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.

“You’re Doing it Wrong”

Written by Jeff DeVuono

What motivated you to become a writer?

In 1990, after watching “Jacob’s Ladder” at the Cinerama Dome in L.A., as I walked toward my car I looked at my watch. At that moment, a drop of water splashed on the face of the watch. With a blue sky above, I wondered not just where the water came from, but how remarkable the timing was. I then thought it would have been really cool if the drop of water had been a drop of blood. Why I thought that, I don’t know. But I went home and a story just started flowing. Back then had I known the current value of toilet paper…but the next day I went out and bought my first screenwriting book and writing software.

Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?

Faith. Not religious faith. But faith that the ideas will come. From where? I don’t know. No one knows. Just know it.

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?

Definitely. From my experience, it’s a miracle any script ends up on a big screen or a movie theater. I’ve had several projects where everything seemed to be aligning for my script to get produced, then poof! Weird things happened to end the projects. Choose your producers wisely!

What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.

Right now, all anyone could dream of is actually seeing the script produced and distributed for audiences to enjoy. As for ancillary markets, my script title, “You’re Doing it Wrong” is an easy porn spin-off. That’s always a plus. I do see “You’re Doing it Wrong” easily and successfully remade in many countries in their native language. It’s a comedy, so obviously some joke tweaking would be necessary, but the theme of overbearing “sports parents” and the effect they have on kids is universal and just about everyone can relate. And it’s about miniature golf, so there’s dorky, physical comedy built in.

How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?

For this project, nothing. Over the years I haven’t entered many contests because early in my writing “career,” I paid for coverage from a well-known, respected contest (PAGE). The first two paragraphs were generic, almost boiler plate nondescript analysis. The third paragraph began, “You need to develop Alice more thoroughly.” The problem was, there was not an Alice in my script.

I got my money back.

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?

The script is funny, relatable and people need and want to laugh. Look, I’ve worked as a D.P. and a camera operator for over 20 years. Regardless of genre, no one knows what will connect with audiences except…the crew. If you don’t know what that means, choose a different game because you’re probably going to make a lousy movie and lose your investment. Another point, if the writer and production team do not respect the intelligence of the audience the project will suck and audiences will hate it.

But most importantly, and this goes for every project, not just mine…compromise kills! I’ve experienced it with my projects and seen it destroy many more. As an executive, love the project as is or walk away. If you’re investing just so your girlfriend can be in a movie, hire someone to write a movie about your girlfriend. Don’t force creative decisions on a current project just to satisfy your ego. Your creative input will destroy everything you originally loved about the project. It’s not that you’re wrong, but you’re wrong. The writer has lived with the script, the story and the characters 24/7 for months. The script is one continual thread. The writer knows every nuance, every everything. With a good script, changing one thing on page 65 will create a knot in the thread on pages 4, 19, and 117. So then, when you change 4, 19 and 117 to accommodate the change on 65, now there are knots on 3, 21 and 87 that must be fixed to accommodate those other changes and now the script sucks and you wonder why the screenwriter failed you.

Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?

No. The past should not influence the now. The only thing that should matter is this script right now. An artist’s previous successes or failures are never indicative of the greatness of the current project.

Thank you so very much!