WRITER PROFILE
It’s always great to get together with a large group of writers and investors and keep up to date on what’s new, the screenplay contest, any recent deals, new dealmaker contacts, agents or managers that are looking and simply encouraging everyone to keep going after every dream in this difficult industry. For the hard working writer we want to do as much as we can to continue the exposure and word of mouth in the investment circles of the industry. Another way we do this is with writer interviews that we send far and wide and showcase at all possible meetings and markets.
We want to encourage your writing spirit, motivate you and again give you the accolades you so deserve.
Peril in the Heirlooms
Written by Chasah West & Charliese West
What motivated you to become a writer?
We were initially motivated to write to create what we wanted to see: more Black female leads especially in genre adventures and action stories. The deeper we got into writing, the more we fell in love with the process of developing stories that balance character, emotion, theme, and world-building in a way that reminds us of the franchises we grew up enjoying.
Starting on a blank page is not easy – where does your creativity come from?
Our creativity is a gift we’ve had since childhood. We were raised abroad, moving and living as Americans in Africa for the majority of our childhood. Because of this, we spent a lot of time entertaining ourselves with self-written plays, stories, and games as we traveled internationally and took in the rich cultures, people, and even conflicts we saw.
Do you write projects knowing that so many other factors need to happen to get it to screen and does that come into your project creation?
We lean into our commercial sensibilities when writing projects, and keep the ultimate audience in mind, but our main focus is usually to tell an emotion-filled, well-structured story on the page. When collaborating with others, we always take into consideration whatever factors and parameters they deem important while keeping the characters and story our priority.
What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.
Our dream for Peril in the Heirlooms is for the right producer to find it who is ready to make a four-quadrant action-filled blockbuster meant for families. They would be introducing audiences to a whole new world that brings African-inspired magic, puzzles, and adventure to life. Similar to magic-filled franchises that have come before it, like Harry Potter or Black Panther, we do see strong potential for toys, costumes, and music with the ability to build out more of the world through spin-offs, books, or video games. Themed experiences for families could be created, whether through rides, interactive adventures, or other digital media.
How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?
Placing in the semi-finals of the Action-Adventure category of a well-known contest, along with positive coverage from readers have been a great motivation as we’ve developed this story that we’re passionate about.
If you could stand in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects what would you like them to know about you and this project?
We write projects with heart that families of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy together, and this project is no exception. We hope they could take away that our biggest goal is to see great characters on screen who reflect the diversity we have in the real world and want to use those characters to give audiences stories they want to see but haven’t been told yet.
Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?
Loglines for our other scripts can be viewed at: https://culturalyst.com/west_sisters