Film Courage: Can you tell us about an actual assignment you received and go through the timeline and how you worked your way through the deadline? Maybe you came in over it? Maybe under it?
Gary Goldstein, Screenwriter/Playwright: Well, with assignments there is particular deadline or goal that you are trying to reach. But then the goal posts keep changing just because schedules change and you end up with more time, sometimes you end up with a little less time.
I’ve worked on films where they realized they needed to sell a little sooner than they thought, so you have to step it up. But generally there’s enough time to do your draft, to do several other drafts.
On a lot of my TV movies I’ve worked throughout the production even where if something is a problem I’ve changed something. The director will call and I’ll change something or alter something or add a scene or that kind of thing. So sometimes it goes even beyond the just turning in the script stage.
But generally the way it goes is that you get the outline approved. I structure the script, I outline the script (do that step-process that I do) and then I start writing.
And I do generally schedule myself to take out like a calendar and say Okay I’ve got six weeks to write this first draft.
So by this week I want to get here. I want to finish it here. I want to have two weeks to rewrite it, that kind of thing and that helps me. I always find writing anything down and seeing anything visually really helps me make it happen.
And then I just try to barrel forward. And also if I see a glitch…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
Bio:
Gary Goldstein is an award winning writer for film, TV and the stage. He has written numerous films for Hallmark Channel and its sister network, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, including the comedies “The Wish List,” “Hitched for the Holidays,” “This Magic Moment” and “My Boyfriends’ Dogs,” and the first two films in the “Flower Shop Mystery” series: “Mum’s the Word” and “Snipped in the Bud,” starring Brooke Shields.
Gary’s feature film “Politics of Love,” a romantic comedy set during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, was released in theaters August 2011. He also wrote the feature romantic comedy, “If You Only Knew,” which starred Johnathon Schaech, Alison Eastwood and James LeGros.
In addition, Gary has sold or optioned a number of original screenplays, has a string of episodic TV credits and has sold half-hour comedy pilots to both NBC and Warner Bros Television.
On the L.A. stage, Gary has been represented with the comedies “Just Men,” “Parental Discretion” and “Three Grooms and a Bride.” His family drama “Curtain Call” premiered in late 2008 at Carmel, CA’s Pacific Repertory Theatre. His newest play, the three-sisters dramedy “April, May & June,” will have its World Premiere in March 2017 at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, as part of its 2016-17 subscription season.
Gary is also a freelance film reviewer and feature writer for the Los Angeles Times.
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