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Scriptapalooza Interviews 3rd Place Winner Theresa Shaw

Script: DINING WITH DINAH

How did you come up with your story idea?

Years ago I was into the restaurant scene in NY and obsessively read reviews by my two favorite critics. I wondered what their job was like – and from that Dinah, the diva restaurant critic was born. Initially her daughter, Lilly, was in the background but since she was professionally ambitious like her mother it made sense that her goal would be to work at the same prominent newspaper. I think most parents would be proud to see their child succeed professionally, but what if the child became the parent’s boss? The dynamics of their relationship changed, thereby intensifying the conflict. The title DINING WITH DINAH isn’t just the name of her newspaper column, it refers to the back-story of the mother/daughter relationship.

How long did it take you to write it?

Dinah herself was created in 1992, but she was first in another script idea. Some drafts of DINING WITH DINAH took a month, others six months. I’ve had more drafts of Dinah than any other script I’ve written. I like to think Dinah and I grew up together.

Is this your first script that you have written?

No, I wrote some pretty awful screenplays in film school at NYU and right afterwards. Dinah is the second of three scripts I thought were worthy of submitting to competitions.

Have you entered other screenwriting competitions?

Yes, in recent years I’ve submitted two other screenplays to competitions as well as earlier drafts of Dinah. The competitions are great motivators for a new writer, you have a goal and a deadline and that keeps you writing and re-writing.

If so, have you been successful?

A few years ago, my screenplay HELLGATE reached different finalist levels at Chesterfield, Fade-In Magazine, and the Austin Film Festival all in the same year – that really gave me the confidence to keep writing.

Why did you enter Scriptapalooza?

There are a lot of competitions out there but I researched the screenwriting websites and learned that Scriptapalooza had a good reputation for being well run. It also had an impressive list of participating industry professionals and great sponsors including Write Brothers. But most importantly Scriptapalooza provided the finalists with exposure – which is really what a new writer needs most and is difficult to generate on your own.

Advice to other screenwriters?

Write everyday no matter what, even if it’s one page before you crawl into bed. And never lose faith in yourself.

How did you feel when you saw your name as one of the winners?

I was thrilled to see my name in the earlier finalist levels of Scriptapalooza. But when I saw DINING WITH DINAH won 3rd place I felt a great sense of relief. I so believe in these characters and I was pleased to know someone else responded to them as well.

Updated: 09/15/2003

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