to be able to do the same with my stories. Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice? I wanted to have my script evaluated in its entirety and get a detailed perspective on its strengths and weaknesses so I can work it into the best version it can be. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why? It has to be Neil Jordan’s, The Crying Game [1992]. Being the son of a Northern Irish father, it was the first film that contrasted a typical plotline about the Troubles in Northern Ireland with a touching agape love story between the main character and the lover of the British soldier he kidnapped and tried to help flee, only for him to get killed by an oncoming truck as he ran for his freedom. It contains one of the most surprising and original twists in cinema history. For me, it has it all: elements of thriller, romance, suspense, narrative twists, characters grappling with guilt and identity, mixed up with the beautiful lyricism of the centuries-old Irish tragedy interwoven with offbeat Irish humour. And the metaphor of the Frog and Scorpion was a truly inspired piece of subtextual writing. What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist, as you have? Spend the time early on really crafting the structure and characters. The time spent will make it easier to write the actual script. Story and character structure paradigms, like Save the Cat and Dramatica, are great springboards for your story, but don’t be too wedded to them. Let them be the foundations for you to build on. I always try to put my characters into almost impossible dilemmas, where they choose and lose something either way they go. I prefer the bittersweet to a spoonful of sugar. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? I have three other feature screenplays that I am entering into competitions alongside At Close of Day. ‘United We Stand’ is a social realist drama about a group of teens who start a paper deliverers union in the 1990s in a closed-down coal mining town in England. ‘The Last Audition’ is a road trip from hell comedy following two down-on-their-luck actors trying to get to the audition of a lifetime at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. ‘The Omega’ Cross is a slick heist film where two con artists are forced to steal a priceless medieval artefact for a ruthless Russian crime lord, with death as the outcome of failure. I have 3 shorts: a fantasy, ‘Gabrielle’ follows a boy grieving the loss of his mother, visited by a wounded angel who is being chased by a dark spirit. The shady ghoul promises to take away his sadness forever, and the angel tries to convince the boy not to wipe out the memory of his mother. ‘Sunset Dawning’ is about an old prisoner taking an impressionable newbie under his wing, hoping to show him the true price of a life of crime. ‘Products of Conception’ is a sci-fi body horror, dealing with a new smart cell technology that can reconstitute dead organic material being let loose in a mortuary with horrifying consequences. I am currently working on a TV sitcom entitled ‘Mascot’ about a wannabe musician, Will, being forced to take a working gig as one half of the local football club Mascot couple. His Mascot teammate is an old lady, Doris, who teaches Will the true meaning of entertaining the masses. Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.) Email: [email protected] Facebook: Facebook.com/ZephyrQuintain X: https://x.com/ZephyrQuintain BlueSky: Zephyr Quintain Film Freeway: https://filmfreeway.com/ZephyrQuintain Word Count: 1300 |
