MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Joe Randazzo

An interview with screenwriter Joe Randazzo regarding the Shriekfest Writing Competition.

A: The title is "The Last Request" and it's a ghost story about an elderly man who asks his son to find out what happened to his first love fifty years before.

A: I figured a horror festival would be a good start, so I submitted it and before long I was in the semi-finals, then the finals and it culminated in a 2nd Place award.

"Last Request" was also entered into the Twin Rivers Media Festival where it is a finalist as of this interview. I should find out the result later this month. It also won the 1st Place Short Drama at The Indie Gathering this year.

A: I was very happy with the administration.

A: I didn't really ask for any. I'm sure if I asked, I would have received it.

A: I've been contacted a few times, but nothing has come out of it yet. I can say I'm being taken much more seriously now than I was before the festival.

A: I began writing screenplays in high school. I finished my first feature at age 16 and it was terrible. Thankfully, I had three excellent teachers in high school, John Yanello, George MacLarty and Michael Behlen, who were supportive of me. After graduating high school I eventually went on to the School of Visual Arts in New York City and there I had Everett Aison who is a wonderful screenwriting teacher. The man is brutally honest and I respected that in him. If something I wrote was awful, I could expect to hear it, but also he'd tell me how to make it better. On the other hand, if it was great, he would praise you.

A: No, I'm based in New York and I pretty much plan on staying on the east coast. That's not to say I wouldn't go out to LA if needed, but I just couldn't live there due to the climate.

A: I'm always working on several scripts. October 2007 begins a new year for me. Shriekfest is where my year begins. I debut all my genre work there every year.

Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007