MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Ian Van Den Hurk

An interview with screenwriter Ian Van Den Hurk regarding the ScriptVamp/Feature Writing Competition.

A: "Novel Aspirations" follows Aidan, a neurotic twentysomething who is encouraged by his father to finally pursue his dream of becoming a comic book writer. Aidan battles self doubt and plenty of other obstacles along the way, and the story really boils down to perseverance and the relationship between Aidan and his father.

"H-O-R-S-E" is about two best friends who fall in love with the same girl. These pals have been playing the basketball game H-O-R-S-E their entire lives, so they figure its the perfect way to settle the dilemma. They take the game from the driveway and into their lives, copying each others' increasingly hilarious, extreme and death-defying dares to win her affections. All hell breaks loose, naturally.

A: ScriptVamp was very highly regarded on MovieBytes.com, so that made it a no-brainer to enter both my screenplays. I submitted "Novel Aspirations" into two other competitions, and it also won Best Comedy at ScreenplaySearch.com.

"H-O-R-S-E" is still searching for its first win, but it's been very well received thus far. In addition to the Top 5 finish at ScriptVamp, its been a finalist at StoryPros.com, and semifinalist at L.A. Comedy Shorts and ScreenplayFestival.com (which is still ongoing; hopefully it can make another run to the finals).

A: The administration has been excellent. Everything has been on time and the hosts have done a wonderful job keeping me up to date on what's coming next.

A: "Novel Aspirations" was the first screenplay I ever wrote, so it took significantly longer than it takes me now (for example, I've written two drafts of the current script I'm working on in about six months). There was so much ironing out, so many rookie mistakes, even with stuff like formatting.

It probably took a year and a half from start to finish, though there were plenty of down periods in that span -- I'd put it away for four or five months, then pick it up again. It actually started as a short about two best friends and morphed into something very personal. The draft I submitted to ScriptVamp was the fourth.

"H-O-R-S-E", which I co-wrote with Matt Larkin, also took about two years and is in its fifth draft.

A: I use Final Draft.

A: I usually write five days a week and, depending on my schedule, anywhere from an hour to five hours a session. I occasionally try to push beyond that five-day benchmark but I find my brain is completely spent no matter how badly I want to continue. Sometimes, you just need to take a step back and let everything settle.

A: Absolutely. Dealing with it depends on my mood. Sometimes I grind out a few pages anyway. Sometimes I step away from the work, fire up the PS3 and kill zombies for a few hours. Other times I'll pull something out of the drawer that I haven't touched in months to get the juices flowing. But anyone who says they don't get writer's block is lying; athletes, comedians, writers -- no matter who it is, you can't be "on" 24/7 every day of your life. We're human.

A: My "H-O-R-S-E" co-writer Matt Larkin and I have written six episodes for a TV show, though that was a few years ago; we're strongly considering making our next project a feature based on that particular idea.

In the meantime, Matt and I are putting the finishing touches on another feature; it's a quirky, sort of Wes Anderson-style sports movie and we're hoping it will make a splash on the competition circuit in 2011.

A: Not yet, though everyday I find myself a little closer to dropping everything and finally doing it.

A: I've finished two drafts of a science fiction script that I began in September. I've set it aside to roll around in the back of my brain over the past few months, but I'm itching to get working on a third draft.

The script is about the individual successes and collective failures of humanity, and it has heaps of potential. When writing with a partner I love doing comedy so you can bounce jokes back and forth, but science fiction is my real passion.

I've already begun planning my next sci-fi script, which will be an examination of some really relevant issues society is going to have to face in the next couple of decades. It'll also be a departure for me in terms of structure and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

At the end of the day, there are just too many ideas and not enough time -- but I'll certainly never complain about having too many ideas.

Posted Wednesday, March 23, 2011