[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: If you were to pick up a screenplay and read it, isn’t it mostly dialogue on the page?
Ryan McCoy, Filmmaker: I mean, there’s always the thing of you look at the first page and if there’s one line of dialogue, it’s like, you know what I mean?
So I don’t know if that’s what you’re asking, but I don’t think dialogue is that important.
I think it’s maybe 5 to 10% of the screenplay.
I don’t put a lot of weight on the dialogue.
I think that can be almost when it’s well structured, you can change them out like light bulbs, and that’s when you find the best line.
That’s where you have these iconic lines that hit.
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Film Courage: Why are you a strong believer in writing dialogue last?
Ryan: For that very reason, I don’t think it makes the story.
It’s more of the icing.
It’s more on the spectacle side.
I’ve mentioned this in other videos and things of that nature, but I think Pulp Fiction specifically, Tarantino kind of put every aspiring screenwriter back 30 years, right?
Because Tarantino is obviously a very unique, individual voice.
I lived through it.
I remember when Pulp Fiction came out, soon after that I started film school.
That’s what everybody tried to do.
I tried to do the same thing.
I tried to write ‘Oh this is like Pulp Fiction,’ but like a horror movie with banshees.
Really we should be looking back at William Goldman’s and the generation from…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Ryan McCoy was born and raised in Everett, Washington. Growing up, he made movies with his childhood friends. After high school, he attended the Art Institute of Seattle, where he studied film and video production. While still attending school, Ryan began pre-production for his first film, “black.” He met his director, Claude Sandeaux, while in school and asked him to direct. Three years later, Ryan has now moved to Los Angeles, where he continues to pursue filmmaking. His first film, “Black,” is now in the process of finding distribution.
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