Dean Devlin began his career as an actor, and a successful one at that, but eventually moved into screenwriting -- and has had even far greater success.  Along with his partner, director Roland Emmerich, the two have made some of the biggest blockbusters in recent years.  As I've noted previously, the Email Interviews are generally standard questions which differ because of the answers, but here I veered off a bit and asked a few movie-specific questions, as well.

Screenwriter Dean Devlin has co-written the epics, Independence Day and Godzilla, both of which he produced, as well as the films Stargate and Universal Soldier.

He is executive producer of the TV series, Leverage, for which he’s also written and directed.  Devlin was also executive producer of the three The Librarian TV movies.  And he produced the feature films The Patriot, Cellular, and Stargate.

[Subsequent to the interview, two new movies based on his characters for Universal Soldier have been produced.  And two sequels based on Independence Day have been announced – ID Forever, Parts One and Two – though production and further details are still a ways off.  He also was executive producer of the acclaimed documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?]

>>>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?

DD:  I'm the son of a screenwriter and film producer, so my interest dates back to early childhood, enviously watching my father work.  But I think it was the Syd Field books that really got me going.


>>>  When you write, how do you generally work?  Is there a specific time you prefer to write? 

DD:  When I write, especially when in partnership with Roland Emmerich (my business partner and the director of the films we've done together), we usually go for total immersion.  We usually will leave town and spend every waking hours writing intensely until the script is finished.  It's an intense period but the scripts get finished faster that way.

We find that if the script gets written quickly, we're more open to the idea of re-writes.  When it takes a long time to get something written, there is a tendency to become married to what's on the page.


>>>  Do you have any specific kind of music playing or prefer silence?  Are you a good procrastinator?

DD:  We're big believers in "mood" music.  When we wrote "Stargate" we had "Carmina Burana" and the soundtrack to "Dracula" a blasting the entire time.

As for being a procrastinator...I'll get back to you on that later.  No, seriously, when I'm writing at home, I notice that my house becomes spotless.  I'll take any excuse, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, ANYTHING to keep me away from that computer.  That's the  other advantage to writing in partnership.  When you've got a partner sitting there, it's much harder to procrastinate.


>>>  What sort of characters interest you?  What sort of stories?

DD:  Humor is one of the most important aspects to characters that we write.  Just like the audience, we want to be entertained by our characters.  And while you don't always have to go for the laugh, a certain amount of humor seems to add humanity to the characters.  We usually will base every character on someone we know and try to capture the humor of that person.

There does seem to be a reoccurring theme to most of our central characters, however.  They usually are people who believe in something, even though everyone around them disagrees.

Roland and I have talked about this and why this seems to reoccur in our work.  I think that when you start out in Hollywood, everyone thinks you're never going to make it and that you're nuts for trying.  Perhaps it was that very experience that both Roland and I went through that has us injecting that character trait into our leads.

>>>  How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story?  Do you have any specific tricks to help, or just tough it out?

DD:  So far, every script I've ever written, I've always hit a roadblock as I near the end of the second act.  I've talked with other writers who have had similar experiences.

It's really tough because you're more than halfway finished and suddenly everything you've written feels like it doesn't work. 

During this time I usually do two things.  First, I never finish writing a scene or a  line of dialogue at the end of a writing session.  I always try to stop before I've finished so that the next morning I already know what I'm going to write.  It's a good way to hit the ground running and avoid that awful..."what comes next" pause that can start a writing session.

The second thing I do is go back to the mid point and try to structure my way into the third by taking a completely other tact.  This will either prove to me that my original idea was stronger or show me a better way.  If in fact it is a stronger way to handle the second act, then blasting forward with this renewed energy will get me over the hump.  If it's not, then I recover my confidence with the work done and can move forward.  But, as I say, this is ALWAYS the hardest part for me.


>>>  What were the hardest things about "Independence Day" to write?

DD:  The hardest thing about writing "Independence Day" was to keep the tone consistent, keep the humor going in the face of all that destruction, and never take ourselves too seriously while committing to the drama of our story.  You see, we were trying to embrace the style of the old Irwin Allen disaster movies of the '70's.  We loved those movies growing up and wanted to tap into that style of story telling.  Those movies had this great ability to jump from comedy to melodrama without missing a beat.  We wanted to emulate that style, use the inherent kitschiness without becoming a farce or parody and develop that great kind of thumb nail sketching style of establishing many characters interwoven within this world wide disaster.

So we rented "Poseidon Adventure" and "Towering Inferno" and watched both several times.  We decided to try and write our film exactly how it may have been written back in the '70's.  We decided to do it straight -- Irwin Allen-style.

