MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter vicki englund

An interview with screenwriter vicki englund regarding the Worldfest - Houston Writing Competition.

A: It's called "My Romantic Comedy" and is about a former couple - Holly and Jack - who had a bad break-up and who bump into each other three years later. Jack, who'd cheated on Holly, thinks it's fate and that they should give it another try, but Holly doesn't want to know about it. The big question is, will Jack blow it again or can he go against his nature, grow up and commit.

A: I live in Brisbane in Australia, and a few years ago I read about another Brisbane writer who won the comedy-romance section of the screenwriting competition at Worldfest. I thought that it was a great idea to have particular genres in a competition because you're up against others of the same kind. It can be hard if you've got a romantic comedy and are putting it in against hard-hitting dramas and thrillers. It could be seen as being a bit trivial. An earlier version of the screenplay was nominated for the Monte Miller Award for an unproduced screenplay at the Australian Writers' Guild Awards a few years back. That had been the only other competition I'd entered it into. In the meantime I'd had it assessed and had done a lot of work on it.

A: Yeah, everything seemed fine and I got my prize money and certificates.

A: I didn't receive any feedback.

A: I was contacted by the person who judged the script and gave it first prize. He wanted to option it so it's currently under option with him. I've also since had an enquiry from a producer and director team so the publicity helped the script and me get noticed.

A: I've been writing freelance for over 10 years, making a modest living doing stuff like film and TV reviews in local newspapers and magazines. I've written about six feature-length screenplays, two of which are under option at the moment. A couple have had development funding from the Australian Film Commission, which is a major source of film production money in Australia. I've had a short film produced and will have another one produced early next year. As for TV, I've written some episodes of a national Australian show for pre-school children.

A: I'm married with a four year-old child so moving from Australia to L.A. isn't really an option at the moment.

A: I'm always working on several ideas at various stages of development. I've recently completed a draft of a new drama screenplay and have another romantic comedy in the early stages.

Posted Tuesday, December 19, 2006