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.
ORIGINAL SINS
Written by Bill Mesce
What motivated you to become a writer?
I honestly don’t know. I was surrounded by books as a kid; my parents were heavy readers, and consequently I began reading grown-up novels when I was only 10 or 12. We also very much enjoyed going to the movies as a family. When I was going for my undergrad degree, all those interests seemed to coalesce. I had always played around with writing, but in college I decided it was something I seriously wanted to pursue.
Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?
Who knows? Different projects come to me in different ways. A news story triggers an idea, some bit of history (I’ve always been a bit of a history buff), a personal situation sparks something. There is no one igniter, but I do tend not to sit at the keyboard unless I have a pretty good idea of what the whole will be. I may discover new things about a piece in the process, but no matter what the initial inspiration was, I have a pretty good idea of where it’s supposed to go when I start.
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 try not to think about that. At some point in the revision process I may take that into account, but I don’t think you can write a piece that’s true to itself when that’s in your head at the outset. Your first pass, I believe, should be about more-or-less getting it right. After that, you make your tactical decisions that you think will make it more viable.
What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.
It may be self-defeating to say this, but that’s something else I try not to let in my head during the process even though I think Original Sins could have an afterlife. But to me, that kind of thinking is like thinking about touchdowns when you’re on your own 10-yard-line fighting for a first down. Of course, out of pure self-interest, you hope something works well enough that maybe there’s a sequel, maybe there’s a TV spin-off, and I’ve worked on pieces besides Original Sins that, afterward, I thought could lend themselves to that, but I’m usually so focused on trying to get the script in front of me done as well as it can be, that other possibilities aren’t usually in my head. My attitude, simply, is, Let’s get this thing sold first, then we can talk.
How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?
A lot of close-but-no-cigar hits: quarter-finalist slots, semi-finalist, finalist, a win or two, but no breakthroughs.
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?
I’ve written movies, I’ve written about movies, I’ve taught movies, I spent 27 years on the corporate side of the industry; I know what I’m doing.
Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?
IMDB has a few of my produced credits, and I have articles on films and screenwriting published at Shore Scripts and Goomba Stomp, and I have fiction and nonfiction books (some on film and writing) my various published have listed on Amazon.