That balance was hard to maintain, but it also gave us focus and made the writing process really fun.


>>>  What was it like destroying the world?

DD:  It was one of the most guilty pleasures I've ever enjoyed.  On one hand it was thrilling, in the same way it's thrilling to light fireworks.  The explosions and destruction of hundreds of buildings was spectacular and amazing to watch.  On the other hand, these were nightmarish images that one would hope to never see, even an approximation.  I think it is that dichotomy that makes it feel like such a rollercoaster ride.  It's thrilling and chilling at the same time.

We had wanted to make our villains insurmountable.  So we decided to take symbols on  continuity in our lives, images that we've seen our entire lives and expect to see for our entire lives, such as the Empire State Building and the White House and have our villains destroy them.  If they could get the White House, the symbol of the free world, then they could do ANYTHING!


>>>  What is your best experience as a writer?

DD:  I had been an actor for over twelve years before I became a professional writer.  Roland hired me to write his first American film.  When we went in to have our first meeting with the Executives on the movie, before we began an assistant asked me if I'd like some coffee.  I told her that I had acted for 12 years, had been a lead on the New York stage, had been a lead on two network television series and had been the lead of a feature film, but that was the first time anyone had ever asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee.  I decided right then, I liked writing better.


>>>  Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?  If so, what things did you learn?

DD:  Gary Rosen was the first professional writer who took me seriously when I decided I wanted to write for a living.  He would go over my writing and help me.  He showed me how to write economically and tell my stories with the least amount of description.  He also taught me a great deal about dialogue  and character development.  Without his help in the beginning, I don't think I would have been able to make the transition.


>>>  Why do you write?

DD:  It's cheaper than renting cameras and equipment.  With a blank piece of paper I can make any movie I like, and I don't have to wait for some executive to give me a "green light."  I think there is nothing like disappearing into your own imagination.

When Dana Stevens agreed to do an Email Interview, she'd just written her first big, breakout hit.  Previously, she'd been an actress and had regularly gotten parts, but all in small, supporting roles.  She started to move in a different direction and sold her first screenplay, the thriller, "Blink."  A few years passed before she wrote the screenplay for the romantic fantasy, "City of Angels."  Her writing career has kept going upwards since.  In rereading what she had to say back near the start, I found it particularly amusing and appropriate that one of her influences in writing was the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, "The Hobbit."

By way of reminder to readers new to this, the Email Interview were originally written for the Writers Guild of America.  I sent a series of questions -- usually the same, core ones -- to each writer, and they did the harder work of answering them.

E-mail Interview
With
Dana Stevens

  Edited by Robert J. Elisberg

At the time screenwriter Dana Stevens did her Email Interview, her writing career had just started to blossom.  She had first written the thriller, “Blink,” and then a few years later wrote her breakout hit, “City of Angels.”  Subsequent to the interview, she has written “For the Love of the Game,” “Life or Something Like It,” and last year’s “Safe Haven”.  She also created the TV series, “What About Brian?” and currently has filming the upcoming CBS crime drama series, “Reckless.”

>>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?

DS:  I was very influenced as a kid by “The Way We Were.”  It was the first “grown-up” movie I saw, and after seeing it on television recently, I have come to realize that I am writing "The Way We Were" over and over again. It has influenced my writing style right down to the rythms of the scenes.  That movie is really underrated and terrific, despite Barbra Streisand’s over the top performance. It’s a movie where so much is said with so few words.  That’s what I try to do;  it’s a game, how much can I convey with the fewest amount of words?  I think screenwriters are like poets in this way.    Another influential film was “Annie Hall,”  because it was so theatrical, it broke rules, and it was personal.   Books?  I was very influenced by fantasy books like C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Hobbit.”  I started out as a kid trying to write my own fantastical story.  Later it was “Franny and Zooey” by Salinger.  Yeah right, me and every other college girl.  A guy I dated a few times, a Cuban named Carlos gave me that one and it really changed my writing style.

>>  When you write, how do you generally work?  Is there a specific time you prefer to  write?

DS:  I would like to be like a writer I admire, Nick Pileggi, who works from nine to five and takes lunch and coffee breaks and just does his work, like a normal person, but I have a hard time settling down.  I get very distracted.  I have recently rented an office and am attempting regular hours from nine to two.  I used to love to write late at night, but that was when I was single.   Writing a script is a very workman-like process for me; it doesn’t all come in a flood.  Each day I work and slowly build up the connective tissue, slogging my way toward the end.   After four hours my brain really gets tired and I start to hate everything I’m writing.  So I stop.  The next day I can look at it again and really see whether it’s good or not.   I spend weeks prior outlining and thinking.  At a certain point I do feel “ready” to jump in, even if the outline isn’t exactly complete.   My one ritual is that I make a tape, a compilation of music I feel evokes the tone and emotions I’m trying to convey.  And I listen to that tape until it wears out, all through the writing of a project.   Sometimes I make a second one.  The music really gets my head in the right place to imagine the film.

