MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Jeff Lewis

An interview with screenwriter Jeff Lewis regarding the Hollywood Nexus Writing Competition.

A: BENDING SPOONS A bright witty fifteen year old girl discoveres she has a life threatening disease so she befriends a mortician to learn about death but in the process teaches the undertaker everything about living.

A: I found it on moviebytes.com.

I entered in RED INKS and came in 8th.

A: I'm new at this contest thing, period. I was more than pleased with the way those fine people at NEXUS and RED INKS treated me. They delivered everything promised and much more.

A: In Red Inks I entered two scripts and received a clear, easy to understand packet of several pages of typed notes on my script 1040-EASY.

NEXUS gave me a very professional five pages of score sheets.

I'm sure NEXUS notes would of cost me a whole lot more money on the open market. The entry fee for Red Inks and Nexus was worth every penny.

A: No, I'm not on the cover of Time, yet. But I got a much better gift right at the most needed time.

They gave me a much needed shot in the arm. I was actually thinking about giving up. Started doing this about ten years ago. Self-tought. Read a lot of books - but mostly - learned by writing a bunch of terrible scripts.

My batteries are charged again. I placed 3rd and 8th in a couple of good contest. Now I can take on anyboby. All I need is story, story, story.

How much is that worth?

A: I'm a Corrections Officer with eighteen years experiance working in prisons. (No-I try not to write about the joint)

I've averaged about two scripts a year for the last ten years. However, the only scripts that I would ever dare share with the public are these... WHEN THE DOG COMES HOME, SPIRITED, 1040-EASY, BENDING SPOONS, THE NATIVITY SCENE,

The others we'll call "learning devices".

Note: I'm a very big fan of story-boarding. That seems to work best for me. I know when I'm ready to write when boarding. BUT, it also shows me when a story really isn't worth writing. "Because there are a million story's you can tell but there isn't a million story's worth telling". I read that somplace!

A: I live in Michigan but I plan on moving out there in two years. That's when my pension obligations are completed with the department of corrections.

A: I'm working on something for Baby Boomers. Make them think. Boomers are aging and HELLS BELLS takes place in a nursing home. It's a twilight zone type thing.

My theme is "most people die with their music still inside them". Emerson wrote that. Everybody knows somebody who's whole could of been so different if they just would of taken a chance and chased the dream inside them.

By using the nursing home setting I hope to expose abuses that still goes on. Nobody seems to care anymore even when that's the next step for a whole bunch of baby boomers.

Posted Thursday, May 17, 2007