On the writing side, I’m nearly finished a short\ncalled “Hugh Was Here,” about a nondescript fellow’s last day at the\noffice that goes terribly wrong. I need to workshop it one more time in my\nscreenwriters group, Upwords, before showing it around. On the producing side,\ndirector Tabatha Golat and I are trying to raise funds to make our latest film,\n“Dougie Dog,” a heartfelt comedy set in an animal shelter. We put\ntogether a proposal and video pitch that was supported by Film Collaborative in\nLos Angeles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NY Glam: What\nmakes a film great for you? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I like to feel engrossed in the world of the\ncharacters. If it’s “Goodfellas,” for example, I like going on the\njourney with Henry Hill as he wants to be a gangster but it’s more complex and violent\nthan he imagined. If it\u2019s a biopic like \u201cMolly\u2019s Game,\u201d or \u201cI, Tonya,\u201d I enjoy experiencing\na person\u2019s life unfold and seeing the choices they make. (Bad decisions often\nmake good stories.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: Are\nthere certain qualities that make a film better for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the qualities I admire is humor. The recent “Ford\nvs. Ferrari,” for example, could have played the subject of car racing pretty\nstraight for the whole movie, but they used humor that developed naturally from\nthe characters. A unique point of view on a subject is often what makes for a\ngreat film. When you think about it, “Drugstore Cowboy” and\n“Trainspotting” are very similar stories–a guy tries to get off\ndrugs and avoid the toxic people of his former life–but the two films are told\nin original ways, using lots of black humor. (Both great, by the way.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: As a\nscreenwriter, what is the most important aspect of building a character? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I aim for an interesting character with a strong\ngoal. If it’s a short film that goal probably isn’t saving the world from an alien\ninvasion, it may be something as small (but important) as a young girl trying\nto stop her parents from bickering in the car. I often like throwing ordinary people\ninto a situation that puts them off-balance and see what they do to make things\nright again. For example, in my script \u201cDarla vs. Hockey,\u201d a newlywed suddenly becomes\na \u201csports widow\u201d and goes to great lengths to win back her hockey-crazy husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think there should be something relatable about the\ncharacter, even if they are a dark character. My stories often begin with a\ntrue event that happened to me or somebody I know, and I extrapolate it. My\nreal estate agent, for example, told me about a woman she caught stealing personal\nitems from open houses and I explored what would motivate somebody to do that\nin \u201cOther People\u2019s Lives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: Top 3\nfavorite projects that you have been involved in?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I loved being involved in “The United Guys\nNetwork.” I wrote the short comedy script and director Tabatha Golat and I\ngot funding from Telus StoryHive. It was a great experience being on set, a privilege\nmost writers don\u2019t get. I learned so much from seeing Tabaha in action, working\nwith our cast and the crew. She created the perfect upbeat atmosphere for a\ncomedy. We were a small team–only about a dozen of us in front of and behind\nthe camera–but we all pitched in and got it shot in three days. For me, it was\nlike going back to school. Seeing the actors interpret my material was mind-blowing,\ninspiring me to write more specifically for them. Ultimately, their performance\nis what ends up on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I enjoyed writing \u201cDougie Dog,\u201d a heartfelt story\nabout a dog dropped off at an animal shelter who is desperate to break free. My\nwife and I have volunteered at our local SPCA for nearly 20 years and Heather\nand I often wondered what the canines were thinking about their experience\nthere. That was the inspiration for a prison break story, told from a dog\u2019s\npoint of view. When I showed it to my director, Tabatha loved the story and\nwe\u2019ve been trying to make the film since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I enjoyed writing the horror-comedy \u201cZombie Corp.\u201d I commute every day on Vancouver transit and while I\u2019m on the train I write down story ideas. They usually are little idea fragments and bits of dialog that need much work shaping them into a script. This story, however, emerged practically whole and I wrote it in an afternoon. After three more drafts and workshopping it twice at my screenwriters group, it\u2019s gone on to win numerous writing awards. Hopefully, making the darned thing will be just as easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: Do you\nexpress yourself creatively in any other ways?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I love music as much as film. I have a huge collection\nof CDs in a variety of genres\u2014blues, soul, gospel, rockabilly, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex,\nCuban–you name it. I love how music creates a certain mood and often tells a\nstory. Especially with blues songs, you can\u2019t beat those cautionary tales from\na well-lived life. For \u201cThe United Guys Network,\u201d we licensed a blues song from\nharmonica master Harpdog Brown and it was perfect for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don’t play an instrument myself but I use a lot of\nmusic structure and emotional directness in both my writing and editing. I work\nas a news editor at Global BC and I love taking the material a cameraman has\nshot and shaping it into a story. It’s a two-minute slice of life told for a 6\no\u2019clock deadline. Fast art. I’ve done this job for many years and still enjoy\nfinding out about other people\u2019s lives. (Yesterday, I worked on an item about a\n16-year-old experienced mountain climber who fell and survived a 400-foot fall\nat Mount Hood, Oregon.) I also thoroughly enjoy working on longer, documentary pieces\nthat take more time and creativity. Really, at the end of the day, it’s all about\nstorytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: What\nadvice would you give to someone who wants to have a career in filmmaking?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn how to tell a good story. Audiences are\nattracted to compelling characters in conflict doing interesting things. Take\nmore time than you might think you need to work on the script because that\u2019s\nthe foundation for everything to follow. It was Hitchcock who said, \u201cTo make a\ngreat film you need three things: the script, the script, and the script.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the business side, network as much as you can\nbecause you can’t do it all yourself. I\u2019m an extrovert but many writers are\nmore introverted by nature so get out there and find others in the business.\nTeam up with talented people to accomplish great things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus and follow-through. Too many people are great\nat starting projects but they lose interest along the way. Or they do finish\nthe script (or film) and they fail to promote it fully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t believe the naysayers and doubters. Many of\nyour friends and family will give reasons why you should be selling plumbing\nparts instead of filmmaking, but don\u2019t listen to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have somebody in your corner. Through all the ups\nand downs, two people are my most ardent supporters, my Aunt Lois and my wife\nHeather. I would have given up years ago had it not been for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn to collaborate. Filmmaking is a team sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn to take feedback and learn from that feedback.\nSet up a writers group and watch how you magically all get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make time to write. It’s so easy to come up with\nreasons not to write. I know life gets in the way sometimes, but nothing gets\ndone until you apply butt to chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: What\ncan we expect from you in 2020?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, more interesting stories and the chance\nto make more films. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY Glam: Where\ncan everyone keep up with you to learn more? \u2026social media\u2026website?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook:www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100008167026174<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nyglamour.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Laurels12-791x1024.png\"){kind=spacer}
www.storyhive.com\/project\/show\/id\/783\ufeff<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n