>>> What sort of characters and stories interest you?

DS:  Well, I love a love story.  I don’t think I would be a writer if I couldn’t have a romance in the plot.    I’m not an action writer or a comedy writer.  I tend to like to drive my plots with psychological motivations, with relationships, as opposed to outside forces.  I like melancholy characters who are searching for something.  I like a good cry.  I am very inspired by people I see in the street or on the beach or whatever.  I see certain little tableaus or hear snippets of conversations and I imagine the movie of their life.  I also like research, real stories and places help me come up with ideas.   I sometimes see a movie someone else has written that is totally unlike anything I would be attracted to or would be able to write, and I love that too.

>>> How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story?

DS:  What a horrible horrible feeling, those roadblocks.  I had great advice from a friend recently who told me to take a break and just stop, even for days.  I tend to think I have to sit there all day till my eyes bleed to solve it.  But distance really does help.  I also think it helps to just stop, go out for coffee, and think to yourself, “What would I do if I were this character?  In this situation?”  Try to make it really real.  I also sometimes go back.  Sometimes the actual problem is not where you are stuck at, but an earlier turn that was wrong and led you in the wrong direction.  It’s good to go back and ask yourself, what if I change my mind, what if the character does this?  How far would that get me?   I think the secret of plot is a very clear chain of cause and effect.  This happens.  And because that happens, the next thing happens, and because that happens, the next thing happens and so on.  It can be a psychological or actual events, but this is the key.  If you’re stuck, it’s probably because there connections aren’t logical.  Someone in the story did something that didn’t follow logically from the last thing.

>>> What is your best experience as a writer.

DS:   “City of Angels.”  I was very included in the process by the director and the actors.  I loved the crew and being on the set, I learned a great deal about film-making, I made mistakes, I saw what worked in my writing and what didn’t. 

 

>>> Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?

DS:  Ed Solomon.  He was my boyfriend off and on all during my 20’s.  He was a successful writer, but he encouraged me greatly when I made my early attempts.  To this day he is my touchstone, my toughest critic, but also the smartest.  He makes you go back and really think.  Be clear. And be true to the vision you are trying to realize.

7)  Why do you write?

DS:  Here’s my touchy feely answer.  I write because I like to feel.  I love drama, all those intense, swept away feelings that movies can give you and have given me my whole life.  I love to create those intense moments, to live in the fantasy world of the movie, and hopefully to see it realized on screen.  I also write because I find it comforting to be able to take my time, in my little room, getting everything just right.  Much better than the extemporaneous communication we have to face out there in the real world.

Though David Franzoni's first produced screenplay was for a modern-day thriller, since then his career has taken a big step back -- but in a good way, as he's become known for writing major (and highly successful) historical epics.  For one of of those, Gladiator, he received an Academy Awards as one of the film's producers.  He also got an Oscar-nomination for co-writing its screenplay.

Screenwriter David Franzoni most recent film credits include the scripts for King Arthur, Gladiator and Amistad."  In addition, he wrote Citizen Cohn for HBO.  Among Franzoni's other credits are Jumpin' Jack Flash.

[Subsequent to this interview, David Franzoni wrote the screenplay for a film currently in production, known as ‘Untitled Yang Guifei Project,’ a romantic drama in 8th century China.  The story is focused on the relationship between Emperor Xuanzong and imperial concubine Yang Guifei.]

>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?   

DF:  La Strada. 

Until I saw La Strada I had seen film as merely a pop art form.  Admittedly I hadn't been exposed to any serious film.  Although I do recall a local Vermont TV station running the Apu Trilogy and that unnerved me...

But La Strada is a masterpiece.  Hemingway's vision of life and of writing are that we should as artists and humans work close to the horns as possible: Get too close, you get gored (you write embarrassing crap), you get too far and the work is cautious and weak.  In La Strada, Fellini and Pinelli worked close to the horns all the way, as did Masina, Quinn and Basehart.  The simplicity overlying enormous complexity, the clean novelistic metaphors, the tragic irreconcilability of Masina and Quinn's natures and the time Fellini took, the patience of the work in allowing characters room to breathe (as Spielberg allowed me in Amistad, by the way) were revelations to me.  And that final scene when Quinn gets drunk and as the brute, the fallen man, fights his way out of the restaurant, knocking over garbage cans and getting dumped in the gutter – then making his way to the sea, the end of everything... he's killed the brilliant and free Basehart, driven the pure soul Masina mad... and now he's come to the end of everything knowing that Masina too is dead... and that he can never make it right with her, never make it right with himself... and in that moment of crushing alienation he has the greatest revelation of his life: that he has loved.

