MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Annie Elizabeth Ryan

An interview with screenwriter Annie Elizabeth Ryan regarding the Cinema City Online Writing Competition.

A: "When Eyes Go Dark."

LOGLINE: An aspiring journalist helps a Chicago detective investigate the suspicious death of his brother in Montreal, Canada.

A: I have placed at Cinema City International Film Festival before with a previous script, though not as highly as this time. CCIFF raises funds for wounded veterans, is very well run, and is reputable.

I have entered other contests with this script. I placed as a Silver Winner in the 2010 Colorado International Film Festival, as a Top Finalist in the 2010 Red Inkworks Screenwriting Competition, and as a Semifinalist in the 2009 Screenplay Search and Analysis Competition.

A: I was very satisfied with the administration of the test. I was notified of the results within a month and a half of entering, and all deadlines were met. I received awards that were not even advertised. Ms. DeLaurentiis was very professional, encouraging, and generous.

A: It took me about a year and a half and eight drafts before I started placing as a Finalist and Silver Winner.

I did outline the story several times. First I did a story treatment (one to seven page story outline), then I wrote up character bios. I then went on to do research. By the time I completed my second draft I went to my screenwriting group and attended Women in Film and Video's Script DC weekend and was given notes by five Hollywood producers.

At that point I went back to the script and continued polishing and re-writing the story. I even did more research. I attended an acting class at Shakespeare Theater Company, and then polished up the dialogue in the script. At that point it started to do well in the contests that I entered.

A: I wrote the script on Movie Magic Software (2006). I wrote up the story outline on Windows XP Word (2005).

A: I do write everyday at least an hour a day, but probably closer to four to eight hours per day. I write in a variety of genres including poetry, short stories, one-act plays, essays, and in the past I wrote for my college's student paper.

A: I do sometimes go through periods of not writing in a particular genre, although I usually can write. When I don't feel like writing, then I don't. I simply attend a play, plan out my next short film, watch movies, listen to music, visit with my relatives, go out with friends... however, the best cure for writer's block that I have found is to go for a nature walk and just explore my world through photography. I find abstract painting to also be quite helpful.

The mind knows what it needs to stimulate creativity. Sometimes one needs to just de-clutter her office or fill up the inner storehouse with things that confound, entertain, or move her emotionally. The more one says yes to herself, her inclinations the more unblocked she will become.

A: I have written another screenplay, "Scurvy Dogs," which is a historical drama/chase story. It placed as a Finalist in the 2009 Cinema City International Film Festival, the 2008 Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Competition, and the 2008 Red Inkworks Screenwriting Competition's top 100.

A: I do not live in L.A. though I have visited, including in order to attend TVI Actors Studio One Week Actor's Intensive which was one of the most phenomenal classes I have ever taken.

I would definitely consider moving to L.A. if the circumstances were right.

A: Right now I am working on my third screenplay, and I have at least three other feature screenplay stories brewing. I am half way finished with a rough draft on the third screenplay, so that will be my focus once I have completed post production on my second short film.

The short is titled "Tight Rope," and I wrote, directed, and produced it independently.

Posted Friday, October 22, 2010