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Screenwriter Interviews
MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Rogers Turrentine
An interview with screenwriter Rogers Turrentine regarding the WriteSafe Writing Competition.
Q: What's the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?A: "Heart of America." It's a one-hour TV Pilot about young middle-class Midwesterners dealing with the social issues of the 1960s (civil rights, women's liberation, etc.) to the detriment of their relationships.
Q: What made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests with this script? If so, how did you do?A: Registration of any literary property at WriteSafe automatically enters it in a quarterly competition. In July 2008 I submitted the script to the WildSound TV Pilot competition and also won! So it's batting a thousand: 2 for 2.
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: WriteSafe is still processing a couple of the prizes. WildSound eventually sent me a DVD of a staged reading (the award), however the video highlights (http://www.wildsound-filmmaking-feedback-events.com/heart_of_america.html) and a radio interview (http://www.wildsound-filmmaking-feedback-events.com/rogers_turrentine.html) went up online almost immediately.
Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful?A: Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. That said, I was reminded that the possibility of selling a Pilot is astronomically remote unless you have inside connections and hot, current credits.
Q: Has your success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted by any agents, managers or producers?A: I notified my agent and she attempted to use the awards to get me a pilot assignment on "Prison Town," a project currently in development. However, the producers were seeking a writer coming off a recent series, e.g., "The Wire."
Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts?A: I've written dozens of produced TV episodes (listed on IMDb) but haven't been able to sell any features or get a writing assignment in the past ten years. Consequently, I'm one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing class-action age discrimination lawsuit vs. the TV industry.
Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?A: I live in the San Diego area, which is close enough for business purposes.
Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?A: Two historical dramas that have been gestating for years: one about Californians meddling in the Mexican Revolution of 1910; and the other about my Cherokee great-grandmother's assimilation into Anglo society in the 1800s.
Posted Monday, February 23, 2009
