MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Jonathan Harnisch

An interview with screenwriter Jonathan Harnisch regarding the Writers Place Writing Competition.

A: I entered a coming of age drama script called Freak. It took me a while to choose the right title for the draft I submitted to the Writers Place. In fact an earlier version of Freak (entitled Angst) was a finalist at TWP in 2006. Even after a couple of drastic changes, the core of the plot remained intact for some time, off and on, since the late 90s when the idea was first born. I was a little obsessive about trying to get everything right while maintaining a sense of originality and craftsmanship, which seems to have paid off. Freak is about a kind of underdog, Ryan. He's a new transfer student at an elite New England boarding school although he doesn't come from a wealthy family, in fact a very ordinary one. But his family is dysfunctional, and Ryan has Tourette's, which is partly where the story's autobiographical. Psychologically, although he's quite a charming dude on the outside, Ryan suffers from very low self-esteem. Bullies love to taunt him. However, with the help of the jock-dujour's very sympathetic girlfriend, and one of their teachers who also comes full circle, Ryan finds that like him, everyone has their own personal problems to face and resolve. What is most significant is how each person deals with his or her imps and demons, finding ‘what's right with me’, and succeeding in moving all else in the other direction. Freak is a story of love and hope and healing. Think Good Will Hunting, or a modern day Dead Poets Society.

A: Because the Writers Place acknowledged the earlier version of Freak (as Angst) as a finalist, I thought I’d do some more work and re-send the April ’07 draft. The script was doing quite well in several other competitions (Slamdance, Screenwriting Expo 5, Gloria Int’l FF, Queens Int’l FF, Filmmakers International, American Gem, Bare Bones…) usually as some kind of finalist or selection in festivals, but it still was not getting placed in the top 3. And while I was aware that the competitions, like those entered through WithoutABox were generally a numbers game -- the more one entered, the better the chances -- I continued to persist with revisions, so that I could make many submissions, perhaps 10 or so per draft. I could then see which story points, and which draft was appealing to the most people.

A: Not yet, but the administration has been very helpful and have been communicating quite well with me since they notified me about Freak’s win on 1 July.

A: TWP did not comment on anything specific about Freak. However, I have been a coverage junkie for quite some time, so I’d hope to win back some of the costs I’ve put out over the years. Scriptshark gave me some really great comments and even put the script on their Scouting Service at no charge, although they later said it was going to be a tough sell. Ironically I have not heard from anybody at Scriptshark since – about a year later.

A: Looking forward to that. It’s still a little too soon. I do have about 10 or so interested including legit parties who requested my script from a few mailings I did several weeks ago. As for the Writers Place, they’ve requested another 5 hard copies, synopsis and logline, so we’ll just have to see who is biting.

A: I’ve written several shorts including Ten Years (1999) which I also directed, and a historical drama, which is still in development. I have just had my first novel, in the genre of transgressive fiction, returned to me from the editors who gave it one last polish. I’ll be starting to send that out within a month or so, with fingers crossed. I studied at NYU’s Film Program for a couple years and am otherwise self-taught. It’s strange because I’m a terrible reader.

A: Actually, I just moved away from Los Angeles to New Mexico, where I’m more inclined to write fiction and take meetings over the phone or internet, if and when they come up as result of my filming endeavors.

A: I’ve been messing around with the idea of adapting my novel into the next Fight Club movie script, but right now it’s time for the business part of the writing. As always I have so many ideas running around. I’ll just have to tap into one of these and give it some time for my next baby to flourish. I plan on really digging into my writing again, full-on in September.

Posted Sunday, July 22, 2007