MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Robert Hestand

An interview with screenwriter Robert Hestand regarding the ScriptVamp/Attention Grabber Writing Competition.

A: My script is called THE N WORD. It involves a white cop who poses as a racist to bait the Governor into hosting a politically-inspired "beer summit" as a desperate attempt to beg clemency for his best friend on death row... who just happens to be black.

I've always been a fan of movies that take a comedic look at serious social subjects (films like "Blazing Saddles" or even more recently "Borat"), and in this case I wanted to examine contemporary race relations through a comedic lens. The title is obviously meant to be provocative, but I tried to integrate an honest thematic "message" of cultural vocabulary within the compounding absurdities. It was a thrilling creative challenge walking this admittedly fine line.

A: I was drawn to the idea of judging a script solely on the opening. (It killed me that my first little "twist" came on p. 11.)

This is actually the first contest, with any script, that I've entered. It will serve as a nice bookend because with my luck and the competition out there it will probably be the last I will place in.

A: Very satisfied. Comments were timely, accommodating, and right on par with professional-grade coverage.

A: I'm currently on an 11-week thing now, but I seem to juggle "decent" scripts with "incredibly shitty" scripts, so from start to finish it's more like six months. I do, however, aggressively outline my stories until they're 100% rock solid, ready to execute.

Then, of course, the rough draft breaks my heart.

A: Final Draft. I tried using Excel, but my scripts were WAY too formulaic.

(Sorry for that.)

A: My goal is 6 hours/day, which means I write about 2 hours/day.

A: I'm a big proponent of getting some distance from your material every once in a while. For me, this prevents blocking and burnout. Obviously discipline plays a factor too, and I'm constantly having to remind myself that (especially in the rough draft) it doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be written.

A: I'm not going to lie and embellish my background here, so I'll just say that I got a $30 check for a poem once and cashed it immediately.

A: Lived in L.A. for 10 years and I actually did lots of great not-writing there (also some not-making-money and not-getting-laid). I'm out there every month or so, and I always ask myself the same two questions:

Why did I ever live here?

&

Why did I ever leave?

A: I have a couple new comedies that my Mom thinks are hilarious.

Posted Thursday, February 17, 2011