Interview:

We are Gene Langlais III and Paul Langlais (a.k.a. "The Brothers Langlais"), residents of Amherst NH, and specialists in writing intelligent horror/thriller scripts.

Check out our contest placements and PDF excerpts from our scripts at MovieBytes and our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/TheBrothersLanglais.

Is UNITY your first script? If not, what else have you completed?

Assuming you don't count the scripts that we keep locked down in the basement like Sloth from The Goonies, UNITY is the second script that we're completely happy with.  The other one would be ONE NATION UNDER, a political/military thriller inspired by Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" (and about twelve times more disturbing than UNITY).  Here's the logline:  When an American military hero suspects the President of conspiring with enemies of the United States, he decides the only patriotic solution is to commit treason himself.

Why did you write “UNITY”? And how long did it take you to write it?

Several years ago, we saw a teaser for a movie that completely captured our interest.  Over a black screen, that spooky trailer voiceover guy said something to the effect of "In the year (whatever year it was), police uncovered a crime so shocking that it defied all explanation…" and then closed with the title: HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES.  We were blown away.  A crime scene with 1,000 corpses??  What could possibly be behind that?  We couldn't wait for the movie to come out.

Suffice to say, Rob Zombie's flick wasn't the intellectual/psychological mystery we had anticipated.  And heck, there probably weren't even more than a dozen corpses in that movie!  But we still wanted to see how police would deal with a crime scene of such mind-mangling proportions, and what could possibly be the explanation behind such a crime.  So this is our script about a crime scene with a thousand corpses.

As for how long it took to write, that's a tricky question.  We first came up with the idea a few years ago.  The last time we made a change to the script was about a month ago.  So there you are.

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

Hey, a set routine…that sounds like a good idea.  We should look into getting one of those.

Our basic process works something like this:

1. Gene either has a crazy idea for a screenplay, or Paul challenges Gene to come up with an idea based on a given concept or story element (we call this "MacGyver screenwriting").  Often these challenges are completely unintentional; not long ago, while considering a movie to rent, Gene suggested a recent werewolf flick.  Paul replied, "Sure, I haven't seen a good werewolf movie in…ever.  And I suspect that tomorrow that will still be the case."  Gauntlet thrown down.  Gene comes up with an awesome idea for a werewolf movie by the next day (it's next on our "to-write" list, following the project we're currently working on.)

2. We discuss the script until we have a decent idea what we're going to do with it, while doing the necessary research.  Lots of research.  Lots of procrastination.

3. Gene does all the actual writing of the first draft -- that is, once Paul kicks him enough times in the jimmies to make him get to work.

4. With fresh and unbiased eyes, Paul reads the first draft, crosses every line out with a red pen, and berates Gene for handing him 120 pages of drivel that completely failed to achieve everything they had discussed.  An epic battle ensues, as Gene tries to use the spat-upon pages to deliver 120 paper cuts to each of Paul's eyes.  Paul retorts that that would be redundant considering the pain he just experienced by reading those pages.  Gene dismembers Paul and dissolves the remains in an acid bath.  By sheer force of spite Paul reconstitutes himself into an oozing, bloody, flesh-melting mass and seeps directly into Gene's brain.  At this point Gene realizes that Paul has some valid points, and the rewriting begins.

5. Once we are both happy with the results, we start handing it off to our trusted friends to read, and submitting the script to contests, so we can find out what we're now both too emotionally invested in and overly familiar with to recognize as needing more work.  Then we try and address those issues.  Sooner or later we decide we've done all we can until someone wants to buy it and give us specific notes on how they want it changed, and we move on to the next script.

What inspires you to write?

The need to make movies for the populace who watch them because they want to think and feel and care rather than just kill time with mindless semi-entertainment (which by our estimates is at least 84% of the marketplace).  We strive to write "medium concept" scripts -- enough plot and action to be enjoyable and engaging on a purely visceral level, while still having enough character and theme that they can be engrossing on a much more profound level if the audience is so inclined.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

"Truth, justice, and the American way."

What influenced you to enter Movie Script Contest?

The Golden Brad Award.  That thing just looks cool.  Honestly, that should be the name of the contest -- it's catchy.

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

That depends on two things: the contest, and the writer.  We don't think any contest can by itself make the career of a screenwriter -- not even the Nicholl.  It depends what a writer does with that placement in a contest.  Use it to promote oneself when networking.  Use it as an excuse to contact folks you've met at film festivals.  Remind people that someone else thought your script was worth reading.

By far, the best contests are those who can get your script out to some producers or other industry folks and help you establish contacts, since not all screenwriters have either the opportunity or inclination to rub elbows with them in Hollywood.  But in the end we believe the real product you're trying to sell isn't your material, it's yourself.

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

Yeah, like anyone knows who actually writes movies!!  That's a good one.

Seriously though, the screenwriters we like best are the ones who try to help the next generation of writers on their way into the business.  For us that means the ones who attend events like the Austin Film Festival and make themselves accessible to those trying to break in.

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

Yeah -- don't just settle for rewriting your scripts.  Make sure to keep polishing yourself.  Be the kind of writer that others are going to want to work with.  If you're shy or uncomfortable at social interaction, learn not to be.  If you're headstrong or difficult to work with, try to fix that.  If you don't take criticism well or easily roll with changes, work on changing that.  Most of all, just be the type of person that other people are going to want to associate with -- someone they know they can trust and can count on to treat them with respect, professionalism, and good cheer.

Also, never make deals with hyper dimensional corn-people.  They can't be trusted, and their legions of war-beetles are nearly invincible.

What’s next for you?

Well, if this screenwriting thing doesn't pan out, we plan to unleash a wave of diabolical super-villainy the likes of which this planet has never imagined (because it will mean that all that "be a good person" stuff we said earlier was all for naught)!  But we're pretty sure it will work out, so the citizens of Earth can remain calm.

We're currently working on a "romantic horror" script, and have a good dozen solid concepts for other scripts to write (including the aforementioned werewolf one) or tentative story ideas we plan to develop further.  Our big goal is to find a manager we click with who has a similar storytelling philosophy to ours to help us integrate into the Hollywood system and smooth out our rough edges.

In the meantime we just hope some folks get to read and enjoy our stories!