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.
“A Noble Lie”
Written by A.J. Ferrara
What motivated you to become a writer?
I grew up loving science fiction. Superman and Batman were my go-to favorites as a kid and I’d argue with anyone who would listen, that Superman would beat Batman every time. I also became obsessed with the UFO phenomenon and actually was on the Project Bluebook mailing list.
I loved telling stories. I was the only kid in the neighborhood that could hold a sometimes annoying, running conversation about Betty and Barney Hill, the couple that was said to have been abducted by aliens in New Hampshire in September 1961.
When I got to St. John’s University, I took creative writing courses and one of the first things I learned was “write what you know.” Done! So, my obsession became my inspiration for numerous sci-fi short stories and articles about the latest UFO news.
A career in television advertising, and then starting my own health club business kept me writing ad copy and business plans, but I never gave up the dream of becoming a real writer. I took screenwriting courses. I wrote in my spare time. I brainstormed ideas and I collected and read an endless array of UFO research. When I sold my businesses eight years ago, I knew the time had arrived to make the dream a reality – and I had notebooks filled with high concepts, ready to go for it.
Staring at a blank page is not easy – where to your ideas come from?
This may sound odd, but I’ve realized that my best concepts come from my right brain. Yes, they’re often based on specific UFO research or some conspiracy theory, but without fail, a full-length movie will play out, either in a dream or in a meditation. I wrote a WW2 time travel project based entirely on a dream I had while on vacation in Paris. It happens every time and once I have the concept, the rest just seems to pour out, sometimes so quickly that I’ll write a full treatment before the outline.
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?
I believe I’m unique in that my extensive business background led me to learn about the producing side of the business as I was honing my writing skills. I have created pitch decks and business plans for a few of my projects. I’ve received write-for-hire projects and was also recently hired as a co-producer for an independent film, where I brought the line producer, helped create the budget and wrote the business plan to raise financing. So, I always consider all these elements in my own writing, especially in the sci-fi genre, where I can get very creative with plot points, with an eye toward keeping costs in a range of where I feel the budget may best work.
What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate?
A Noble Lie was originally developed as both a feature film (and a television series called MAJESTIC 12 which was optioned by The Wolper Organization / Mark Wolper). An earlier version of the feature script was optioned by Little Studio Films with a proposed budget of $8M, but the option expired. I love the pilot script but my dream is to produce this updated draft for the feature film, shot on location in the D.C. area. The project is written with a cliff hanger ending for the potential of a sequel, if successful, with possible plot lines that are already created within the TV series bible.
How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?
A Noble Lie was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Page International Screenwriting Competition.
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 your project?
The most important thing that you need to know about me is that, like Hyman Roth, I always make money for my partners. I joke, but the truth is that I view any film production exactly like any other business in which I’ve been involved. The primary goal is to deliver the best possible ROI to our investors. So, my job is to fully collaborate in creating a beautiful film and to assist in finding the best elements, the most marketable cast and the best possible tax credit/ rebate state that fits the plot, in order to minimize risk.
Our protagonist, Kate, is a naïve heroine who’s obsessed with learning the truth about UFO’s after her mother is abducted during the infamous Battle of Los Angeles in 1942. She’ll have to fight for her job and her life when her investigation puts her in the middle of a desperate power struggle; pitting a government faction that wants disclosure of the alien presence against a military faction that insists on secrecy. In order to survive, Kate will have to make a choice – one that could lead to a shocking meeting with President Eisenhower, Howard Hughes and aliens. But will she agree to become part of the cover-up that she fought so hard to expose?
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