Interview:

Laurelle: To writing I bring experience as an actor and producer, having created and appeared in touring revues of Golden Age composers such as Cole Porter and the Gershwins. I’ve also presented historical figures Dorothy Parker, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Jane Stanford, and poet Maya Angelou on stage and in film. For me, writing is the source from which all else flows.

James: My writer’s road started as a beat reporter in Cincinnati just out of college. I strung for wire services abroad and wandered a bit of the world before coming to Los Angeles, where I wound up teaching English to immigrant refugees while attending film school at Los Angeles City College. Since then I have written several screenplays while paying the bills as a documentary producer.

Is IN FOR A PENNY your first script? If not, what else have you completed?

IN FOR A PENNY is our first collaboration. James has also written the novel RAGGED POINT a thriller set in Big Sur, California, and screenplays PRESSURE DROP a political thriller set in Paris, and LOS FELIZ a drama set in contemporary Los Angeles.

Why did you write IN FOR A PENNY? And how long did it take you to write it?

In searching for a story with impact, we asked ourselves, “What is the most difficult experience in life that a character can go through?” Then Laurelle ran across SANITY and GRACE Judy Collins’ autobiographical account of her struggle to survive her son’s suicide. After reading this book, we knew surviving the suicide of a loved one was the most haunting and punishing type of loss a person can endure. IN FOR A PENNY sends our main character on a search for clues to the suicide, while hiding what he learns from everyone else, building suspense towards the conclusion. Our fictional story was vetted with an authoritative voice on this issue, Iris Bolton, who wrote MY SON, MY SON about the same subject, and who continues to teach healing seminars for survivors nationwide.

Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing?

Team writing is about dialogue. We spent a lot of time talking through the story, the plot, the characters, before writing anything. As the scenes began to pile up, the dialogue intensified. While I generated story ideas and twists, Laurelle edited and rewrote. My background as a journalist complements Laurelle’s instincts as an actor with an ear for authentic dialogue. A tremendous wordsmith and scene-sharpener, she helped by unsentimentally eliminating the unessential. We then went to various locations where the story takes place and ran lines to get a sense of how well it was working. Finally, we invited professional actors to a table read and recorded the session.

What inspires you to write?

Laurelle: The need to understand how people cope or find refuge, why they make the decisions they do. An important question for me: when my characters have the chance, do they risk anything or choose the safest way out? Can those who read or watch the action find lasting value in what it expresses?

James: It usually comes from a personal experience or something in the news. What drives me is when I feel I’m onto something, something missing from the public debate that I want to see included.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Laurelle: The theater, where my roots are, welfare of the disadvantaged, environmental preservation, and justice where human rights violations have occurred.

James: My college age son, the Lakers, Big Sur redwood country, World History, ocean kayaking.

What influenced you to enter Movie Script Contest?

We entered Movie Script Contest to gain professional exposure and seek input from industry insiders.

Do you feel that screenwriting contests are worthwhile for writers and why?

Getting input from friends and family is fne, but the only way to advance is to get your work in front of “the truth squad.”

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

Laurelle: Although his bluster tended to blur his talent, Orson Welles remains my favorite screenwriter because of his ability to take significant events in people’s lives and open them up to see into minds and hearts, to know why they behaved the way they did. The MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and CITIZEN KANE come most readily to mind. And of course his roots in theater are a big bias in his favor!

James: Instead of writers, let me credit the many teachers who taught me to write. For years I was hung up balancing plot-premise with character-conflict, trying to keep those balls in the air, until two years ago I read (and re-read) STORY by Robert McKee, which among many wonderful things showed that plot was a series of decisions which reveal character, and the light sort of went on for me.

Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Laurelle: Your time is precious. Go after material that invades your soul. If you’d rather research or write about it than eat a meal, it’s the right subject for you to spend your time on.

What’s next for you?

Laurelle: We are searching for future subjects to collaborate on, while I continue what has been my mainstay, stage work and music.

James: The next project will probably come in waking up at 3 AM to jot a few notes that hopefully make sense in the morning. We are considering a documentary on the subject IN FOR A PENNY deals with dramatically.