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.

Hal, The Spud King of Japan

Written by John Thibault

What motivated you to become a writer?

I was writing, thinking, dreaming all the time. So it was a natural extension to put this into a more structured form. I committed to screenwriting when I switched from production to writing at the UCLA graduate film school. My roommates and classmates went on to become successful award-winning writers and producers. So how could I not be motivated by their competitive success?

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

Some people say ideas come from space, but I actually think it’s Imagination, proximity, density, and collisions of conflicting information that provide you with the contrast to explore something. Intellectual curiosity is a big part of jumping into the process and then finding compelling characters that complement or demand their stories be told. All great stories are tales of transformation anyway. So we’re looking for examples of change relative to our own personal journeys. Whether you are imitating life or the other way around, you want to find strong emotional stories that you are passionate about and have the skill to execute in a professional manner.

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?

De-risking the IP is critical, meaning you have a small budget, small cast, present-day locations, high concept, major genre, distribution and a fun universal story backed up by an experienced award-winning writer and team.

You focus on a genre or a type of movie or story, or book that you really like and then work within that realm. Understand who has done other successful work. There are some considerations about budgets, talent costs, locations, etc., but we now have CGI and other advanced tools to create any world in any story. I think the limitation of what we can do and imagine has been lifted. It’s been demonstrated over and over again. This is not to say that small stories don’t work. Still, the critical element is the growth of the character, The universal appeal, and the major transformation. Does that resonate with a reader, producer, talent, studio, distributor, and audience?

What is your dream for this project, and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate?

Hal, The Spud King of Japan, initially grew out of the conflict between the Americans and the Japanese in the early 90s when Japan was on the rise and the American farmer was destitute. Could a similar story now be told between any country? Three misfits go abroad trying to solve major world problems, one country after another. It could be the Chinese in space, the Russians with technology, but either way, it gives the platform a staging area for the main character and his ragtag team to go and upset the balance of power. Essentially it is a comedic underdog thrives story as he overcomes adversity and saves his family. We follow him on the journey, and we have the basis for natural ancillary revenue in the foreign markets because the character of the trickster is timeless.

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

It’s been fun. I’ve really enjoyed it. I have won over 80 competitions, from official selection to finalist and category award winner. Hal, The Spud King won about 30 of these. In addition, I received great feedback on changes, improvements, thoughts, and corrections for screenplays and TV pilots.

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 started in production and worked in television and commercials.

As a bestselling author, novelist and screenwriter, I graduated from UCLA film school and worked in production and made a few short student films. I also wrote two spec scripts with the well-known writer-producer of Alien and Total Recall, Ron Shusett, and then wrote other screenplays and recently took some of them and created new spec television pilots. Encircle Publications recently published my second novel, Deadly Serious, and I have several other books on Amazon and elsewhere.

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

Here are the links to IMDB, plus my book trailers and other sources of information.

FILM WRITING LINKS

https://www.imdb.me/John.Thibault

https://www.networkisa.org/profile/john-thibault

https://filmfreeway.com/JohnThibault

https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/johnthib24228

https://www.facebook.com/author.johnthibault

https://twitter.com/ajohnthibault

https://www.stage32.com/profile/666563/about

https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/johnthib2020/

https://encirclepub.com/thibault/