MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Stuart Land

An interview with screenwriter Stuart Land regarding the One in Ten Writing Competition.

A: CLAIMING LIVES is an action thriller about an emotionally tortured homicide detective who lost his girlfriend to a serial killer and now must play a brutal cat and mouse game when the killer reemerges leaving dead girls as clues. When the detective manages to save a victim, the stakes ratchet up, putting his daughter and partner in jeopardy in this seemingly senseless vendetta.

A: This particular contest was interested in how GLBT people were portrayed in society. My script happened to have a very strong gay man as the main supporting character. Neither the story nor the plot focused on this attribute, but took it in stride, as it did the preferences of all the characters. I did enter in one other contest and though I didn't win, it received mostly 9 and 10 scores on the feedback.

A: Yes, very satisfied. They were incredibly helpful to me even before I entered. I live in Asia and they offered to let me send the script by PDF instead of mailing it. I thought this was very kind and thoughtful. They kept to their deadlines, listed me on their Web site and are shopping the script.

A: It took a couple of months to write. I read it in my writers group (which isn't that familiar with screenplays), but they all liked the story. I don't write outlines anymore, not because they aren't useful for some, but I've written so many scripts and novels that structure is intuitive to me now. Not to say I don't make mistakes, but that's what all the other drafts are useful for. I have a general idea of the story and plot, and usually have the ending in mind, although any of it can change as I move along. I let the characters tell their story and that takes me to wonderful places I could never have outlined beforehand. I wouldn't necessarily advise newer writers to try this, though what can it hurt? I maybe wrote five or six drafts, but plenty on annoying polishes.

A: I use Movie Magic Screenwriter to write all my scripts. Although I have many visualization and structure software, I never use them anymore. For me, it made something organic into a structured mess.

A: I mostly write everyday between six and fifteen hours. I enjoy writing (and don't throw things at me), but I really enjoy rewriting. That's where the real flavor comes out.

A: Knock on wood, I don't get writer's block. For some reason, I can stop writing when my cat wants to play then pick right back up where I was. I have this natural pause button. It's weird. That said, sometimes I get stuck before I start writing when I have a great plot idea, but no characters. It took me ten years to find the characters for the novel I just finished.

A: I worked in the movie biz in sculpture special effect for fifteen years on many major films. Got to see firsthand how they were written and made. I've written almost twenty scripts of various genres and a few TV shows and other shorts. Even videoed some of them. I've also written five novels, three that are published (sci-fi, thriller and vampire) and available online and in print.

A: I lived in LA fifteen years. Now I live in Asia. I love LA and could visit anytime if need be.

A: I just finished a novel and am now starting a collaboration on a comedy script. I met this woman at a restaurant and everything she said had a hugely funny slant to it. Plus, she had a great story idea, the kind Hollywood loves. Luckily for me, she doesn't know how to write screenplays. haha.

Posted Thursday, March 3, 2011