>>  When you write, how do you generally work?

DF:  I am absolutely dedicated to sharing my time with my family. I go to bed, generally, right after my son.  Then get up around midnight and I work through to about 5am when my son gets up and we play like hell before he goes to school.  If I listen to anything while I write it's usually punk.

>>  What sort of characters and stories interest you? 

DF:  Generally people who can step up, step away from the bleating mass and create something important with their lives.  The stories of these people should be –  essentially – a psychoanalytic break down of their personality into a narrative. 

>>  How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story? 

DF:  I keep writing.  Usually.  Especially when we're talking about the first draft.  My productivity will be reduced, that is, good stuff versus pages consumed, but I know I'll get at least 10% and that's better than doing nothing.  I'm more cautious on the rewrite, or even on the polish of the first draft.  I have never had 'writer's block', because there is no such thing.  You either have something to say or you don't.  Once I'm through a good first draft then, of course, that's not an issue; the polish is about how to say it best. 

>>>  Were there any responsibilities you felt you had to deal with in writing Amistad -- not just as an historical film, but largely unknown history?

DF:  The most important issue for me was that this is a movie about Black Americans.  And I don't mean that in the way you might think.  I am absolutely not a politically correct person.  For me there were two issue that needed resolving or it wasn't worth doing the picture at all. 

First, this could not be a 'white-guy-saves-black-guy' movie.  That's a big issue when it comes to a film about Blacks who – on the face of it – owe their lives to a pair of white lawyers.  My take, and the take that was followed, was that Cinque, the Black leader, saves John Quincy Adams just as Adams saves him.  The Africans from the Amistad save America as much as America saves them. 

For example, Adams' core motivation was to keep his father's work – the creation of America – alive and slavery was an abhorrence to that work.  But this put him essentially in an impossible bind: the House of Representative had created the 'gag rule' which was an instantaneous tabling of any issues concerning slavery.  In other words, he was gagged over his opposition to slavery.  Yet the most powerful platform extra-government – the abolitionists – was out of the question because abolitionists were considered so fringe that his association with them, as former President, might help shove the country toward civil war.  Of course, Cinque needed to be freed... and to do that Cinque brought Adams to the Supreme Court. 

In other words Adams freed Cinque but equally, Cinque freed Adams by getting him to the Supreme Court where he could finally rage against slavery within government and so carry on the work of his father.  Thus I have created a parallel of Cinque telling Adams about how his ancestors will help him in the trial and Adams calling down the ancestors of the American Revolution including his beloved father to help him.  The fact that the incident was little known was an asset. 

>>  What is your best experience as a writer?

DF:  They've all been memorable... but the best?  Amistad. 

For me what constitutes a great experience in this business is working with people who are as moved about the project as I am.  And, for me to write a script it's got to be about something, if you will. 

Amistad was my best experience because right from the start there was a sense that we were doing something that could change the world.  Or at the very least make serious ripples.  And right from the start Steven gave me carte blanche to write it balls-out.  Debbie Allen was a powerful inspiration.  Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parks were magnificent throughout.  So, even outside the material, I had to live up to the very high expectations of others.  Plus I was pedal-to-the-metal because if Steven was going to do it, it had to somehow slot in between Lost World and Private Ryan.  It got to the point during the rewrite that Steven was almost literally reading over my shoulder as I was writing.   It was exhilarating.  Now it's opening and we'll see, but that Debbie had a hand in getting it to open at the Magic Johnson theatre is absolutely reward enough for me.

>>  Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you? 

DF:  Stanley Mann and Bill Kirby.  Many things for which words would be but empty thanks.  I also make it a habit of always learning.  You can never take it for granted that you know what you're doing all the time. 

I have learned from reading/watching Robert Bolt, Oliver Stone, Ron Bass, Steve Zaillian, Tonino Guerra, Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Kurosawa, the list goes on. 

>>  Why do you write?

DF:  Believe it or not, to change the world.  And to be free.  As writers, society pays us to be free.  I have been putting together a collection of laser discs to pass on to my son – books are easy, but how do you pass on a film?  In Vermont I grew up on John Wayne.  Then I saw Fellini and my life changed.  For him it's the same except I can't guarantee there will be a Fellini unless I keep those films for him.  Sound silly?  Do you realize how many great films are out of print?  Let's hope DVD can save the great films from extinction. 

