MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Stephen Curran

An interview with screenwriter Stephen Curran regarding the ScriptVamp/Feature Writing Competition.

A: My screenplay is called 'Black Jack' and it is set in age of pirates (18th century) in the West Indies. It was the Grand Prize winner in the Epic/Historical category and Honourable Mention in the Action/Adventure category.

My logline: An escaped slave turned pirate who's determined to remain unshackled befriends a spoilt English boy he has rescued from the sea. The pair form an unlikely yet unbreakable bond, each trying to shed the chains that bind them to their past.

This is a pirate story with plenty of action and adventure, but it has some unusual elements. It is a little known fact that there were some very successful black pirates. I have loosely based the character of Black Jack on this historical evidence.

Black Jack will be a great star vehicle for a talented black actor. The grittiness and harsh realities of life on board ship contrast sharply with a touching father son relationship that develops between Black Jack and the lonely English boy he has rescued.

A: The Script Vamp Feature Contest had an outstanding report card on the Movie Bytes website. When I enter competitions I want to make sure they are respected by professionals and the Script Vamp competition ticked all the right boxes. When I went to the Script Vamp website, I also discovered their team gave constructive feedback on how to improve your script by evaluating the major elements of the screenplay.

I did enter the Story Pros competition but was not successful. I have also entered the 'Screenplay Search', 'Script Pipeline' and 'Page International' contests and am still awaiting results.

A: The Script Vamp Team was outstanding. I received a seven page score card with a substantive analysis of all the major elements in my script. The comments were extremely helpful and extended right down to picking up on detailed typographical errors, which I have since been able to address.

All the deadlines were met. Firstly, I discovered 'Black Jack' was in the top ten scripts in two categories, on the day the Script Vamp Team had set. The announcement of winners came dead on time, as promised. Naturally, I was delighted to discover Black Jack was a winner in two categories.

The Script Vamp Team has followed this up with the award of the various prizes. Some of these are to be shipped from the USA, so they have not yet arrived. But, I know they will good to their word.

A: 'Black Jack' has been written over a four year period alongside other scripts. The historical nature of the script meant it required extensive naval research, right down to journeying on an 18th century ship.

I did write an extensive treatment before writing the first draft. 'Black Jack' went through around fifteen drafts before it was ready. I regularly attend Euroscript Ltd Development Workshops in London and these have been very useful for feedback.

A: I currently use Final Draft 7. I don't make use of any other writing software at present, although I have read most the manuals written by top screenwriting gurus. These include, Michael Hauge, Robert Mckee, John Truby, Linda Seglar, Syd Field and Christopher Vogler. I have found these books extremely helpful.

A: I generally write for a couple of hours every day. When I am approaching deadlines it can increase to up to ten hours a day. The initial drafts are always the most difficult and I tend to work in shorter spurts on these, as they require a lot of energy.

It is very difficult to sort out the major problems of structure and character in a script. Once this is done, things speed up and I find it hard to leave the script alone. I become virtually obsessive. It's all I want to do!

A: Rather than 'writer's block', I prefer to say, I face times when it is more difficult to write. This usually occurs when I'm facing a major problem in a script for which I don't currently have a solution. Sometimes I 'park' a script for a period and work on something else, or I use various brainstorming techniques to free up my imagination.

I have learnt there is always a solution and given time and application it will emerge. I am never discouraged by these problems as great scripts can only be written through struggle and perseverance. Just like the hero character in a script — a writer must go through their own arc of change each time a script is written.

A: I trained as an actor for two years but ended up working as an English and drama teacher. My first forays into writing were for the children I taught. My first success as a writer came when I won the United Distiller's Community Theatre Award in 1993.

My love of film meant I soon moved on to writing feature film scripts. In 1999 I won the Euroscript competition for my screenplay, 'The Innocent'. These initial successes led me to 'graft at the craft' of screenwriting. It takes a lot of time and effort to become a professional writer that can produce high level work every time.

I have written four other screenplays: 'The Innocent' — A young French boy mounts a peaceful crusade to Jerusalem in the twelfth century, with tragic consequences.

'Ark 2040' - A man is betrayed by those closest to him in a beleaguered moon community. In order to save them from self destruction, after a nuclear holocaust on earth, he has to overcome his personal bitterness.

'The Music Box' — A lonely Austrian girl who is has lost her father and no longer believes in herself has a magical experience. She discovers an important secret — she is related to Mozart.

'Leaving Town' — A young boy who is badly treated by his mother is evacuated from London during the blitz. He finds himself living with the perfect couple — the only trouble is they are Nazi sympathisers.

A: I currently live in London and have no plans to live in Los Angeles for the present. However, if one of my scripts received an option and it would be helpful to live in Hollywood, I would consider a move.

A: I am currently working on the latest draft of 'Leaving Town' for a UK screenwriting agent who has expressed an interest in this script. When I was in Cannes last year, I pitched this idea to a top UK producer and he also expressed an interest in the story too. This film could be made for a modest budget, so I am hopeful it will receive an option.

Posted Wednesday, March 30, 2011