MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Marc Calderwood

An interview with screenwriter Marc Calderwood regarding the ScriptVamp/Feature Writing Competition.

A: “Castaway Dog” is about overcoming fear.

A disabled pup who dreams of being a full-fledged crew-dog is forced into action after she is marooned alone on a not so deserted planet. To get home, and fulfill her destiny, she must gather her courage, overcome her fears, and save her friends and family from a ruthless enemy.

A: I entered ScriptVamp after reading Moviebytes (thanks guys) and some of the comments on the site. This script is a Family Animation and I was looking for competitions that broke out the genres.

I’ve entered a number of other competitions and “Castaway Dog” just finished as a Finalist in another. Mostly though, the script is so genre oriented that I’ve entered it where it has the greatest chance of competing against like material.

A: I have been pleasantly surprised and very pleased with the ScriptVamp competition. Over the eight or so years I’ve been writing screenplays I’ve entered more than 60 competitions. Some sorely lack the professionalism they request from the writers. Those can be found on Movie Bytes by checking the scores and comments.

Look, screenwriting competitions are a business. I don’t mind that. What I do mind is when the people running these businesses treat the writers less as customers and more as a bother with $60 bucks. ScriptVamp is timely, they answer questions, they are proactive, they have multiple genres, they offer a fairly wide range of prizes, they offer a really fine coverage, they’re timely (it’s worth repeating) and … they seem like nice folks which counts for a lot.

A: I was percolating the idea for about two years. It was taken from a real-life story right here on earth. A dog, lost at sea, survived and was found six months later on a little island. When I sat down to write the script it went pretty fast, but that’s because I’m crazy about the pre-writing process. I write a full outline, a beat sheet and a full treatment. When I sit down I want to write with the confidence that I’m not going to end up in the wrong place. I can still get off-track but, as with this script, once I had finished all my planning I wrote the first draft in about three weeks. I’m showing 19 drafts in my computer. Not really sure where that stands relative to other writers, but I pass my script through: 1. My local screenwriting group 2. Zoetrope 3. Trigger Street 4. Talentville 5. Some other friends 6. 2 to 3 coverage services So, I end up with about 30 or more reads and that means a lot of rewrites.

A: I use Movie Magic Screenwriter. I’ve used Final Draft in the past.

A: I write every day for two or more hours. I get up at five, before my wife gets up and starts talking about everything else I have to do (loving smile). I also take my writing with me everywhere and if I have more than five minutes I’m writing. It works out to about two screenplays a year.

A: I’ve never experienced writer’s block. I believe that it’s because I guzzle vast amounts of coffee and I’m too buzzed on caffeine to be blocked by anything. I have experienced what I call "writer’s fear" a time or two. I like to think of that as traveling through a forest finding a fork in the path and knowing that if I go down the wrong one I’m going to be sorry. That feeling can make beads of sweat break out and it’s why I spend so much time prepping outlines and treatments and character bios. I just hate ending up with big plot holes, motivation issues, incorrect data and a thousand other things screaming, “See we told you to go the other way!”

A: I’ve been writing screenplays for about 8 years. I’ve written fourteen or so features and many shorts. Most of them are good stories but bad screenplays. One of these days I’ll go in and fix some of them.

A couple of years ago I finished my UCLA Screenwriting Certification program and that helped tremendously. But, I think it’s just the continual writing and focusing on being a good writer and not so much on selling the next million dollar movie.

A: No, I travel there frequently.

A: I’m working on one, outlining another and putting together a marketing plan for “Castaway Dog.” With a couple other solid screenplays from last year this is the first time I feel like I have enough concrete work to go out to the marketplace with.

Posted Saturday, May 26, 2012