A bunch of Facebook friends and I were chatting about how bad movies were. The question was then posed, "What would you write if you could write a move?" Most of the ideas pitched were just as bad as the movies we had discussed. A couple were pretty good. When it was my turn, I pitched a movie idea. People started asking me questions about the premise. The more questions I answered, the more questions that got asked. By the time we finished, I had a whole movie written in my head. I wrote down the ideas, turned it into a script and entered it into a major contest. I won as a semi-finalist in the first contest I ever entered. That was 10 years ago. I'm still writing to this day.
Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould and Craig Mazin are screenwriters that I follow with a passion. Their writing is almost immaculate and, surprisingly, simple. It's logical and it doesn't rely on the tropes and clichés that dominate Hollywood at this moment.
I suffered a brain injury when a child. This prevented me from learning how to read. So when my friends were reading books and comics. I was watching films.
I would see my Dad on weekends, he would let me watch the Friday night films until 7am Saturday. All the great old films.
My friends got into D&D (13 years old) and other role playing games. My lack of reading meant it made it hard for me to participate as a player. So I would make up the scenarios live. I would improv the campaign. We did this every Friday night for years. This sharpened my ability to find and tell story.
We all got jobs. My brother got into TV as a writer. So I worked with him. As an adult I started to educate myself. I still have dyslexia, but tech helps with that.
Then in my late 40s (I think) I decided to start writing what I loved, film.
Watching movies! It sounds glib, but I've always written in different formats, but the more movies I watch, the more movies I want to write, so screenwriting it is.
Bintou, what got me into screenwriting was my finding a paperback copy of the "American Graffiti" screenplay. I liked the form so much that I took (as an elective) a screenwriting class when I was still in college.
Got hooked...and so, from 1980 to 1994, I tried my best to break into screenwriting/TV writing. Then things happened in my life.
In 2016, I got back in to screenwriting after finding a copy of Final Draft 6 on a Power Mac I inherited from a codirector of a documentary movie I was in.
Now that I'm writing again, I'm really having a ball.
And I'm glad you're here on Stage 32, too...and here's wishing you all the VERY BEST!
4 people like this
A bunch of Facebook friends and I were chatting about how bad movies were. The question was then posed, "What would you write if you could write a move?" Most of the ideas pitched were just as bad as the movies we had discussed. A couple were pretty good. When it was my turn, I pitched a movie idea. People started asking me questions about the premise. The more questions I answered, the more questions that got asked. By the time we finished, I had a whole movie written in my head. I wrote down the ideas, turned it into a script and entered it into a major contest. I won as a semi-finalist in the first contest I ever entered. That was 10 years ago. I'm still writing to this day.
4 people like this
Getting into a new medium is always great.
3 people like this
A spark of sudden inspiration.
Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould and Craig Mazin are screenwriters that I follow with a passion. Their writing is almost immaculate and, surprisingly, simple. It's logical and it doesn't rely on the tropes and clichés that dominate Hollywood at this moment.
7 people like this
Long version.
I suffered a brain injury when a child. This prevented me from learning how to read. So when my friends were reading books and comics. I was watching films.
I would see my Dad on weekends, he would let me watch the Friday night films until 7am Saturday. All the great old films.
My friends got into D&D (13 years old) and other role playing games. My lack of reading meant it made it hard for me to participate as a player. So I would make up the scenarios live. I would improv the campaign. We did this every Friday night for years. This sharpened my ability to find and tell story.
We all got jobs. My brother got into TV as a writer. So I worked with him. As an adult I started to educate myself. I still have dyslexia, but tech helps with that.
Then in my late 40s (I think) I decided to start writing what I loved, film.
4 people like this
My love for storytelling.
2 people like this
Dating models and free drugs.
2 people like this
Watching movies! It sounds glib, but I've always written in different formats, but the more movies I watch, the more movies I want to write, so screenwriting it is.
3 people like this
Bintou, what got me into screenwriting was my finding a paperback copy of the "American Graffiti" screenplay. I liked the form so much that I took (as an elective) a screenwriting class when I was still in college.
Got hooked...and so, from 1980 to 1994, I tried my best to break into screenwriting/TV writing. Then things happened in my life.
In 2016, I got back in to screenwriting after finding a copy of Final Draft 6 on a Power Mac I inherited from a codirector of a documentary movie I was in.
Now that I'm writing again, I'm really having a ball.
And I'm glad you're here on Stage 32, too...and here's wishing you all the VERY BEST!
3 people like this
Hi Bintou - it’s great to meet you. What type of screenplays are you writing right now? What genres to do you enjoy bringing to life?
2 people like this
Hey, Sam. I write full-feature screenplays. I write fantasy, mystery, and romance :)