MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Sam Buttari

An interview with screenwriter Sam Buttari regarding the Poppy Jasper Writing Competition.

A: "OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD is a story about two 11 year old boys who are given a school assignment to write a one page story on what they think heaven is like. When the Grandfather of one of the boys hears about the assignment, he tells his grandson that he had been to Heaven once, when he climbed to the top of a mountain at age 11. This story inspires the boys to seek out that mountain and make their own pilgrimage to Heaven.

A: I had been contemplating making a short film for some time, and felt this one might be worth doing. I thought that entering a contest would be something of a litmus test for the material -- a way to gauge whether my script was actually worthy of making.

This is the first and only time I've entered this script in a competition.

A: The contest was well organized right from the beginning. Immediately after entering, they sent me a confirmation email stating that my script and all the necessary paper-work was received and in order. Just days before the date of the official announcement of winners, I was informed that I'd won the contest through an email. Immediately afterwards, the administrators sent along my prize and helped schedule my script conference with screenwriter Victor Miller.

A: As part of my prize for winning, I was given a one hour script consultation over the phone with screenwriter Victor Miller. His understanding of the craft of scriptwriting didn't surprise me -- I expected no less from an an award winning writer with a ton of credits. What surprised me was how prepared he was for our conference, and how well he was able to communicate with me. He had obviously read my script a couple of times and was bursting with ideas to improve it. I appreciated the fact that he never held back his opinion. He explained what he liked about the script and what he felt needed further attention. He offered more than a few alternate lines, which really floored me. Along the way, I asked him questions from a list I had prepared in advance, and he was able to answer them in a way that showed he knew the script backwards and forwards. Suffice to say that my recently completed re-write is a definite improvement.

A: In the three weeks since winning the contest, I've heard from an indy producer looking to make a short film.

A: I received an MFA in Film from NYU, and have had a varied background ever since, having worked in fields ranging from Publishing to Video Production. I've written many feature length screenplays, and have had a few agents along the way as well.

A: I've lived in the NY metropolitan area most of my life. I've contemplated a move to the L.A., but have decided to stay put until something resembling a firm offer from the coast coaxes me out there.

A: I've been busy polishing a feature version of "OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD".

I hope to make a short film of OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD as a way of creating a "buzz" to entice a producer to wanna make the feature version.

I'm always working on a new script, or rewriting older ones.

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008