Interview with Muzz, Winner of SFH ‘Write a Screenplay in One Month’ Competition
by Jaden
Completing a minimum of 90 pages within a one month period, Muzz won the Screenwriting for Hollywood competition of August, 2008.
Muzz, tell us where you were raised.
I was born in a steel town in western Pennsylvania that was and is populated with characters that remain a primary source of inspiration.
What is your scholastic and work experience?
I took a B.A. in English from Carnegie-Mellon, studied writing with brilliant professors. After graduation, during difficult economic times, I wrote for small publications; bought a bass; fixed up a duplex with fun roommates; worked various jobs, even as a florist.
Why did you move to New York?
I attended grad school here. Though I’d worked a publishing internship, I wasn’t ready to pick up stakes for a job. My friends were here; I could see the NY skyline from my porch!
Were you in New York on 9-11?
Yes. I was headed to work when the first plane flew overhead. There was the bluest sky, but melancholy in the air, the way it gets when the humidity finally breaks.
At the time, I was teaching ESL and working as a manager of instruction at a language school where there was a true community of teachers and students from many countries; journalists, diplomats, business people, musicians and rap stars, actors and actresses. There was a lot of love and diplomacy there; after ten years, I left to freelance in 2005.
How have movies affected your life?
They have always affected me deeply as I’m drawn to storytelling, music and the study of the human condition. My mother had wanted to be an actress and my father was in radio for many years, so they both had the bug. There was a big build up for my first movies: The Wizard of Oz, which I saw at age four; Disney’s Cinderella and Mary Poppins. My hometown had two vaudeville relics with nubby velvet seats, musty curtains and balcony smoking sections. I adored them. My grandmother played piano for silents in those theaters. I used to keep a scrapbook about the Gish sisters, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd.
My mom and I used to watch whatever feature was on Sunday afternoon, whether it was a musical, a crime drama, whatever. My father was nuts about Barbara Stanwyck. My friends and I saw the same features over and over pre-video, sometimes for as little as fifty cents.
Also, my uncle was an actor who lived in New York; he did theater and soap operas, then went west for TV roles and became active in the union. His trips to our house were exciting; he brought books, creativity, and a sense that adult life begins in Greenwich Village.
When and why did you decide to write screenplays?
I was always an art nerd, musician and behind the scenes type, who wrote poetry, short stories and journalism, took lots of art classes and acting. In grad school I took a script analysis course taught by USC’s renowned Frank Daniel, and that lit the spark.
How does your experience help you to write screenplays?
Writing is cumulative; I write, edit and produce curricula for a range of clients. I’ve written about music and culture for small (mostly defunct) magazines. The world of Pennsylvania continues to inform my own work. A trip to a local social club can be an inspiration. I’m halfway into a novel that’s set there and have written two comic scripts that draw on people from home. I once wrote a somber short film based on a story of mine; it was optioned but not produced. Given life’s perplexing oddities, I’d rather be laughing.
What is your favorite screenplay?
We watch a lot of movies, which has led to reading more screenplays. My current favorite is The Apartment by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. It captures a moment in NYC history, circa 1960, that is poignant and hilarious. There are others: Caroline Thompson’s singular vision, Nora Ephron, Preston Sturges, and Woody Allen — a reason to fall in love with NYC.
Favorite forms include comedy classics like Sullivan’s Travels and Meet John Doe. I admire great drama also; Crimes and Misdemeanors, because it is such a skillful blend of comedy and tragedy; Brief Encounter of 1945 with dame Celia Johnson, which captures a particularly complex set of emotions.
What is your secret to winning the Screenwriting for Hollywood challenge and being able to write a screenplay in one month?
To paraphrase the guy in Annie Hall, this script started as a notion, then a concept and finally an idea. The premise was crafted from an image on one of your ‘write a pitch’ Sunday Picture Posts. I’d been thinking, but couldn’t articulate the idea and then five minutes later, there it was.
We spent a rainy Saturday watching Chaplin movies: City Lights was an inspiration for this new script. I wanted to write a modern comic fable where hero and heroine share a moment like its final scene. I knew the ending even before the hero emerged.
It was a laid back summer, so I worked in the community garden, walked and thought quite a bit. Walking is important; a good day is five to six miles. Writing was completed in an uncomfortable thrift shop chair I’ve had for years. (I have an attachment to working in this chair.) Drafting this script was like taking dictation from an uncanny radio broadcast; it was written in about three work-filled weeks. Other secrets include my wonderful, supportive partner, a gifted, hard working mathematician and writer (he wrote an adapted screenplay in two weeks), good friends and the SFH community, which provided encouragement.
Our days start early, so leaving the apartment for coffee is a reward. Seeing friends, shopping the farmers’ markets, walking to the Hudson River at sunset, chatting with folks in the shops . . . all of these are rewards in my book. And I carry a notebook, just in case.
Thank you Muzz.
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6 Responses to “Interview with Muzz, Winner of SFH ‘Write a Screenplay in One Month’ Competition”
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May we not have a gander?
Shane — A gander? or did you mean a gender? If it is the latter, she is female.
Sorry, it’s slang for “have a look”. I meant can we peep the screenplay. I know Muzz is a female, an intelligent and attractive one at that!
Muzz sounds fascinating. I was looking for the link to the screenplay but can’t find it – not even a summary.
I second the gander/peep/preview!
Shane, t.sterling, & Claire: Thanks for your interest. Muzz only recently gave me the script. I will read it soon and give coverage. After I discuss it with Muzz, we’ll see… For rights reasons, I can’t say anything about it without Muzz’s permission; so it would be up to Muzz.
Muzz, you may share whatever you like with people here in the comments section and if you want to post a separate page, I can do that for you.