MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Robert Heske

An interview with screenwriter Robert Heske regarding the Get Initiative Writing Competition.

A: LOVE STUPID is about a love saboteur (MARK MORONE) who, cursed from a childhood event, truly believes love is a dangerous thing. Everytime a relationship gets serious, Mark does something stupid to break it off.

Just when Mark finally decides to write off romance, the perfect woman (HOPE) literally falls into his life. Against his own best judgement, Mark falls for Hope too. The question is: can Mark overcome his self-sabotaging ways and give love a fighting chance ... or will Mark be forever doomed to "love stupid"?

The screenplay was written by myself and Kevin Passarelli.

A: We liked the size of the contest - it wasn't one of those mega contests where one script in 8,000 has a chance to crack the finalists. Like our protagonist, we felt GET INITIATIVE gave our script LOVE STUPID "a fighting chance". Plus, after winning and talking to Cameron Counts (the contest sponsor) on the phone, it seems like his heart is in the right place and he truly wants to help the writer with The Writing Initiative.

As for other contests, a prior version of LOVE STUPID was submitted to last year's San Diego Film Festival. Didn't win but we did get an email from Lisa Alden (who writes for HBO's Entourage) giving kudos on the voice and humor. However, several other scripts (shorts and features) have placed as finalist, semi-finalist, and quarter-finalist in other major contests.

A: Actually, they were pretty late announcing the winners. Still the results were good, so who are we to complain? Plus, the contest was posted on Moviebytes.com relatively quickly after the winners were announced. Definitely good PR talking with you guys - thanks for the opportunity!

A: Just some verbal feedback which was all that was expected. Since the script won, the feedback was pretty positive. However, Kevin and I have already completed a rewrite of the script based on other feedback we've received from trusted sources.

A: Not yet, but it's early. We're keeping our fingers crossed. So anyone out there interested in a funny, low production script ... give us a shout.

A: Actually, we wrote this script (the first draft) a few years ago after Kevin got tired of me bitching about a very bad relationship. I told him "I love stupid ... in fact, DAMMIT, I'm gonna write a script about it!" Since that time, Kevin got married and started a family while I received a certificate from Emerson College's Graduate Screenwriting Certificate Program and was a script reader for Scout Productions.

We've teamed on one other comedy (BINGO BANGO) about a nebbish BINGO caller who inherits a lucky BINGO dauber from the luckiest old lady in town and has a swift change of fortune. It was a quarter-finalist in the Expose It! comedy contest.

As for myself, I have a few animation pieces represented by Story Arts Management, a great management boutique located in Boston, Mass. Also, I have a website at www.bobheske.com and have some scripts and shorts posted on InkTip.com.

See what happens when you ask people to talk about themselves?

A: No. But I've been to some terrific ASA conferences out there. As for moving, I'd have to ask my fiancee. (Yep, after all these years of "loving stupid," I finally found the perfect woman for me.)

A: Aside from the rewrite of LOVE STUPID, I just wrote a treatment for an animated movie which is currently being shopped around. Next up is a short about paranoid couples discussing conspiracy theories over dinner - even worse than talking about politics!

Thanks for talking scripts with us.

Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2005