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#Scriptchat Transcript: Dwain A Worrell @DwainAWorrell - THE WALL @TheWallMovie via Amazon Studios
Great chat with Dwain A Worrell @DwainAWorrell, screenwriter of THE WALL @TheWallMovie via Amazon Studios. Dwain shared advice on breaking in without an agent, The Black List, taking notes, outlining and more! Enjoy! @jeannevb
- TONIGHT 5pm PT #scriptchat with @DwainAWorrell - THE WALL @thewallmovie from @theblcklst to @AmazonStudios. You have to watch this trailer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZbjGKtR8QQ … #screenwriting #filmmaking
- Hello all you happy people. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb @DwainAWorrell @thewallmovie Hey #scriptchat #amwriting #WRAC18 #screenwriting tweeps, be sure to tune in!
- Good afternoon all, new friends as well as familiar faces! #scriptchat
- @FinalFenwayFict @jeannevb @DwainAWorrell @thewallmovie Hello all! Glad to be back at it today. #scriptchat
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IT’S #SCRIPTCHAT O’CLOCK with @DwainAWorrell - THE WALL @thewallmovie from @theblcklst to @AmazonStudios. Best site to chat is here: http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat … #screenwriting #filmmaking pic.twitter.com/IbZvb4ajnU- #scriptchat Helloooo
- Greetings! #scriptchat
- hey hey hey #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell excited to have you with us! #scriptchat
- @Jeanne, excited to be here, it's my first time to have a live chat, cherry popped! #scriptchat
- If you haven't seen the trailer for @DwainAWorrell's THE WALL, check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZbjGKtR8QQ … #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell we always love the virgin sacrifice haha #scriptchat
- @jeanneevb I also have to admit a lack of Twitter and tech knowledge in general #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell before we get into getting THE WALL done with Amazon Studios, let's chat about getting on The Black List etc #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell we'll shoot you question & if you chat from this website, it'll autoadd the #scriptchat hashtag so we can see tweets http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat …
- @DwainAWorrell Just saw the trailer. Great work, man. I'm astounded! #scriptchat
- The BlackList was exciting, we had a dinner, as well as a networking session with other blacklist writers #scriptchat
- @BakerJohnjoyce I know! I loved the trailer. Can't wait to see the movie! @DwainAWorrell #scriptchat
- A little tardy, but here #ScriptChat
- @DwainAWorrell How many scripts had you written before you hit BlackList success? #scriptchat
- Great thing about being on the blacklist is that agents and managers use it to get meetings, this person is a "blacklist writer" #scriptchat
- #scriptchat How did you get on the blacklist?
- @DwainAWorrell What was the source material for The Wall? A news article? Personal experience? #scriptchat
- but managers and agents do push your script for voting #scriptchat
- the blacklist is voting on by producers and studio execs #scriptchat
- So as a writer there is little you can do to be on the blacklist besides write a good script #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell were you repped before making the list? #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell where did the interest come for the story?
- @john, first thank you. second the script was sort of me thinking about a producable script as well as my love for single locals #scriptchat
- @Jeanne, I was repped a few months before getting on the list, I was repped when Amazon bought the script #scriptchat
- Interesting thing was Agents & Managers only wanted a piece of me after I was getting paid by Amazon, so they got their cut. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell How long from the time you wrote it, to it getting made.
- @norma, I've always love thrillers and snipers, its always been swimming around in the back of my head somewhere #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell So you got in the door w/Amazon without help of reps? Can you speak about the hustle of getting your work read? #scriptchat
- @norma_perlroth, great question, I wrote it summer of 2014, it was made summer 2016, released summer 2017, #scriptchat
- first time doing the math on that one. #scriptchat
- @Colin_Lieberg, I'd say character is #1 for keeping it interesting, keep revealing things about your characters. #scriptchat
- I had 3 characters to play with, plenty to keep things interesting. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb, ah, the hustle, I played that hustle for 10 years, using inktip, submitting directly to agencies, contests. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat That's crazy 2 years! omg @DwainAWorrell
- It's tough without reps #scriptchat
- Major players won't read without some sort of established relationship AND, the script should also be good #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell @jeannevb Dwain, do you consider THE WALL to be a war movie, or a thriller that happens to involve soldiers? #scriptchat
- But I do recommend contests for sure. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell How did you submit to agencies if they don't read unsolicted material? 🤔
- It seemed like companies were more receptive for scripts in the past. #scriptchat
- Now, the writers are expected to jump through hoops just to get to the point that can be allowed to write. #scriptchat
- Yes, Norma but from what I've seen around town 2 years isn't bad at all. I know a writer on Black Panther did a 2015 draft #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell And what was the research process like?
