MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Michael Edwards

An interview with screenwriter Michael Edwards regarding the Moondance Writing Competition.

A: ROUGHNECKS! Jazzmyn a former Ms.Oklahoman inherits her dad's daredevil oilfield fire fighting team and leads them into battle against the world's largest underground fire. When Ben is killed in a heliocopter crash, Jazzmyn inherits Wildcat Inc. After the funeral the roughnecks quit because,"I ain't gonna work for no woman." The next day Jazzmyn vows over her Father's grave that she will not fly again but will continue on with Wildcat. After taking over the business she is threatened by Harold," If you don't make good on your Dad's contracts in Louisiana I will put a lien against Wildcat and forclose." Jazzmyn rounds up the roughnecks a la wizard of oz style and swings into action. After one of Harold's wild wells is capped the natural gas mirgrates into the town of Hancock and knocks down the two water towers leaving no water for the fire department. A flare erupts blowing up the hot dog stand at a high school baseball game. They use a gizmo called S.A.I.N.T. to track the natural gas and drown it. Harold is afraid of law suits and flees the country. Jazzmyn recoups her losses by foreclosing on Harold. Thanks, Mike

A: I worked in the oilfields for years and I know how crooked they are. Harold is a fine example of their kind. I learned that Moondance is concerned with the envirement and so am I. I have entered ROUGHNECKS! in two contests: Moondance and the Houston International. I have won only one contest. I have finished another screenplay called,"THE BLUE ROOM" Kay an evangelist hopeful is posessed by Pope Innocent the Tenth committed to an insane asylum where she does a do-it-yourself exorisim and becomes the World's greatest exorist! The Blue Room will be entered in a contest soon.

A: Yes, Moondance meet their deadlines on time. I enjoyed the call from the administrator notifing me of a first place win but hated to tell her I was moving into a new home that day and couldn't be there to accept the award in NYC. I curse all moving deadlines from this day forward.

A: It took three years to finally get a finished script. I had to read several books on screenplay writing. Working with an outline that was changed many times. Writing about a crew is difficult espically when it is your first time. I wrote four different drafts and worked on THE BLUE ROOM a totally different gendra to increase my ablities. Nothing good comes without hard work.

A: I used a pen and paper up to Oct. of 2011. I bought a laptop and a Final Draft8 program. Talk about shifting gears!

A: Yes, I write every day starting at sunrise and writing until 1 or 1:30 when I eat. After lunch I edit. I love to write around 9 or 10 hours a day. Last week I wrote,"THE GHOST RIG," a first rough draft in 8 days. My skills are catching up to my imagination. I polished and edited 30 pages of THE GHOST RIG today.

A: Yes, I believe everyone gets writer's block at one time or another. The best way to deal with it is to go solve the problem that is bothering you so you can get back to writing.

A: I was raised in Oklahoma. I made straight A's all the way through High School. I went to the SKYTRAIN every Saturaday and watched movies. I told my brother that someday I would make movies. I will. My completed screenplays are ROUGHNECKS!, and THE BLUE ROOM. First rough drafts include HACKSAW AND ROCKY, SALEM, INTERGALTIC TRAVELER #3 and THE GHOST RIG. HACKSAW AND ROCKY is a 007 style script while THE GHOST RIG is a horror style flick. Those last two are nearly finished.

A: I do not live in the L.A. area but would move there in a heartbeat if a decent offer was given to me.

A: I am hot-to-trot to finish THE GHOST RIG. It has a budget of $800,000 or less and is the type of screenplay that will make a name and money.

Posted Friday, September 14, 2012