Yesterday, I posted the trailer for a movie that looks quite wonderful to me, Saving Mr. Banks, about the contentious making of the film Mary Poppins.  It was directed by John Lee Hooker, who been developing a fine career as a director in recent years -- but he began his career as a screenwriter.  And indeed often directs his own screenplays.  (Though he didn't in this case.  Saving Mr. Banks was written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith.)  I just thought that that would make it a fine time to offer this Email Interview with the fellow.

As I've often noted, these Email Interviews were generally the same, standard questions about writing that I'd send to writers, and they'd do the hard work.  On occasion I'd throw in a few different, specific questions, and this is one of those cases.

E-mail Interview
With
John Lee Hancock

Edited by Robert J. Elisberg

Screenwriter John Lee Hancock most recently wrote Snow White and the Huntsman.  Previous to that, he both wrote and directed The Blind Side, which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (and won Sandra Bullock the Academy Award for Best Actress).  He wrote and directed The Alamo.   

Among his other credits are the screenplay for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and A Perfect World, both directed by Clint Eastwood.  He also produced the film, My Dog Skip starring Diane Lane, Kevin Bacon and Frankie Muniz.

[Subsequent to this interview, John Lee Hancokc directed the film, Saving Mr. Banks.]

>>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?

JLH:  In elementary school I read all of Matt Christopher's sports books, which were basically mortality tales set on the gridiron or hardwood.  Sometime after that I began writing short stories, one a day, all describing football games that were played only in the head -- a hybrid (real people,fictitious games) sports report, I suppose.

As for books, my mother read Mark Twain aloud to me and my two brothers.  It seemed unreal that this world essentially existed in Clemens's head; that he created characters and made up things for them to say.  Buoyed by this revelation, I set out, in fifth grade, to write a spy novel.  I made it through two chapters before I realized my skills weren't sufficient to finish.  Someday, perbaps, when I've reached that level, I'll try again.

As for movies, my family really didn't make a habit of going, but my mother's favorite was "Lonely Are The Brave," and I must say it had an effect on me and exposed themes that still appear in almost every screenplay I write.  During high school and college I fell in love with movies and some of those movies are still my favorites -- "Badlands," "The Conversation," "The Candidate," Downhill Racer," "Network," "All The President's Men," etc.


>>  When you write, how do you generally work?

JLH:  I'm fortunate enough to have an office on the Warner Burbank lot, so I have a place to go every day that means work to me.  Before the office I worked at home, usually at ungodly hours of the night, when it was quiet.

If I'm in the middle of something, I come in at a reasonable hour, have some coffee, read the trades and work a couple of hours betore lunch.  After lunch I work until I wear out.  When this happens I'll return calls and take care of correspondence before I leave for the day.  If I'm working under deadline, I'll go home for dinner (only 10 minutes away) and return to work for a few more hours,


>>>  Do you have any specific kind of music playing?

JLH:  I prefer silence when I'm writing but, as all writers know, when you're in the middle of something, you're always "working" on it.  So when I'm driving around or relaxing at home I try to play music that relates either thematically or nostalgically to what I'm working on.


>>>  What sort of characters and stories interest you?

JLH:  Flawed characters, real characters.  The problem I have with most movies today is you know immediately what archetype a character represents -- she's the hero or the villain.  Because of this, most characters in films are celluloid instead ot flesh and bone.  I tend toward writing antiheroes, underdogs and the great unwashed.  I have no time or tolerance for movie heroes unless they're extremely flawed.

As for stories, I like the ones where the character's struggle informs the plot.  I like to see movies where even if I hate them, I want to discuss them over a cup of coffee. I like earnest characters, I hate earnest movies.  I like sappy characters, I hate sappy movies.  I like characters with agendas, I hate movies with agendas.  I like romantic characters.  I hate romantic movies.

This will offend some people but what the hell.' I hate comic book movies (I hated comic books as a kid -- I'd never met a single person in real life who dressed up in silly outfits and fought bad guys).  I hate insect and alien movies whether they're dramatic, satirical or comedic. (Funny, isn't it, how there was a time when studios made character movies that informed our lives and B-film-makers made insect and alien movies?)  I hate a lot of what's out there, but I also admire a lot.


>>  How do you work through parts of scripts where you hit a roadblock in the story?

