CAST LIST:

Narrator: Steve Rizzo
Jackdass: Shawn Devlin
Jen: Hannah Ehman

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

This is the tale of the immortal Vampire Goddess Lilitu of ancient lore and her near human lover Dougal, their three identical red haired daughters and an oblivious species known as humanity.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Science Fiction/Fantasy

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Since I first took up the pen to write this story I have watched as rewrites of successful films and sequels and prequels have graced our screens, some enhanced by more seasoned writing and special effects while others show little imagination or creativity and relying on the name of it’s original. This story has no comparison.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Sensuous thriller

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Hard to answer. I had a mother, have a wife and daughter. Now grandchildren, so you’re looking at Sound of Music verses Willie Wonka (the original), or numerous episodes of Bluey.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

First got the idea in 1986, so a very long time. But then again, the short back story was first written down in 1974 as an English Literature test in High School.

7. How many stories have you written?

I’ve written many stories through the decades, but I’ve found they all end up as part of this one.

After all, this story lasts almost eighty million years from beginning to end.

8. What is your favourite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the
most times in your life?)

When you get to my age and I think you’ll find this with most of the Baby Boomers, we have many songs that fill us with sweet memories. Songs from the sixties, seventies and eighties.

Although I have had a fondness for Classical, Jazz and Blues from pretty much all eras.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

Well, she’s still not finished.

The story has probably about another four hours of telling. That’s another two parts. But when it comes down to it, life is the obstacle in any artistic endeavour.

In the very early years, it took six months to write the original first part and a further three months to write the second part and lastly the third part was a year.

Then I married and the world turned upside down.

Leaving the artistic community where I belonged in Sydney to the country surrounded by mundanes, was unsettling enough, but almost immediately, my new wife became ill and has remained that way ever since, slowly deteriorating over the years.

This meant fully engrossing myself in the mundane world of country backwater Australia. So backwater, that at night, you can almost hear the banjos playing.

Even after moving to city edge the pursuit of work sometimes turned an eight hour day into a twelve including travel.

Then of course, with my wife’s illness, I am truly grateful to be in Australia rather than the US, because this screenplay would never have had the opportunity to be dragged out of the dusty cover for its next rewrite where the resultant maturity of the author has led to a story with depth and living individuals with real personalities.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

There are many things that interest me. I’m rebuilding a ’72 Norton motorcycle at the moment and I’m hoping to get it running on water, or at least a dual fuel machine.

I paint landscapes. I love rewilding places. My wife had a property outside of the city that was waterlogged and although there were a few big trees on it, most of them had been taken by the previous owner. I dug out a huge fishpond by hand and shaped the land for the run off to end there and then planted a forest all around it. Even built a bridge over the water. When we eventually moved to a 100 year old cottage on a tiny block of land, I couldn’t help but do the same thing all over again.

Acting. Before marriage, I was always either on the stage or working as an extra on a TV or film set.

Studying theatre arts prepared me in ways I couldn’t conceive of, from being able to read or send messages to others using body language alone to being able to become other people entirely in the blink of an eye no matter where on Earth they come from The Political World.

I know that no one wants to be interested in such a subject and I am told more than I would like, that both this and religion are subjects that should be avoided. I would corner Adventists, Jehovah witnesses and Mormons at the front door to prevent their escape. And be very careful about throwing some patriotic crap in my direction, I hone in on that like a tiger shark. Love to debate. Especially with politicians on subjects that really matter.

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your
experiences working with the submission platform site?

I never consider entering a competition all that hard.

Admittedly, there are many programs out there that are really difficult to use, but as time goes on, those who are setting these sites up are getting better at the job. For me, it was easy.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings
on the initial feedback you received?

Being a Scot, the biggest problem I have is parting with the money, but this time I’d just drawn out some of my Superannuation to buy an old motorcycle, which I procured cheaper than I expected and so, there was a lot of leftover. The parts requiring replacement and for the upgrade were less expensive than I expected and there was the competition. Just sitting there in my email, looking all sexy and addictive.

My brother owns a CFX company that he operates out of Indonesia where he lives. His partners live all around the world and he is doing well for himself.

He has never believed in me and has intentionally gone out of his way to avoid letting me play with him, refusing to even glance at my story.

We were talking on the phone the day I entered the competition and I told him that I was getting tired of trying to get the screenplay sold. His response, being one of gratitude I was at last, showing some maturity in this matter by giving up this fantasy, gave me hope and so I immediately, on hanging up from him, opened the site and lodged my entry.

When I received the feedback, I was stunned. This story that lived within my mind like a second life, changing and writhing to be noticed had suddenly been heard.

I have won very few contests and with some, even the winnings were lost before they made their way to me, so I had not envisaged such praise and how the few failings in the work were mere technicalities.

Suddenly I was again hopeful that the world could share in my story, where I remain to this day. I look forward to sending a photo of my Best Screenplay Award to my brother.