| 7th
Annual
ASA International Screenplay Competition Interview of Paula Sullivan by Moviebytes Taken with permission from MovieBytes.com
MovieBytes
Interview:
An interview with screenwriter Paula Sullivan regarding the ASA/Gotham Writing Competition. Q: What's
the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?
A: The title
of my script is THE BLACK BOX, a thriller about a woman who finds out her
young son is being trained as a remote viewer.
Q: What
made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests
with this script? If so, how did you do?
A: I entered
about eight contests last fall, not thinking anything would come of it,
and was a semi-finalist or quarterfinalist in Jury of Peers, All Access/Soyouwannasellascript,
The Writers' Place, second place in Eshay, and then first place (not grand
prize winner) in ASA/Gotham.
Q: Were
you satisfied with the adminstration of the contest? Did they meet their
deadlines? Did you receive all the awards that were promised?
A: ASA is an
extremely worthwhile, top-notch, prestigious organization, and as soon
as I became a finalist they kept me notified of everything, and so far
have come through with everything they promised and more. The press, especially,
has been phenomenal, because I was beseiged with requests from producers
and agents.
Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful? A: I received
very high quality notes by email of judges' notes which I have since begun
to incorporate.
Q: Has your
success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted
by any agents, managers or producers?
A: I received
requests from some very powerful production companies and agents, plus
a number of indies from all over the world.
Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts? A: Years of
academia and theatre. I have an MA in English, but have worked in theatre
all my life. I was lucky years ago to snag the lead in the premiere of
Mark Medoff's play, GUNFIGHTER, A GULF WAR TRAGEDY, and subsequently studied
playwriting with him. A year ago, I was lucky again to discover Professor
Andrew Horton was in my midst, here in Norman, Oklahoma. He offers encouragement,
support, and consulted on THE BLACK BOX. I am polishing two other scripts,
comedies-- THE DORIS DAY FAN CLUB, and SANTA RECALL, and a new thriller,
still untitled, about a woman who goes to West Africa to identify the body
of her friend's son, who is part of a Christian ministry.
Q: Do you
live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?
A: I live in
Norman, Oklahoma, with my family. I figure I can fly anywhere in the world,
and I can write anywhere in the world. Technology has made the world a
very small place.
Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script? A: I'm working
on three. Each requires a different kind of energy. Mark Medoff taught
me you could do that, and I believe it keeps you working hard and keeps
you from getting bored with the monotony of one set of pages.
* * * CONTEST WINNER?
Let's talk. If you've finished first, second, or
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