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.
HOLLOW EARTH
Written by Bob Finocchioli
What motivated you to become a writer?
To get acting work! I was an actor and two friends of mine worked at Paramount and wanted to direct so we formed a production company to make our own film. We didn’t have a script so we rolled up our sleeves and wrote our own.
Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?
For my script Hollow Earth, it came in pieces: watching a rerun of the first episode of Adventures of Superman, reading about alien abductions, the 62 children at the Ariel school in Zimbabwe and the kids and teacher at Westall High School who had alien encounters, spontaneous combustion, and an Edgar Cayce reading that said life did not exist on other planets in the universe. Voila! The story came to me.
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?
No, but I am concerned about budget now that films are taking a backseat to streaming.
What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate?
My dream for my script, Hollow Earth, is to see it professionally produced on the big screen and/or Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Paramount+, or Apple TV. I do think revenue could be generated by merchandising action figures and sets/props from the movie: the flying saucers, aliens, the Palindrome ship, the characters.
How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?
Submitting screenplays for contests is a great way to have them seen by professionals when you don’t have an agent, but I find the contests like CFSC that provide coverage the most important. That feedback is critical.
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?
That I haven’t seen this story told before. That the ties to the Edgar Cayce readings makes this more than sci-fi/action entertainment – the story will make people think and talk about the project in ways that I haven’t seen before. That will add a whole new dimension to it that may reap greater financial rewards. And that, for me, it’s been a passion project.
Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?
I wrote a regular column for a national magazine, but no professional writing credits. My work and acting links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/finocchioli/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278335/ (my acting stage name)