MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Christopher Barron

An interview with screenwriter Christopher Barron regarding the Red Inkworks Writing Competition.

A: "Ill Wind" is a thriller set in an isolated hikers' hut in the White Mountains of N.H. The hero, a recovering alcoholic named Lee Bergren, has brought Brooke, his estranged daughter, to the hut, with hopes of making amends with his past and of reconnecting with Brooke. Then things start to go bad.

A freak summer snowstorm with high winds, knocks out the hut radio, cutting them off. Then Lee finds evidence that some of the other hikers sheltered in the hut may, in fact, be convicted killers. Worse, he discovers that two of the hikers are terrorists who have crossed the Canadian border and hiked down the Appalachian Trail to the hut. Their plan: to hijack the supply helicopter that is due to arrive in the morning and attack the Dartmouth College graduation ceremony with nerve gas.

It is up to Lee to stop them and save his daughter's life.

A: I choose this contest based on the positive comments posted in MovieBytes by past contestants.

Still waiting to hear how "Ill Wind" fares in other contests.

A: Everything about the Red Inkworks contest has met or exceeded my expectations: on time and as advertised.

A: I got very thoughtful feedback on the script. It was clear that Larry Myles, who runs Red Inkworks, "got it".

Because the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, it was helpful principally because it was a much welcomed affirmation that I am not completely mad to be writing screenplays.

That said, I will add that I tend to learn more from negative feedback with respect to my writing. When I submit my writing for review, I generally think what I've written is great. When the reviewer agrees, I feel good, but don't learn much. However when the reviewer says, this is how you can make your script better, I learn something.

A: As a direct result of the contest, I have been contacted by agents, and Larry Myles has recommended "Ill Wind" to a director who is interested.

In my own marketing efforts, having a 1st Prize is a great calling card that builds my credibility.

A: About myself: I’m a recovering architect who spent 20 years marketing software to architects. During that time I wrote several “industrial” scripts, and for a hobby wrote two musical comedies, one of which was produced in the San Francisco Bay area in 2001. For the past year I have been writing screenplays and studying the craft full time.

True fact: My last project as an architect was the University if Baghdad. Then, during the first Gulf War, I worked for the computer company who developed the guidance system for the missiles that blew up the University of Baghdad. There’s a screenplay in there, I’m sure of it.

"Ill Wind" is my second screenplay. My first, "A Ghost in Tokyo" was a finalist in the WriteMovies.com Spring 2004 screenwriting contest. It’s a coming-of-middle-age comedy about a man who finds his passion for life in a Tokyo karaoke bar.

A: I live in Boston, quite happily. In the past 20 years I've lived in Vermont, NYC, Alabama (Ala-BAMa? I hear you cry), N.H., Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

I'll hop a a plane anytime, but right now, I have no interest in another move.

A: One of the challenges a writer faces is dealing with the post-partum depression that comes after typing FADE OUT. I've learned that the best way to deal with that is to always have an idea running in the background about the next script.

So, yes, I'm working on a new script, a comedy, with ideas for two others simmering somewhere in the back of my mind.

Posted Wednesday, December 8, 2004