JLH:  If I'm not under intense deadline pressures, I'll give the problem a few days to solve itself in my head while I'm working on something else.  If I'm under deadline I try to write my way through it.  As for tricks, sometimes I'll try and turn a character or a scene upside down, to make it the opposite of what I'd intended, as an exercise.  Or sometimes I'll rewrite a scene that's not working as if it were the first or last scene in the movie.  Sometimes that exposes the flab and gives it more of an edge.


>>  What were the particular challenges of adapting a book like "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"?

JLH:  When the book was offered to me, I read it, loved it and turned it down.  I thought it was a borderline impossible task.  Then a waek later I was trying to describe to someone how much I enjoyed the book and I thought, just maybe, I could embrace what I loved for the very different medium of film.

The most difficult part of the adaptation, I think, was creating a linear, narrative spine that was malleable enough to support the free-flow feel of Savannah and her amazing citizenry.  For anyone that thinks the Characters I wrote were over the top, please know that they are extremely toned down from the real people on whom they're based.

A magazine writer said that this book resists adaptation like a cat resists a bath.  I have to agree.  I knew this going in.  I also knew that many critics would, instead of reviewing the film, editorialize on the differences between the critically well-received book and the movie.  It goes with the territory.  No one but other writers will ever understand the difficulty of this adaptation.  I also knew that going in.  But for me, thaf's enough.  If you don't      challenge yourself, you don't grow.

As is the case with any movie, there are changes that occur from script to screen, even when you direct the film yourself.  There will always be some changes you like, and others you don't.  It's the big leagues -- high risk, high return.  You don't bitch, you don't moan and you don't talk out of school.  You take the criticism as discreetly as you accept the praise.  You learn.  You grow.  You write again.  You did it for free for a long time and you'll do it again if you have to.


>>  What is your most memorable experience as a writer?

JLH:  When I first moved to Los Angeles, I started a theater company with Brandon Lee and George Davis.  Sadly, they are both now gone.  But when we were together and doing plays (I was writing, directing, building sets, designing lights, taking tickets, working the booth and cleaning toilets), I felt more alive than at any time in my life.

>>  Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?

JLH:  When I moved here eleven years ago, I was in search of a mentor, I had several things in common with Kevin Reynolds (writer/director), including the fact that we went to the same law school and both practiced before starting new careers in Los Angeles.  After a few phone calls (I pestered him, I admit), he agreed to have lunch with me.  When I explained my search for a mentor he told me that you usually get a mentor when you really don't need one anymore.  My dreams of mentorship now dashed, I went to plan B, which was to extract any advice from him that I could.  Before he gave it he asked me it I would take it.  I enthusiastically agreed to heed his words of wisdom.  "Okay," he said, "go back to Houston and practice law."  I was stunned and replied that I wouldn't do that; that I would write ferociously and prove him wrong.  He smiled and paid for lunch.

If you think you need a mentor before you can write, you're not a writer.  If you'll give up your dreams for a more obvious, more traditional, and for me, less fulfilling life, then you lack the strength to be a writer.  If you're a writer, regardless of talent, regardless of advice, regardless of financial pressures, you write.

So, in a strange way, my mentors have been great writers, most of whom I've never met, for they challenged me through their skills to became a better writer.  As for favorites,

I'll go with Flannery O'Connor.  I learn something from her each time I read her work.

>>  Why do you write?

JLH:  If my leg didn't itch I wouldn't need to scratch it. If I could answer this question, I probably wouldn't need to write anymore.  So, if you know the answer, please keep it to yourself, I have an approaching deadline.

Winnie Holzman has an extensive career writing mainly for television, though has written for feature film, as well.  However, it is for her work on Broadway for one particular musical that here career is firmly established.  She wrote the book for the massive hit, Wicked, which last month became the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history.  At the moment, it has run for 4,129 performances, and will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in three weeks on October 30th.

But oddly, it's for an acting cameo that's she's most recognized.  That came when her friend, writer-director Cameron Crowe, put her in his movie, Jerry Maguire, as one of the "women's group" of divorcees who meet at Bonnie Hunt's home to offer one-another support.

(For those new here, the Email Interviews were done quite a few years back for the WGA website.  Generally, with a few exceptions, the same, basic questions on writing were emailed to the participating writers who did the heavy lifting.)

Winnie Holzman has had a long and successful career writing in television – and then moved to the stratosphere when the wrote the stage book for Broadway musical phenomenon, Wicked.  Previous to that, she was best known for her work on two critically-acclaimed television series –

thirtysomething (for which she wrote nine scripts during the show's last two seasons) and My So-Called Life, which she created and also served as Co-executive Producer.  She also wrote extensively for the series, Once and Again, and co-wrote the pilot and developed the series Huge for ABC Family.  Her first feature film screenplay was Til There Was You.

