MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Mariann Danko

An interview with screenwriter Mariann Danko regarding the ScriptVamp/Feature Writing Competition.

A: "Forever and For Always" is a dramatic love story with a supernatural twist that is rooted in my own personal loss.

Yearning for reconciliation after a difficult break-up, a women becomes a devastated wreck when her former lover is tragically killed. Hoping for closure, she returns to the town of their affair for his funeral only to find herself spiraling into a deeper depression.

Her outlook improves when she meets his best friend, who has an equally tragic past. A friendship develops, but the women is not convinced that this relationship is meant to be anything more then a friendship until she pieces together the many mysterious and otherworldly clues/events that have been occurring.

Realizing it is her deceased lover communicating from beyond the grave, the women truly begins to see life and her relationship with the best friend from a different perspective, finally allowing herself the opportunity to move on with her life.

A: I have entered ScriptVamp's Dream Quest: Feature Competition in the past and was very pleased with their feedback and professionalism. It was and is worth every penny spent.

"Forever and For Always" was entered in two other competitions, but did not have the same success as in ScriptVamp's Dream Quest: Feature Competition. The connection to the other side is the thread that weaves through this story and in the end is the ultimate healing factor. I think for some, realizing your loved ones can reach out to you from the other side can be hard to accept.

A: ScriptVamp runs a very professional and organized competition. Every deadline was met and e-mail updates were sent throughout the process. They have also been extremely helpful with guidance and answered questions post the winning announcements.

Plus, they are also very encouraging, which is something every new writer needs. They're the industry insider you can count on and trust.

A: As a single Mom working full-time, my writing time is limited and scattered, but with all that aside I completed the final draft in a little over a year. I shifted gears regarding the direction I was taking with the story mid-way through the development process, so it was like starting over after I had a few months in.

I always work up character and story outlines before getting into the actual script. It helps me to get to know my characters and push and prod the story line before I get to my first draft.

Not sure how many drafts I actually wrote. I tend to push through the first act, proof and rewrite, then move into the second act, proof and rewrite, etc... Then, when I think I'm almost at the threshold of completion, I go through the whole script and proof and push more, till I feel it is as far as I can take it.

A: Final Draft. What a beautiful thing it is.

Being a MAC user, when I first started writing back in the 90's, these software programs weren't as readily available so I created my own template in Quark. It was definitely more time consuming, but it did the trick. Thank God I don't have to do that anymore. Now all my energy goes toward my story.

A: I make an effort to write, read/research or market every day. As I noted in one of the previous questions, my time is very limited, so I find myself being somewhat creative in finding ways to squeeze it in. I wrote most of "Forever and For Always" during my lunch break in e-mails to myself. I would then copy, paste and format in Final Draft at home.

Never knowing when the creative sparks will be ignited, I always keep a notepad with me, so most of my development process is done long hand. With this being the case, my daily totals vary depending on how things unravels.

A: Occasionally I hit a roadblock were my characters or story line aren't flowing smoothly enough for me, but I don't let it stop me, as long as I keep the story moving forward the kinks work themselves out.

I find myself working through the trouble spots on my weekend walks, driving to and from work and early in the morning before my son is up. It's outside chatter in my head that distracts the flow of my story, so in the quiet times I clear the fog and the answers come.

A: My roots are that of a graphic artist. I spent 15 years in the advertising industry before I found my writing voice. After discovering screenwriting books by Syd Field and Lew Hunter I knew this was my calling. It all clicked and I was hooked.

This discovery was back in the mid-nineties. I wrote 2 Romantic Comedy Features and 1 Dark Comedy Short before I met the man of my dreams, had our love child, lost the man, not once, but twice (the basis for ''Forever and For Always''), thus leaving me a single Mom, which put my writing on hold until 2 major health challenges in 2009 forced me to realize it was time to resurrect the passion inside, my screenwriting.

A: I'm an East Coast girl. I haven't been any further West than Texas. At this time I have no plans to move to LA, but one never really knows what the future holds.

A: In addition to getting queries out for "Forever and For Always", I'm also in the development phase for a new romantic comedy. This one is a take on my observations as a recently divorced woman living and working in an East Coast resort town. The season to season life not only affects the work, but the mating habits of the year round inhabitants, especially the men. It breeds the most commitment phobic types I have ever witnessed. They're always afraid something better might just move into town next season. This is something I don't believe has ever been touched on before. There's been plenty of beach life stories, but the season to season thing is something not been addressed. Until you live it, you wouldn't believe it.

Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011