Interview:

David Landau is a published, award winning playwright and screenwriter whose has had plays produced nationwide. He has written industrial videos and penned numerous screenplays - two winning first place in competitions. He teaches screenwriting and electronic filmmaking at Fairleigh Dickinson University, has been published in The Dramatists Guild Quarterly, Script Magazine and Screenwriters Monthly Magazine and holds and MFA in Screenbwriting from Goddard College. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Mystery Writers of America and IATSE Local 52 (as a gaffer).

Is “CARETAKER” your first script? If not, what else have you completed?

No I've penned over a dozen screenplays, mostly humorous. Caretaker was a departure for me into "the dark side".  My supernatural comedy "Seance" won first place and third place in contests and was once optioned.  I have also had a screenplay based on one of my plays optioned.

Why did you write "CARETAKER? And how long did it take you to write it?

I wrote it based on the idea of a solitary person dealing with unsettling issues both internally and externally. A thru line in a lot of my work is the thin line between the real and unreal.  The first draft took about a month. Then I had a producer friend of mine read it and she gave me great notes. I then rewrote it and took it to my writers group for a table read. More notes, more changes.  Then to a convention where it was partially read and got notes - rewrote. Then I saw "23" and "Stay" and "The Jacket" and they all sort of inspired me, which gave me new ideas and more rewriting.  So perhaps tat came to another year of rewrites.

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

I think about things for a long time. Sometimes I dash down notes on paper or cards. In this case I wrote a very short pitch, then a half page treatment. I knew where I wanted the twist to be and what that would be, but I didn't have an ending. I don't believe in charting out the entire story before I write. I want to discover it as I write - which I think comes across to the reader, allowing them to discover things.  I usually sit down and write the entire script within a week and ten go back over it and rewrite things as when I get to the end some of the beginning may need adjustment. With "Caretaker", I knew I wanted the twist to be the second plot point = the launch into act III. I thought that would be different, as usually twists come as the climax or even after the climax. It was a challenge and I thought one that could lead me to something new and interesting.   So my routine is to think for months on end, take notes, then belch the script out rather quickly - over a few weekends since I work and am busy many days. Then comes the real work, the rewriting.  That becomes the layering for me, the set-up and pay-offs, the pacing  and really discovering for myself what the theme is.

What inspires you to write?

God knows? The need to spin tales. Ideas tat flow from unknown strange places. History - I love history and get many ideas from it. In the case of "Caretaker" it was philosophy and the question as to what is real? If we believe something is totally real, isn't it as good as real, at least at that time? That is sort of an existentialist question.

Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Lighting and fencing. I am a gaffer and a lighting designer, also a foil fencer and I love stage combat.

What influenced you to enter the Movie Script Contest?

It sounded like a good contest with good exposure.

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

Yes, as they allow writers to get exposure.

Who is your favorite screenwriter or writer and why?

Aaron Sorkin, George Bernard Shaw, Billy Wilder, Mark Twain.

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

Write what you would want to see, what gets you excited. That comes across on the page.  and let the story have a life of its own. Its okay to plan out your story, but don't force it to stay to an outline and don't force things that don't come naturally.

What’s next for you?

I'm working on a new screenplay based on my play "Killing Mr.Withers". We had a table read at my writers group. So its rewrite time. They called it a Coen Brothers kind of thing, which is good as I really like the Coen brothers. "Killing Mr.Withers" is a screwball thriller, I guess - off the deep end.