COMEDY Festival Best Scene: REVOLVING DOORS, by Jim Falletta (interview)
BEST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
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3m 10s
Two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke "stars" at a bar that caters to senior citizens must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Tom: Sean Ballantyne
Terri: Hannah Ehman
Steven: Geoff Mays
Get to know the screenwriter:
1. What is your screenplay about? Revolving Doors is about two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke "stars" at a bar that caters to senior citizens who must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under? The main genre is definitely comedy, but I have worked really hard to include romance, drama, and some coming-of-age elements.
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie? I believe the two main characters are really relatable people in today's society. Beyond that, the story deals with themes of family, relationships, chasing your dreams, and what it means to find yourself despite all of the chaos happening around you.
4. How would you describe this script in two words? Beautifully strange.
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life? That's a tough one – I'm a bit all over the map. From The Godfather, to Braveheart, Pulp Fiction, Swingers, and even Old School...It's probably a pretty close tie between all of those.
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay? I've been at it for a few years. The script has taken many forms along the way. What started simply as a funny premise has (hopefully) grown into a story about real people dealing with real issues (in a comedic way).
7. How many stories have you written? Tons. Hundreds of them, but most of them were simply practice runs preparing me to be able to write stories like this.
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?) Wow. Tough one. Maybe Hotel California by the Eagles? That song is a chameleon that can fit into so many different moods. If it's not that, it's probably something from Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin (weird combination, I know).
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay? I think just finding the line between absolutely ridiculous comedy to something that has a bit more balance and can connect to a wider audience.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? I love music and cooking. Or playing music while I'm cooking.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site? I love FilmFreeway. It's easy to set up and I love how it keeps track of your entries and updates you on the status once the contests have finished judging.
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received? The idea that this was a "comedy" festival was a big influence. I was looking for something outside of the US and this was a perfect fit. The initial feedback was great. There are always things to do and improvements that can be made to spec scripts like this. The reader had some honest, grounded feedback that really helped shape future drafts.
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