- @Al_1701 @norma_perlroth, my agents came to me after I got the Amazon deal, I did submit unsolicited by they ignored all #scriptchat
- @Al_1701 it's a catch 22, they're not interested unless your generating business (usually) so get the deal first, then get agent #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell were you purposely thinking about budget when you wrote THE WALL (ie locations, limited actors, etc.) #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell Do you live in LA to help with the hustle/networking or somewhere else? #scriptchat
- Late! Sorry! #scriptchat
- @FinalFenwayFict the wall is definitely a thriller before it is a war film. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb, yes thinking about budget and marketability is important for specs #scriptchat
- @wcmartell we're chatting with @DwainAWorrell - former Black Lister & his movie THE WALL was made via Amazon Studios #scriptchat
- if you want your spec to be just a sample then it doesn't matter but if you want it made then that's something to consider #scriptchat
- most 'made' specs are of a certain genre and budget #scriptchat
- @wcmartell I was in China before I got my Amazon deal and agents, but I am here now, though my personality isn't suited to netwo #scriptchat
- @Fizzhogg Hey Paul, @DwainAWorrell is over on #scriptchat right now -- stop by and say hi! cc: @jeannevb
- @norma, sorry, missing questions here and there. Research was interesting. #scriptchat
- Beyond the normal reading and wiki-ing, I watched U.S. military documentaries on youtube #scriptchat
- While I wrote I had it playing in the back ground to help me find the voice of these characters #scriptchat
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- a soldier would say something and it would end up in my scipt seconds later. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell cool.Did the studio give you notes? Were you like ??@#$😂
- Do you have a military background? #scriptchat
- @norma_perlroth, Amazon definitely had notes, and I was very much like $&!% #scriptchat
- They wanted to change the major twist of the script and it wasn't until @DougLiman came on that he saved the integrity of it #scriptchat
- Doug kept mostly to the script. #scriptchat
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- @FlutterFerret No military background and therefore the research process had to be intense. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell Thank you doug. 😀😆😉
- Also during the preproduction process, an expert was brought on to assist with accuracy. #scriptchat
- Doug is the man, very cool dude. #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell advice for working with producers and getting notes? #scriptchat
- @jeannevb, I believe I shouldn't give any because I don't work well with producers and their notes, but... #scriptchat
- Communication, don't just say, "uh huh", "yes", "sure", the writer and producers need to be on the same page #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell haha it's called "development hell" for a reason :) #scriptchat
- Try to find out what their reasoning behind the note is, because many notes strip the script of what makes the wrtier excited... #scriptchat
- ..about the script #scriptchat
- 218 characters, 'sigh' #scriptchat
- producers want what's best for the script so they're not 'really' the enemy #scriptchat
- @dwain How do you keep communicating with the producers without being confrontational? #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell haha the Twitter struggle is real #scriptchat
- so in the very, very, beginning make sure you and the producer have similar visions for the story #scriptchat
- @BakerJohnjoyce, I don't :) #scriptchat
- Now I try not to be and I definitely back down a lot, but there are certain things worth fighting for. #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell what are you working on next?
- well... @norma_perlroth, I'm working a television series that I can't talk too much about until we get the green light. #scriptchat
- and no it's not Iron Fist season 2 #scriptchat
- #scriptchat @DwainAWorrell Nice. what screenwriting training and or books have you studied? Anyone you suggest?
- @norma_perlroth, well I've read theater books, not screenwriting, though I have read through some of save the cat. #scriptchat
- I have friends who swear by screenwriting books and structure, but it's not really for me. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb @DwainAWorrell @norma_perlroth I've written shorts but that was very much in college where I majored in theatre #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell I'm guessing you aren't an outliner then? #scriptchat
- @jeannevb, wow! insightful, I am definitely not an outliner but I'm curious as to how you deciphered that??? #scriptchat
- @yesitsdejavu @DwainAWorrell I know that painful process of speaking and no one replying, trust is you'll never really know #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell I used to be a therapist. haha Kidding. You said structure books weren't for you Reminds me of my writing partner #scriptchat
- But truth be told Stephanie, you're doing a lot better than me with 5 scripts out. #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell my writing partner is @UnkScreenwriter. He's intuitive writer. I'm outliner. He tolerates my insane process haha #scriptchat
- @jeannevb @DwainAWorrell interesting, he/she, is probably a lot like me then, I understand the need for structure but... #scriptchat
- I don't think about it while I write, I just try to tell an interesting story and it sort of molds itself into structure #scriptchat
- NOT recommending this method, we all have what works for us. #scriptchat
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- @jeannevb @DwainAWorrell @UnkScreenwriter I'd say your process is probably very useful but @UnkScreenwriter, I know the struggle #scriptchat
- Nobody cares how you wrote the script, they only care that it works. #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell yup. Whatever process works is what's important. Not to get stuck on "you have to do this..." etc. Just write it #scriptchat
- @yesitsdejavu but stay focused, what contest did you enter #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell any advice you wish you knew before you started a writing career? #scriptchat
- and sometimes my non-outlining runs me into some problems in the second act, so... I've started to accept some outlining #scriptchat
- *blows a kiss* Goodnight everybody. #scriptchat
- Thank you! #scriptchat
- #scriptchat thanks for your time @DwainAWorrell
- @DwainAWorrell be careful... outlining can get addictive haha #scriptchat
- @DwainAWorrell thanks SO much for a great chat! Really appreciate you taking the time out to talk with us! #scriptchat
- I appreciate you guy taking the time out to listen! Feel free to shoot any questions on by @DwainAWorrell #scriptchat
- Going to grab the transcript. Thanks, all. Have a fabulous week... Ping me with topic/guest ideas! http://scriptchat.blogspot.com/p/chat-topic-schedule.html … #scriptchat
- And I'm out! #scriptchat
- @jeannevb How do I find the transcript for this chat? #scriptchat
- @BakerJohnjoyce we post transcripts on http://scriptchat.com - it'll take me about 10 min to grab it, and I'll tweet it out too #scriptchat
