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Screenwriter Interviews
MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Mary Santarelli
An interview with screenwriter Mary Santarelli regarding the Chicago ScriptWorks Writing Competition.
Q: What's the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?A: "The Eulogist" is the tale of NY Times obituary writer Marshall Fuller, who finds a niche penning eulogies for ego-driven socialites, then lands a client who turns his life upside down.
Q: What made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests with this script? If so, how did you do?A: I was drawn to the prize: a staged reading with professional actors. I knew how beneficial it would be for me, as a writer, to actually see these characters with life and dimension.
Q: Were you satisfied with the adminstration of the contest? Did they meet their deadlines? Did you receive all the awards that were promised?A: Chicago ScriptWorks was very well-organized and accommodating. They even added a second show because the first reading sold out.
Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful?A: Most of the feedback was positive and more complimentary than I could have imagined. I'm always my strongest critic, so I've revised some scenes based on the impressions of the staged reading.
Q: Has your success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted by any agents, managers or producers?A: My script is still in the hands of several producers considering the material.
Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts?A: My first script, "Giving Sun Away," won 2nd place in the 2006 Wisconsin Screenwriters' Forum Contest.
Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?A: I travel to L.A., but I'd never live there permanently. I have to be where I'm inspired, and Wisconsin is "it" for me.
Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?A: I've begun "Daisy Road," a family dramedy about a semi-truck driver who finds himself in a role he never imagined: caring for his young granddaughter, Daisy. Next on the slate is "Casa Notte," a dark comedy about elderly ex-mafioso living together in a retirement mansion, who begin to extract the secret of Jimmy Hoffa's burial site from a resident who, in the early stages of dementia, babbles about the past.
Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007
