MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Martin Lager

An interview with screenwriter Martin Lager regarding the Wildsound Writing Competition.

A: The feature-length screenplay is a family comedy, entitled "My Khrushchev September". It's 1959 in Toronto, and a 12 year-old lad can't understand why his dad and grandfather continually argue about some Russian guys named Stalin and Khrushchev, to the point where grandpa, an old hard-line left-winger, refuses to come to his grandson's bar mitzvah, fast approaching. Dad quit the left wing movement when the revelations about Stalin's murderous excesses became public in 1956, as did many believers, even splitting families into different political camps. Now the cold war rages at home. When the boy learns that Nikita Khrushchev, the premier of the Soviet Union is coming to America, he hatches an intricate plan to intercept Khrushchev in the unlikely city of Des Moines, Iowa, in order to solve the family's political arguements. With the help of a nerdy buddy to cover for him, the young lad sets off on an adventurous trek to the U.S., where he is forced to overcome innumerable obstacles in his seemingly impossible mission. His circuitous and improbable journey finally brings the boy to Iowa and a confrontation with the Russian premier that yields answers that neither he nor Premier Khruschev expected, including a planned joint venture to Disneyland.

A: The Wildsound Screenplay Reading Series is a competition that offers an opportunity to have one's screenplay given a staged reading by a cast of professional actors. This can be a terrific chance for the writer to get a sense of what's working in a script and what isn't, as well as being a public event to which one can invite industry agents and producers.

This is the first time I entered the completed screenplay in a competition. A few years earlier, I received funding from Telefilm Canada through their Screenplay Assistance Program, which allowed me to develop the script from a five-page outline to a 25-page treatment, and then ultimately into a first-draft screenplay. It was one of 35 awards given from 185 submissions. Right now, the script is in its 11th draft, which is the version I entered into Wildsound's competition.

Wildsound received about 70 screenplays from all over North America to this competition, out of which 10 were chosen as finalists (as noted in Wildsound's posting in MovieBytes). Of the 10, three were picked to have their first acts given a staged reading, in what Wildsound calls an "Act-to-Act-to-Act" competition. The audience of about 80 people voted on their favourite screenplay. As well, videos of all three first-act readings were posted on Wildsound's website and viewers were invited to vote on-line for their preference. The voting procedure lasted for a month, at which time my screenplay was voted the favourite of the three. In effect, it was the winner out of all the submissions.

A: The competition was handled in a fully professional manner, with all the deadlines met. And having won the competition, I certainly can't argue with the outcome, being that the "award" was the staged reading by a professional cast in front of a live audience that allowed me to gauge the audience's reaction. Being a comedy, it was gratifying to hear the laughter that greeted the screenplay throughout the reading.

A: The feedback I received on the screenplay came from the moderators who attended the readings, and offered their suggestions and reactions, as well as fielding comments from the audience.

There were two different commentators for the two events, and both of them were fully professional people, one a distinguished director, and the other a highly-qualified producer/story editor. Both were exceedingly helpful, and now I'm back at work on the 12th draft. I'm very used to the rewriting process, and always want a script to be as good as I can make it. There was the suggestion at the reading of the full script that all it needed now was a director.

Although I did not receive a written analysis of this script, since it got the feedback from the moderators and audiences, I understand that Wildsound offers a written analysis of all the scripts submitted.

A: At this moment, I'm in discussion with agents and producers to ascertain their interest in the script. I hope to know more in a few weeks, perhaps by the time this interview is printed, if it is printed.

I have received very positive feedback from a number of professionals in the industry here, so we'll see what happens soon. Certainly winning this contest is a plus in any discussions that I'll be having.

A: I guess you could say that my background is quite extensive. I began my career as an actor, working professionally in film, TV, and on stage for a good 10 years. Acting took me all over Canada and the United States, touring with contemporary and classical works, including a lot of Willie Shakespeare.

I began my writing career as a playwright in the theatre, my first love, so to speak. I have fifteen produced stage plays to my credit. I got my film feet wet at the National Film Board of Canada, where I wrote officer training films for the Canadian air force and navy, as well as important instructional films such as "How to Manage your Woodlot". Since those early days, I went on to write a lot of anthology TV scripts, was the story editor/writer on seven television series, had six feature-length screenplays produced, spent five years as Executive Producer of Drama for the CTV Television Network where I supervised all of our co-productions, and have conducted numerous workshops on creative writing, film and television script writing, and playwrighting. I teach part-time at a college, and am just beginning my fifth year teaching a course on the history of film television and radio.

A: I have no plans to move to Los Angeles. I'm happy to stop in for any meetings, even stick around to do rewrites, but I've been to L.A. many times in my capacity as a network executive to prefer living here in Canada. I live in the city of Thornhill, Ontario, on the outskirts of Toronto. So I have access to all the major industry players in the city.

There were U.S. offers in the past but I preferred to be involved in what was more of a pioneering effort here than to being a cog in the great industry wheel of Los Angeles. Call me a fool, if you will, considering the money I might have made. But I've actually survived as a writer in my own backyard, and have had the opportunity to be in on many groundbreaking projects.

My wife is a successful journalist and also a college instructor, and wouldn't be interested in uprooting. As well, my older daughter is a television producer, presently working for an animation production house, and my younger daughter is at University, majoring in theatre. The younger one might someday seek her fortune in the U.S. as an actress, but that will be up to her. As for me, I'll happily attend the Academy Awards if I'm ever nominated. Actually, I was nominated for a Genie Screenplay Award some years ago. Didn't win, but it was great to be one of five scripts nominated and given the red-carpet treatment.

A: I guess I'm always working on a new script, and continuing to do rewrites on some existing screenplays. I'm doing some "tweaking" on the "Khrushchev" script, plus some polishing on two other screenplays, one of which was a finalist in the "Find the Funny" competition last year.

I suppose I'll keep on writing until senility sets in. For that matter, I'll probably continue writing even then. Who knows, the work may get better. Certainly some of the movies I've seen recently appear to be the handiwork of some mentally deficient scribes. It gives me hope for the future.

Posted Thursday, January 10, 2008