MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Hilliard Guess

An interview with screenwriter Hilliard Guess regarding the Screenplay Festival Writing Competition.

A: REBEL YELL -- Drama -- When Hip-hop moguls take over an LA radio station and fire its top English DJ, his feisty black wife storms in and holds them hostage, forcing the moguls to learn that her husband was once the Wolfman Jack of England.

The 60s in London was a time when music moved generations of rebellious youth. REBEL YELL takes place mainly during the pre-hippie movement when the Mods and Rockers are fighting on the beaches of Brighton and a 'youth-quake' is at hand.

Told through the use of flashbacks and clever narratives, it tells the dramatic love story between RHODA, an English/Jamaican black girl and MIKE DIRTY, a lower class Brit, who together, fight against all odds to find love, all the while he slowly becomes the most influential British DJ of their time. Mike's the first of his kind to put black music, specifically Reggae and Ska, on the radio British air waves.

A: Rebel Yell is actually my first screenplay that I'd written and completed back in 2001 -2002. It advanced to the 2003 Final Cut of Sundance Screenwriting Contest and the Quarterfinals of Scriptapalooza's contest in the same year...

I'd grown so much as a writer over the years that I'd decided to pull REBEL YELL out of the drawer and add some new touches to the story: structure, character and dialogue. After I'd done a few polishes, I happened upon Screenplay Festival's competition on-line and decided to enter.

Luckily, the REBEL YELL won Honorable Mention at the 2006 competition.

A: I was very satisfied with the adminstration. I received all of my awards certificate and all of my awards in a timely fashion and have been contacted by their staff for help and guidance several times.

A: No, there was no feedback given. But they did praise my screenplay which I was very grateful for.

A: I was able to post the synopsis, logline and screenplay for REBEL YELL on Inktip.com, Moviebytes.com and Winningscripts.com. I have not been contacted by any reps as of yet, but after only a week of signing up on those sites, I've had at least ten production companies request my loglines/script.

If any Lit Agents or Managers would like to contact me in regards to representation you can reach me through Michael C. Donaldson at Donaldson/Hart Law Offices (310) 273-5711

Or feel free to check me out -- Hilliard Guess at IMDB.COM.

A: I grew up in the 'hood just outside of San Francisco. Like most young black males in the 80s, I was in a break-dancing crew/gang when I was younger, and boy did get into a lot of trouble. My Mom and Dad encouraged me to use my gift for dancing in a more positive way. I was around twelve or thirteen at the time, and I somehow came across The Palo Alto Children's Theater on a day they just happened to be auditoning for the musical "Free To Be You and Me." I got one of the lead roles and was hooked. And as they say, the rest was history...

I was a working actor in TV, Films, Commercials and professional theater for many years until I discoverd my real passion was screenplay writing.

I have nine screenplays in different stages of developement.

In 2005 my screenplay "SECTION 8" advanced to the Quarterfinals of The Nichol Felloships Screenwriting Contest.

I've also written TV Spec Scripts for "ENTOURAGE," (which advanced to the Quarerfinals of 2006 Scriptapalooza TV and Creative Screen Magazine's 2006 AAA Contest) "BOSTON LEGAL" and a "COLD CASE" spec. These specs are all very strong writing samples.

A: Yes, I live around Sunset and Vine, right in the heart of Hollywood California. I personally advise any young writer to make the move toLa La Land. You just can't beat the opportunities and accessibility to the industry. I can't tell you how many contacts I've made writing at nearby coffee shops or working out at Gold's Gym Hollywood. Here, everyone's in the industry. You have to take advantage of the resources. And in LA, the resources are EVERYBODY!

A: Right now, I'm focusing on TV writing. I'm repped by Michael C. Donaldson at Donaldson/Hart Law Offices in West Hollywood and we're knocking on Agents and Producers doors to get me signed and on staff in the Fall.

NEXT?

I'm always working on several screenplays at once. Besides focusing on TV specs, I'm working on getting the rights to a book (that I can't reveal). Let's just say, it's in the vein of "Ray" or "Walk The Line."

Hilliard Guss can be contacted directly at:

Hilldoog@aol.com or Imdb.com

Or

Michael C. Donaldson Donaldson/Hart Law Offices (310) 273-5711

Posted Friday, June 1, 2007