Hey Daniel, I'm a huge WWE fan, so naturally I enjoy the movies and "12 Rounds" is my favorite from them! I was wondering if you had to rewrite the main character a lot to cater to John Cena more or were they relatable already? Also, were you involved with the recent sequel at all and what happens with like the story credit or anything like that? Thanks!

Hey Alan -- thanks for the kind words about 12 ROUNDS... Yeah, we did do some rewrites for John, but I think we almost went a little too far. When I had my first meeting with the WWE Film guys, they were really worried that John couldn't handle as much dialogue as was written for him originally in the script. So we took out a lot of snappy one-liners and other dialogue. But then we I met John a few days before shooting, he was a great guy and funny and probably could have handled a little more to do acting wise. I think in the final version of the film he was a little too serious, but it was a decision we made early on... As for 12 Rounds 2, I was not involved. It's kind of a tricky situation cause it wasn't a theatrical remake (if it was, they would have had to come back to at least see if I wanted to write it) and because technically they're not using any of the same characters, although from the looks of the movie they are using the exact same setup. I'm actually watching the movie this week and am thinking about doing a live-Tweet about it.

Hi Daniel. This is great stuff. And what a close call with the insurance and the baby being born! Whew, right? I love "big, fun, genre movie." I've got a friend who did the MFA thing & then spent 15 years banging his head against a wall getting nowhere. He gave up and wrote a script with no idea of selling, just doing what he loves, and...Do I need to finish? :-) That makes me wonder if it isn't a good idea to just let her rip with voice and story and enjoy what you're doing to break through your own barriers. Jailbreak yourself before breaking into Hollywood? The six words idea is great. In prose publishing, the first thing an agent or publisher will ask is what makes your story different from all the others like it out there (and they are out there). Keep it simple and make it amazing. One of my favorite writers had a bestseller about an orange. Who wants to read about an orange? Done well, a whole bunch of people. Thanks for taking the time. Looking forward to more.

I love "big swings". Tell a story a new and interesting way. I always say with "voice" questions -- "your voice is writing a screenplay that you honestly believe no one else in the world could write". If you do THAT, you'll find success one way or another. (But again, make sure your voice fits SOME parameters of what sells... Play the "game" of Hollywood, just play it your way.)

Hey Daniel, This interview inspired me to see '12 Rounds'. I enjoyed it. What sparked you to use 12 rounds of assignments? Is there some symbolism there? Weren't you afraid if you start high with a bombing how to top that? How do you write chase sequences? Any tips for budding writers to make it more lively. For study purposes I would love to read the script. Where can I get it?

Well, the "literary" answer is that I was crafting the 12 rounds after the 12 tasks of Hercules but I didn't get that reference until my grade school English teacher pointed it out to me after the movie came out... Even though there were "12 rounds", the idea was that the first couple of rounds were our first act, so those culminated with an explosion... then even though the rounds kept going sequentially, we sorta started small (the longitude/latitude puzzle) then worked up through the second act growing bigger in action and emotionally (his brother with a fake out, then the fire, then race with the firetruck for action, then introducing the girl and Willie dying for the emotion, then culminating the second act with our biggest set piece the trolley car and biggest emotion with his partner dying), then resetting everything at the end. The rounds sorta work together in groups that way, although the joke on set was always "this movie would be better if it was called 8 rounds" and so to avoid repetition we sorta cheat a few there in the middle. For action -- be specific with what makes each fight/chase unique, and know that brevity is key. Also look to guys who write great action (David Guggenheim, Tony Gilroy) and see how they work in quick little bursts to paint a great picture of how the scene comes together.