MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter Gary Wallace

An interview with screenwriter Gary Wallace regarding the Gray Wolf Writing Competition.

A: The title of my script is "Nino Cochise" It is about the life of Cochise's grandson. When the Apache's were herded away to the San Carlos Reservation in 1876, Tahza, the son of Cochise, made a way of escape for his clan to a hideaway high in the Sierra Madre mountains of northern Mexico. His son Nino was two years old at the time. It would be the last time he would ever see his son and wife. Survival was tough, but with the help of Nino's uncle Geronimo, they managed to not only survive, but prosper with the added help of a gold mine very near their camp. Made chief in his teens, he restores the great leadership of his grandfather, and with the help from a wise old Shaman. He goes through a bitter disappointment with his first love, befriends the Mexican peasants of a small town by fighting off bandits trying to take possession of it. He has a fight to the death with an Apache over seven feet tall, and with only a handful of local Indians, Mexican peasants, and the white ranchers of Sonora, defeats a tyrannical governor and his army of 2,000 soldiers.

A: I felt a native American connection. I have entered in a couple but with not much luck. But making it to the quarter finals of the International Page Awards kind of encouraged me, as there were nearly four thousand entrants from fifty different countries. That meant I beat out almost three thousand entries.

A: So far I have been very satisfied with the administration of these contests. Charro from Gray Wolf films has been especially helpful. The first place winner, was to have their screeplay produced. Unfortunately my second place finish received no rewards which is ok, as I knew that when entering.

A: As I mentioned before Charro has taken an interest in my script and has e-mailed me several times with very helpful advise.

A: Unfortunately, no. The genre of my screenplay is not a popular one. Native Americans have no voice in the very land that once belonged to them. And please don't take this statement personally, as I love Black Americans just as much as Native Americans. But let's face it. Compared to Native Americans, Blacks are upper class citizens. Nino said it best, when he told his story at 97 yrs. old, We were called the "Nameless Ones"now we are the "Forgotten Ones"

A: I have a little Native American blood in me, so I guess this help motivate me to write this screenplay. When I was fifteen, I was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in my right upper arm the size of a softball. At that time only one bone transplant surgery had ever been done. My doctor informed my mother that all he could do was to amputate the arm, and I might live to my early twenties. Just before the surgery was to be done, Dr Thatcher from Chicago was on vacation, decided to visit Stanford Hospital, performed his second bone transplant, and here I am. My background is one of being greatful for each day, and living the American dream. And my hope is to one day to see the Native American get a fair shake. Maybe a miraculous transplant to a better life. This is the only thing I have written so far.

A: I don't think I could handle LA. I moved from the Bay Area years ago to get away from the congestion, for the solitude of Colorado. But if a great opportunity opened up, who knows. But again, it would have to be one heck of an opportunity.

A: I have a few ideas, but my precious right hand has'nt glided across the keyboard yet. Although I've been thinking of my growing up in the tough little neighborhood of East Paly, CA. would make for some great writing. I do a little acting and belong to an agency in Denver, and would really love to play the Jim Ticer charactor in Nino, should it ever get produced. But as anyone that has written a screenplay or done any acting, knows this is not an easy task. It may take another divine intervention to make it happen.

Posted Wednesday, January 21, 2009