Chris Westfield at 2013-01-08 16:45:23:
Another fine example of going the route of adaptation when writing a spec.
dw at 2013-01-08 20:57:01:
Michael and Scott, thanks for the interview. Michael's acceptance speech on the Nicholl website is really terrific. He entered the competition something like 29 times over 10 years I believe. Hard work paid off.
LisaAldin at 2013-01-09 09:29:58:
Thank you for the interview Michael! And congratulations!
SabinaGiado at 2013-01-09 11:24:35:
Seriously? 29 times in 10 years! Good Lord, I'm going to say that Michael Werwie is officially my hard-core screenwriting, stick-to-your-guns hero! I'd like a little more info about his research process. Where did he start? What did he find was the most useful? Did he make notes? Did a plot come to him as he researched or did he already have a plot in mind?
TheQuietAct at 2013-01-09 13:37:04:
Well done Michael! We get knocked down but we get damn well back up again!
MichaelWerwie at 2013-01-09 16:34:42:
SabinaGiado -- I think we get into some of that in the next parts of the interview. But in short, I started by reading/watching anything and everything, made lots of notes and dog-eared book pages, and there was already a chronological plot. The task was cutting it down to what was essential for this particular story, pacing it out, and shaping each act with a dramatic rise and fall. Then after the first few drafts, forgetting about the research and trying to shape it into compelling drama because at the end of the day, this isn't a biopic or book report, it's a dramatic story.