MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Matthew Gilleece

An interview with screenwriter Matthew Gilleece regarding the Movie Deal! Writing Competition.

A: "Everyman" is about a man (John Smith) who is so unbelievably average in every possible way that a corporation decides to base all their consumer research decisions on his opinions - without his knowledge. They encroach ever further into his privacy, and eventually meddle with his personal life in an attempt to make him even more average.

Then the government finds out about John's so-called "abilities", and... well, you'll have to read it to find out more.

A: I entered The Movie Deal in 2008 because it seemed promising and happened to have a deadline that fell when I was finished with a round of revisions. I became a semi-finalist, and went no further. After making substantial revisions I thought I might do better this time around - apparently I was right!

In fact I also recently won 2nd place in the Story Pros International Screenplay Contest with this same script.

Before that, I had entered it into a bunch of contests over the last couple of years - Final Draft's "Big Break" (twice), Scriptapalooza, Creative World Awards, Script Pimp, Script Savvy (two months in a row - both times they said I came very close to getting honorable mention, and in a different month probably would have - darn it) and few others.

I was disappointed but not surprised that I didn't place in those - I knew the script needed work, so I took it to workshops and got analysis and other feedback and tried to hammer it into submission - I mean, shape.

I'm going to use part of my prize(s) to have even more analysis done so I can make it as good as it can possibly be. Then, I'll use other parts of my prize to try to get it out there (which I haven't done aggressively yet, since I know it's not ready). And more contests of course - until they are no longer necessary (i.e., when I make a sale).

A: Much as I don't like to complain, I have to say they did not meet their announcement deadline. I believe the original date was January 13th; that was moved to the 20th. The 20th came and went with no announcement.

Then they took the date off the website and said an announcement was "moments away". Finally Saturday night (the 23rd) I checked the website, and there were the winners. I got a general email a day or so later announcing the winners, but still have not gotten one specifically for me.

I understand that sometimes deadlines have to be moved for various reasons, and I don't mean to sound angry about it (I'm not - really!) but it was very frustrating - it would have been nice if they had at least given some kind of explanation.

I have not yet received any of the prizes, but this is still fresh, it's only been a few days since they announced. So I have no gripe about that.

A: Everyman has been in the works for about three years now, and I can't even count the exact number of drafts it has been through, since I tend to revise over a fairly long period of time.

I would sometimes leave it for a while and come back to it. I recommend that everyone do that, it gives you a fresh perspective. Although I suppose I overdo it a little...

I did not write an outline, a mistake I will not make again. When I started out, I really had no idea what I was doing (didn't for awhile - still not sure I do!). I learned about structure on the fly, and had to cut a LOT of what I had worked so hard on. Ultimately it was worth it because I think the final product is (or will be) good. But it's so different from where I started - I wish I hadn't wasted so much time going in the wrong direction. But now I know the right way to approach my next screenplay.

A: I used Final Draft because a friend (who also enters contests, and has won/placed in a few) recommended it. I found it very easy to use, it answered a lot of my format questions without me having to ask them.

So far it's the only kind I've used - but I believe I will be getting some new ones in my prize package(s), so I will make good use of them.

A: To be completely honest I do not write every day - I'm kind of ashamed to admit it. But as a father of three with a full time job, it's difficult. I know, I know, I should find the time...

But I do have some disclipline, and a system of sorts. When I have a specific goal - to clarify certain descriptions, punch up a section of dialogue, find a clever way to pull certain things together, whatever - I will write every day, even if it's inconvenient, until those goals are met to my satisfaction.

Then I take a break, separate myself from it for a little bit, so I can come back to it with fresh eyes. It seems to work for me - although I suppose if I had more time to write I could finish a script that much quicker. Then again, maybe not, maybe this is the pace that works for me. The only way I'll ever get a chance to find out is if I make a living writing screenplays at some point. You never know...

A: I can't say I've ever had a major case. Again, I don't force myself to write every single day, so maybe that's a part of why it doesn't happen.

I have had situations where I'm not happy with something I've come up with but can't think of anything better. When that happens I just shelve it and let it percolate. It's like trying to see something in your peripheral vision - you can only see it if you don't focus on it. Usually something will occur to me - often at an inopportune time, when I'm relaxed or not concentrating on anything in particular (in the shower, on the bus or train). So I write it down immediately. I've made the mistake of assuming I'd remember a good idea, and lost a couple that way. Never again.

A: I did a bit of acting in community theater as a teenager and continued through my early 30's - at which point I had kids, and somehow couldn't find the time anymore.

In college (and later) I tried writing some plays, most of which never saw the light of day. There a couple of staged readings, but that's it.

Later my wife and I self-produced a few interactive murder/mystery dinner shows that I wrote - that was fun, but it didn't go any further.

At one point I had an idea (the basis of "Everyman") that I knew wouldn't work on the stage, so I thought, "why not write it as a screenplay"?

I also wrote a short which was a semifinalist in "Gimme Credit" contest a while back, and another short that was shot but is still "in the can". I also acted in that one, which was a mistake because I can't stand watching myself. I keep thinking I'm awful, and I suspect I may be right.

I'm currently working with a composer on a stage musical for children, and I'm in a bar band.

A: I live in NYC. The only way my wife would agree to uproot ourselves and the kids to LA would be if I got an incredibly lucrative and fairly long-term offer. Now I don't want to jinx myself by saying that's unlikely, so I'll just say that if that were to happen, we'd happily become Los Angelenos.

Los Angeleans?

Residents of LA.

A: I plan to use the software and services in my prize package(s) to start my next script the right way (this time), I'm just not sure which idea to tackle first.

I'm leaning towards a thriller/horror story about a young woman who gets tangled in the unfamiliar underworld of drugs and body modification while searching for her brother's killer.

Then again, I may start working on a horror/actioner about a pesticide company that unwittingly unleashes a spore with the power to kill everyone in the city.

Or maybe I could get cracking on the raunchy comedy about a recently divorced man who, after moving in with his younger brother and his miscreant friends, gets an unusual offer from his ex-girlfriend.

It's nice to have choices, isn't it?

Posted Monday, January 25, 2010