[Subsequent to this interview, Winnie Holzman was the associate producer of Janeane in Des Moines, a cross between a documentary and fiction, where a fictional character interacts with real-life political figures in the Iowa Caucuses.]

>>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?

WH:  I began studying acting at age thirteen. My teacher was a Russian disciple of Stanislavski: Sonia Moore. Consequently I was influenced in general by the entire Stanislavski system. Also I read a great many plays during this period, especially Chekhov William Inge, and Tennessee Williams. Two of John Van Druten's plays "The Voice of The Turtle" and "I Am A Camera" affected me deeply, both feature a quirky, irresistible, sexually experienced yet essentially innocent heroine named Sally who was very real to me.  I can vividly remember seeing "Chinatown" for the first time when I was about fifteen: How adult and multi-layered it seemed, how inspiring that depth was for me.

>>  When you write, how do you generally work? 

WH:  I don't have a specific time period for writing, I often feel this must be a terrible flaw. It's really just rebelliousness.  I struggle with procrastination constantly and have recently begun accepting this as just "how I am," trying to judge it less.  I tell myself to write very little but write something, I promise myself I need only write one or two lines, this helps me with my procrastination.  I prefer to write with people around me who are interacting with each other but (hopefully) not with me -- I have several cafes I frequent.

>>  What sort of characters and stories interest you? 

WH:  Characters who have problems.  Who behave badly.  Who have much to learn.  Who lie. Who do things without knowing why. I'm bored by "good role models."  As to what kind of stories interest me -- if I have a story, I feel I'm ahead of the game.

>>  How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story?

WH:  What seems to happen to me is not so much a feeling that there's a roadblock in the story as the sudden horrible certainty that there is no story, that I've run out of story or that I've been deluding myself thinking I had a story.  See above!

I've come to expect this feeling to overtake me once or twice during every script, but it's still quite uncomfortable.  I try to remind myself that all the elements of the story which I now take for granted and have grown horribly bored by will be less dull -- hopefully -- to the audience.  I don't usually buy this, though, and for days become convinced that what I imagined was a story is in fact way too thin.  Sometimes at this point I turn to books that recount the Great Myths, or one of the ten million books out about story structure, to reassure myself that I even know what a story is.  This usually helps, if only because taking any action when one feels fear usually helps.  I also like to say to myself: "What would really happen, forget the cliché, what would happen if this were really happening?" 

When I studied with the brilliant writer Arthur Laurents ["West Side Story"] he told us to put ourselves in the character's shoes.  I've been struggling to do that ever since.  I rarely if ever feel when I'm writing like I'm telling a good story, or that I would know a good story if one bit me.  This is just a feeling I've grown accustomed to and I try not to let it hold me back.

>>  Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?

WH:  As I mentioned above, Arthur Laurents was my mentor. Having him as my teacher was a huge turning point in my life, the biggest stroke of good luck and just plain fun.  I can't describe everything he taught me, it was such a complete experience.  His belief in me made me see myself as a writer.  On a technical level there was so much. He taught me brevity.  He was incredible with a red pencil: He would look at a speech and just show you how you could say the same thing with fewer words.  And of course say it better.  To this day whenever I see a big speech I immediately ask myself what I can take out.  When I'm thinning out a script I feel Arthur is reading over my shoulder, reminding me how few words I really need. He showed me my tendency to have a "ping pong" thing happen with my dialogue, because I will fall in love with the sound of my own clever words and things will start to be clever instead of interesting or real or surprising.

I co-wrote a musical that opened off-Broadway, it closed because of bad reviews, and a few months later I was on the phone with him telling him I didn't know if I could write again.  He said it was like being thrown from a horse, and that I had to get back on the typewriter.  He is still and always will be a treasured friend.

>>  Why do you write?

I can't explain it.

For this week's Email Interview, we have that rarity -- a TV writer you may actually have heard of.  This is for two reasons, one of which he's likely pleased with, and the other he could probably do without.  The fellow's name is Chuck Lorre.  And many people know of him for the whimsical and thoughtful "end cards" he puts after the closing credits of the shows he's created, with his ruminations on various subject.  Things in very small print that zip by, but people have gotten to recording on their DVR and then pausing when they pop on.  The other is the very public spat he got into with the then-star of his show Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen.  Alas, this interview was done for the the WGA website long before his more recent -- and highly successful shows -- went on the air.  But at least here you don't have to hit "pause" to read what he has to say.

