Bryan Campbell
What’s your name? Where were you born? Where do you live? And what’s your hobby?
My name is Bryan Campbell. I was born in Poughkeepsie, NY but I currently live in Seattle, WA. As a part of my hobby, I like snowboarding and wake-surfing.
Where did you come up with the concept that just placed you as a Finalist in the screenplay contest? How long did it take you to develop it into the screenplay it is now?
The core idea for Time Management came to me after one of my best friends died. He was born with a disease that could end his life at any moment. So he learned to never take life for granted. It was that knowledge that inspired the story.
It took about six months to develop the story.
From concept to finished draft, can you take us through your screenwriting process?
Rod Serling once offered this piece of advice: “overall theme leads to characters than on to plot”. This is the roadmap I basically used to develop the story. I say “basically” because the high-concept idea for the plot was born out of the overall theme before I had a lock on the characters. Once I had the hi-concept though I went back and determined what type of characters I needed. I figured out what flaws they had that made them uniquely positioned for THIS story.
After that came the nitty-gritty of the plot. It took me about 8-10 weeks of working on a whiteboard, then moving to note cards, then treatment before I was ready to write the first draft. I knocked out the first draft in two weeks. Then I did two rounds of drafts/feedback and sat with it for a couple of months. Then I penned one more draft where I was able to cut the script from 39 to 29 pages. That is the final draft I sent out.
When did you realize that you wanted to become a screenwriter?
I knew I wanted to write film script formats and direct films from when I was a child.
Who are your biggest filmmaking/screenwriting influences? What about their style do you like or borrow?
My biggest influences in no particular order are Billy Wilder, Rod Serling, Brian McDonald, Stephen Spielberg, James Cameron, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Sydney Lumet, and David Mamet.
Each of these storytellers is a master at structuring a story and communicating visually to engage an audience.
Have you ever been obsessed with a movie or TV show? If so, which one? Why?
I have always been obsessed with Terminator 2. More recently I have rediscovered Schindler’s List and Silence of the Lambs. I have watched and thought about those A LOT.
What’s your favorite moment in cinema history? Why?
My favorite moment in cinema history happened in 1933. A customs agent along the US/Mexico border allowed Billy Wilder (then a broke refugee fleeing the Nazis) to enter the USA so he could move to Hollywood and make films.
Who’s your favorite character in cinema history? Why?
I don’t have a favorite character. There are too many good ones.
If you could talk to anyone from any era, who would it be and what would you ask them?
I would talk to the ghost of Julius Caesar and I’d ask him what he thought about Abraham Lincoln’s approach to politics and what their assassinations say about the nature of politics.
Dana Hammer
What’s your name? Where were you born? Where do you live? And what’s your hobby?
My name is Dana Hammer. I was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and I live in Anaheim, California. My hobbies are reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, birding, attending tea parties, and watching slasher films.
Where did you come up with the concept that just placed as Finalist in the screenplay contest? How long did it take you to develop it into the screenplay it is now?
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of stigmata. I wanted to tell a stigmata story from a comedic perspective, because uncontrollable bleeding is, you know. Kind of funny.
From concept to finished draft, can you take us through your screenwriting process?
I wish I had something really interesting to say here, but I don’t. I get an idea, make a loose, informal script outline, and then write it.
When did you realize that you wanted to become a screenwriter?
I decided to try it as a bit of a joke, wanting to write something funny about killer tampons. I had no idea what I was doing, but I did it anyway. Writing my first screenplay structure, Red Wings, in three days. And when I was finished with it, I really liked it. I submitted it all over, it got optioned, and I was hooked.
Who are your biggest filmmaking/screenwriting influences? What about their style do you like or borrow?
N/A
Have you ever been obsessed with a movie or TV show? If so, which one? Why?
Of course, who hasn’t? Let’s see. Kill Bill, Django Unchained, The Fly, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Bad Seed, I Heart Huckabees. And many, many more but for now these.
What’s your favorite moment in cinema history? Why?
That’s a hard one. But I think it’s the scene in Red Dragon where Will Graham uses Francis Dolarhyde’s journal entries against him, to save his son. Will spouts off abuse at the boy, and suddenly Francis stops threatening the kid and puts his hand on the boy’s chest. So it’s like he’s protecting him. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and scary and deeply satisfying all at the same time.
Who’s your favorite character in cinema history? Why?
Hannibal Lecter, of course.
If you could talk to anyone from any era, who would it be and what would you ask them?
These are hard questions. I’d love to have a conversation with Christopher Hitchens about current events. Also, to hang out with Queen Elizabeth I — she needed me. But I’d love to meet any of my ancestors as well. And of course, I would be best friends with Ed Wood.