MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Chris Chalklen

An interview with screenwriter Chris Chalklen regarding the ScriptVamp/Attention Grabber Writing Competition.

A: Trance State Nation

A drugged out, self-proclaimed private investigator is mistaken for an MI6 agent when he inadvertently snaps a Polaroid of a drug lord. Trance State Nation is a druggy, neo-noir dramedy combining a ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Fear and Loathing’ style unreliable narrator with a film-noir, hard-boiled narrator in the likes of ‘Double Indemnity’.

A: I first heard of ScriptVamps Attention Grabber Competition from the website Moviebytes and was convinced to enter Trance State Nation due to the very positive reviews. I have entered the same script in to several other competitions and have so far received at least finalist position in each. I was also a finalist in logline competition 'Three Lines or Less', and Trance State Nation became the second highest voted script on Zoetrope.com for August.

A: ScriptVamp's Attention Grabber Competition is by far the most well organised contest I have entered. I received notification of my position by the deadline they stated, along with my (very helpful and insightful) scorecard and summary.

A: I began writing the script over a year ago during my final year at university. A recipe for a rather unique character had been cooking in my brain for some time and the next stage was to place this guy, Jerrol, in equally strange and unique positions. I designed a crime fueled, neo-noir world for Jerrol to inhabit and planned a vague outline of key events. In fact, the only unplanned section of the script was the ending, the last four or five pages. This was because the third act had changed quite radically in the development stages which made the previous ending irrelevant. After much consideration, I felt that a complete change of tone would be interesting and created a closing scene influenced by 'The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.'

A: I use Celtx to write all my screenplays. If I remember rightly I first heard of this software from the BBC writers room.

A: I try to write as often as possible. I read somewhere a few years ago, deep within the underbelly of the numerous screenplay forums and 'advice from industry professionals' that when writing a screenplay you should write everyday, even if its for only five minutes. Although this seems like good advice to keep the story freshly in ones mind, it's not always possible. I tend to write five days out of the week and the duration of these stints can last from ten minutes to eight hours depending on the days events and/or how well the writing is going.

A: Writers block usually strikes more often in later drafts, when the story and development is near complete. I find that having a short break from concentrating purely on the script and making some room in my mind for other thoughts can sometimes work. Writers block is sometimes my worst enemy and sometimes my writing partner, it can either make me want to scrap a script or push my writing ability to their limits.

A: My writing career is in it's early stages. Whilst at university, studying architecture, screenwriting was more of a hobby, but since graduating it has evolved into an obsession. Trance State Nation was the sixth script that I have started and the second that I have finished. My previous attempts were often scrapped due to writers block or suddenly coming up with a better idea that seemed to make the current script inferior.

A: I recently visited LA and found it to be nothing like I had ever experienced before. Walking amongst A-listers, visiting movie studios and driving past well known filming locations. I would love to live there, but as of yet I'm not sure I'd have enough to give. I'm still (relatively) young and feel it would make sense to try and make a name for myself in England before upgrading to Los Angeles.

A: I'm currently working outside my comfort zone and working on a dramatic screenplay following an autistic author named 'Cassius Cave'. Unlike my previous scripts which have been set in Britain, Cassius Cave is set in the US.

Cassius Cave logline: An elderly, autistic author struggles with senility whilst attempting to write his memoirs with the help of a lifelong imaginary friend who narrates his offbeat life from conception to present.

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2012