[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: Do you have to have a log line before you begin a screenplay?
Greg Porper, Filmmaker/Screenwriter: You don’t have to have a log line before writing a screenplay. It definitely helps.
I’d say definitely for me I need to have a direction, a general sense of where I want to go.
It doesn’t have to be exact because I think that’s something that will get discovered on the page.
I’ll get discovered through the process.
Generally, I will come up with a character that I really like, a scenario that I want to see that character in, and then over time, I’ll craft the log line. This is before I’m really writing on the page.
If I’m writing on the page, usually I do have enough of a sense of where I’m going to start, where I’m going to end, and probably what that middle point is that end of act one.
What’s that act 2 a going to look like? Those are the pieces that I want to have and that usually also will inform what the story is. Then in turn also what the log line will eventually be.
It’s usually a mushy log line until the actual film is done or the screenplay is far enough along where it’s actually something that’s presentable.
Film Courage: When you’re writing a first draft, do you write it all the way through or do you stop and go back and fix this here and look at this here?
Greg: Yes. When writing a first draft, I definitely tend to revisit…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Greg Porper is an award-winning writer, director, and producer known for edgy, unexpected comedies that push rule- followers and rebels out of their comfort zones, blending humor and tension to spark laughs and gasps. In addition to writing and directing Don’t Tell Larry, Porper served as the film’s lead producer, strategically crafting, pitching, and executing the film’s business plan, securing all of the financing from over three dozen investors, and managing daily operations overseeing a team of more than 100 people throughout the film’s life cycle. Working as a development executive and freelance producer for over ten years, Porper has also developed and produced shows for Netflix, Fox, ESPN, MTV, truTV, Viceland, Discovery+, and more. He created, sold, and served as showrunner for the ten-episode CW digital series, Worst Birthday Ever. His pilot scripts and shorts have been featured on The Black List, College Humor, Funny or Die, and have screened at festivals all across the country. Porper is also working with producer Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club) on his next dark comedy feature. Porper is a proud Northwestern alum who bleeds purple (though he should probably get that checked out by a doctor).
WATCH ‘DON’T TELL LARRY’ TRAILER
MORE VIDEOS WITH GREG PORPER
CONNECT WITH GREG PORPER
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New book from Film Courage! – See it on Payhip here
New book from Film Courage! – See it on Payhip here