Chuck Lorre has had an extensive and varied writing career.  He co-created and executive-produced the series Dharma & Greg; created and executive-produced Cybill, Grace Under Fire and Frannie's Turn; and was co-executive producer on Roseanne.

In addition, Lorre was the writer of Debbie Harry's French Kissin' in the U.S.A. and co-writer of the theme and score for the TV series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 [Subsequent to this interview, Chuck Lorre wrote for CSI, and was on the writing staff of Mike & Molly.  He then co-created Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and the new series Mom, all of which he also serves as executive producer.]

>>  Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing?

CL:  The passion, anger and exhilaration that informed the music of the sixties was my first major influence.  I was in love with the way music could bypass a lot of the mental censors we carry around.  Then everything really changed when I discovered Randy Newman around 1970 or so.  This was the first time I'd heard character-driven story-telling with a sharp comedic slant brought to pop music.  I was hooked and spent years trying to emulate that approach to songwriting.


>>  When you write, how do you generally work?

CL:  Every Dharma & Greg episode is initially written by a group of 4-6 writers.  In addition to writing, I act as sort of editor/guide to the process.

After many years of banging my head against the wall, I finally admitted that for me, the first draft process never really worked.  With the group approach, I have some semblance of control of the script at every point. Also, no one feels they have a first draft to defend, so things move much more quickly.


>>  Do you have any specific kind of music playing or prefer silence?

CL:  No music, but if you can't write amidst a healthy dollop of chaos, I don't think you can work on a sitcom.


>>  Are you a good procrastinator?

I put off this interview for three months, what do you think? But when doing a show, the big, scary train of production keeps me from screwing around too much.


>>  What sort of characters interest you?

CL:  For me, main characters have to be extraordinary in some way, even if they're extraordinarily dull.  Supporting characters must have a life outside of and prior to the story. That way they bring something to the process and are not mere story props or situation catalysts.


>>  What sort of stories?

CL:  The story must be about something.  Jokes and comedic scenes are obviously essential, but ultimately the story must have a spine, a theme, something you can keep an eye on to determine if you've gone off the track.  It could be very simple or very complex, but I find that if you can't explain the hero's journey in simple terms, you're headed for trouble.  In sitcom terms, story trouble generally means you'll be faking
your way through the episode by linking jokes together -- something I find extremely hard to do.


>>  How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story?

CL:  If the story presents obstacles which defeat our best efforts, it usually means the story is, for the time being, defective and should be abandoned.  Coherent stories generally reveal themselves without a lot of heartache.  The process still takes several days, but no one has an aneurysm along the way.


>>  On those occasions when you do hit a roadblock, do you have any specific tricks to help, or just tough it out?

CL:  One trick is to try and see the story through the eyes of the characters.  How would they react?  What would they do or say?  What do they want?  This seems to free up the thought process a bit.

But my best trick is simply to hire really smart people and hope they can fix the stuff I'm too dull to figure out.


>>  When you create a series, at what point do you feel comfortable turning over your creation to others so that it can move in different directions, or do you feel it more important to stay fully involved since you know it best?

CL:  With Grace Under Fire, Cybill and Dharma I've been very hands on.  Some might say obsessively so.  Okay, screw it, I'm a control freak and I need help.  But.... I am fortunate on D & G to have an incredible staff, so the turning over process is one I'm slowly becoming more comfortable with.

It's actually quite a joy to see great work being done that I have nothing to do with.


>>  What is your most memorable experience as a writer?

CL:  The first episode of Roseanne I was involved with.  I was standing on the stage watching a run-through, and I looked at Bob Myer (the exec) and we shared a wonderful moment of disbelief that these big stars were actually saying the words we wrote.  Of course that was probably the only good
moment in two years, but it still shines brightly.

But the best would have to be the night of the taping of the Dharma & Greg pilot.

It was so stunningly clear that we had somehow put together something extraordinary.  There was never any doubt in my mind, or I think anyone else's, that we had created a hit show and that Jenna and Thomas would become big stars.


>>  Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?

CL:  That would have to be Bob Myer.  He was very patient with me in my wilder days.  VERY PATIENT.  He also taught me to be patient with writing.  To believe that good material would come if you don't quit on the process.  If you have a so-so joke, keep hammering away at it until you are convinced you have gold. Don't bullshit yourself by saying the actors will make a mediocre line work.  Or the audience will buy it.  Also, he
showed me how good a show can be if the exec gets his ego out of the way, surrounds himself with good writers and trusts them.  In my humble estimation, that was why years 3 and 4 of Roseanne were the best years of the series.


>>  Why do you write?

CL:  I can't hit a curve ball and Bruce Springsteen doesn't need a third guitarist.