MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Glenn Forbes

An interview with screenwriter Glenn Forbes regarding the PAGE International Writing Competition.

A: It’s called “Tunnelvision”, and it’s about a woman who suffers from horrifying visions and brutal physical wounds from a serial killer from the past. To save her soul, her unborn child, and the future as she knows it, she sets out to manipulate the laws of time, death and reincarnation. It’s a strange coincidence, but I got the idea for “Tunnelvision” when my tooth cracked apart by eating popcorn while watching a TV show about hypnotherapy & reincarnation. When I arrived at my dentist an hour later, the lady from that TV show was miraculously in the hallway outside my dentist office. Her hypnotherapy office was at the end of the hall. While every breath was agony as my root was still exposed, we still chatted for about an hour and the seeds for the forward/backward time elements of “Tunnelvision” were planted.

A: I had heard good things about PAGE being one of the best up & coming contests but hadn’t entered previously. PAGE has both a large number of entries (over 2500 this year) and they do a great job of promoting the winners, so that was the tipping point to enter. This script also advanced to the second round at Slamdance and received a ‘consider’ from the AAA Screenplay Contest.

A: The staff at PAGE were terrific. Very communicative. They kept me closely apprised of what was happening. Their quarter and semi–finalist notifications were done exactly when they said. And by doing a special “Live” website announcement of the winners, they made the thrill of receiving the contest results a community affair, which is nice for writers because it’s such a solitary process.

A: No feedback.

A: All in all, I think I received a dozen or so requests from managers, agents and producers - some of which came directly from PAGE’s promotion, and some from my own promotion efforts. There’s been some serious interest, but nothing finalized yet.

A: I’m a writer/director by profession and have done pretty much every type of project there is, except for a feature. I’ve written/directed a few short films that have done well at festivals, and written a few screenplays that have done well at festivals & competitions. My comedy script “Head First, Face Down” won Austin a few years ago, and I’ve been steadily writing more material since then.

A: I keep a presence in LA, but I live in Toronto. Sometimes I use the fact that I’m not in LA to console myself over not having landed a manager or agent yet. But the truth is that my writing is getting better and becoming more commercial all the time, and as soon as I hit that magic formula, representation will hopefully come. In the meantime, I use the dream of moving to LA to console myself about living in Toronto and its two seasons – winter and construction.

A: I’m writing screenplays number 6 & 7 right now. One is an R-rated comedy in the vein of “Wedding Crashers” meets “Stripes”. The other is an odd comedy that owes a debt to the spirit of Peter Sellers in “Being There”. I’m also in the early stages of crafting the story for a new thriller. For more info: www.glennforbes.com

Posted Thursday, November 9, 2006