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Screenwriter Interviews
MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Christopher Canole
An interview with screenwriter Christopher Canole regarding the Open Door/Script Magazine Writing Competition.
Q: What's the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?A: Felix the Flyer
The true story of a young Cuban mailman who ran the 1200 miles of the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Louis to reach his goal of running in the 1904 Olympic Marathon. The Marathon itself is one of the most infamous Olympic stories in history; filled with cheating, drug abuse, racism, torturous conditions and non-stop twists and turns that changed the very nature of Marathon races forever. Felix is an inspiration for all underdogs seeking to cross their own finish line with pride, and the good relations Cuba and the United States once had.
A: Scr(i)pt magazine is the industry standard for learning how to write better scripts and marking them, so I figured winning their Open Door contest was a unique opportunity to get my script know by most of the industry first hand rather than the usual online exposure. Almost all contests reward their winners with great access like Inktip.com, but few provide broader exposure that can only be done through a print publication like Scr(i)pt. I entered Felix in as many and varied contests as possible this year to take advantage of the different arenas, and won the WriteMovies.com for internet exposure and place third in the San Diego Film Festival, my hometown contest to meet face-to-face fellow writers at the American Screenwriters Association which will now hold their annual conference at the SDFF. And I figured with an article about my win in Scr(i)pt magazine, people like Andy Garcia, John Leguizamo and Diego Luna might get wind there is a great Latin story they would want to bring to life with their producing, directing and acting talents.
Q: Were you satisfied with the adminstration of the contest? Did they meet their deadlines? Did you receive all the awards that were promised?A: The contest coordinator Zach Gutin, Scr(i)pt editor Shelly Mellott and circulation director William Wood ran their contest as professional as their magazine. Each round was posted on their web site, and Zach called me personally to notify me I had won and asked for my social security number for the First Place check. As I once read in Scr(i)pt magazine my favorite type of writing is on the back of checks. No matter what happens in my future as a screenplay writer, I will always be able to say my first big check came from Scr(i)pt magazine. The online rewards and Writers Store gift certificate came immediately, and the rewards are still coming in. They added their ScriptXpert service to the prize package after my win. And I am looking forward to seeing the article in Scr(i)pt.
Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful?A: I just sent Felix to their ScriptXpert service to get feedback, and distribution to the production companies that sponsor the other Open Door contests. William Wood called me with comments from the entire Scr(i)pt staff pertaining to the script as well as suggestions on how to get Felix optioned, sold and produced.
Q: Has your success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted by any agents, managers or producers?A: Zach Gutin emailed me to arrange a future meeting in their new Los Angeles offices to help me explore more avenues they will help their winners pursue. My impression is that Scr(i)pt is determined to see their contest winners become future success stories in their publication. I’m sure once their article on my win is published, my manager Leslie Rabb of RPM International will be getting more calls. One of the producers of Hotel Rwanda is reading Felix to consider me for his next screenplay. And as always each win brings more exposure and interest on the Inktip.com web site, and the new Moviebytes.com Pro services that tracks both the downloading of my information from their site as well as listing Felix as first in Sports, and second in both Biography and Action/Adventure in their WinningScripts.com national ratings.
A: I am a union set photographer and actor who decided it was time to create my own stories. In the past three years I have written eleven screenplays: Bloodgroove (60’s college story), Drawn Together (political thriller), DVD Day (science fiction doomsday), Spring Snow (Mishima novel adaptation for my PhD in literature), Runaway Horses (Another Mishima), Z.I.A. (Family Zoo story), Counter-Clockwise (Science fiction romance), Felix the Flyer (sports biography), Pen Dragon (comic book fable), and The Last Limo (post 9/11 American Odyssey).
Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?A: I live in La Jolla, California and thanks to Amtrak I head up to LA every time someone needs a face-to-face.
Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?A: Due to my background as a fencer, and popularity of my two female lead character scripts on the Inktip.com web site (2000 downloads in just six months), I am currently writing “Her Swastika Sword” a sports bio-pic about Helene Mayer the Jewish-German Olympic fencer who crossed-swords with everyone from the American Olympic committee to the Nazi organizers for her own mysterious motives. And I am reading up on the Mau Mau uprisings in case the Rwanda producers call.
Posted Friday, November 4, 2005
