Film Courage: When it comes to plot, how can a writer figure out what isn’t working?
Tony DuShane, Writer/Podcaster/Teacher: I think that’s in later rewrites, throw it all in there. What I do is I outline more after than I do before, so then I outline the scenes. I kind of think of it as a DJ, so the heavy conflict here is a nine and then let’s get it back down to a four, then let’s bring it up to a seven. I used to DJ at bars and stuff in San Francisco with my crates of vinyl [records]. I want to keep the dance floor going. How do I keep the dance floor going? I can’t smash cut (I’m blanking) on Fiona Apple to AC/DC. I probably can but how do they stay on the dance floor so then they go buy more drinks so I get more money at the end of the night from the place. I think it’s about curating the scenes. As you get toward your final draft, the scene has to make a case for itself. Does the scene even make it into the movie? I find it really intriguing that yes it makes it into the movie, yes it gets shot, yes it gets into post and even those scenes get cut. There’s a reason those scenes are written even if we have to take them out when we’re in the screenwriting process, there’s a reason those scenes are filmed even if they have to be taken out during post-production and I don’t know what that reason is and there’s probably producers going We’re losing money! when you do this but at the same time the actor and director have to work through that scene that never makes it into the movie but that may inform how another scene is shot or how a character actor comes at their angle on another scene and for some I feel like there’s a lot of pages that you wrinkle up and throw away and you’re just like That didn’t work but you need it to get to where it works, you need those and you need to embrace those pages and you need to…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk by Tony DuShane – Check out the book on Amazon:
BIO:
Tony DuShane is the author and award-winning screenwriter of Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk. The book was published by Soft Skull Press and the feature film, directed by Eric Stoltz, was released in 2018 and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. His journalism and essays has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, Penthouse, The Rumpus, The Believer, and other media outlets. He teaches writing at UCLA Extension and his journalism has appeared in Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. He hosts the literary podcast Drinks with Tony every Wednesday.
CONNECT WITH TONY DUSHANE:
Drinks With Tony Podcast on Podbean
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