A misguided South African, a Villainous Cop and a Troubled Soul

The third draft of my screenplay adaptation, TITLE VII, is going quite well because of the conversations and meetings with the exciting actors I’ve cast in three of the supporting roles. These male actors took what was on the page plus my passion for the storyline and suited up for an expedition of unchartered territory. Or was it?

This workplace drama is a character study filled with people who come with their own drive and demons. But the colors that were both in the original text and from the minds of the creators (the actors very much included) really grab from the personal experience my 40- and 50-something guys have to offer.

Having what could be a boring goodie two shoes HR executive take on the real-life backstory of my South African actor couldn’t be more rich. And the fact that my actor witnessed apartheid in his youth from oppressors of his own race really fits into our script that is all about race — in the States. And we know we have plenty of issues here.

My troubled soul is being brought to life by an actor who is also an extremely talented — and working — writer/director. I modeled the character he’s playing after some of his mannerisms. And that added layer of how the character confronts his long lost classmate is gold. Having my experienced friend also guide me through confusing screenplay advice I’ve been receiving through the years really freed me. The key: write a script you want the reader to “get.” So it’s not about you as the writer/director and the shorthand we may employ in either the oversharing or lack of detail. It’s about the reader. See the film in the script without any visuals needed. Got it.

This past weekend I had a dinner meeting with the actor playing the character with whom I had the most trouble. Spoiler alert. We have a villainous cop in our midst and his whole person is something we recognize from the news, but turned into a “let’s not go there” that readers of my script wanted to avoid. In fact, they would say his bad behavior is not to be believed. But my actor, John Crandall, already brought me ideas of the non-verbal moments that I am eager to explore when we get to rehearsal. Turns out John is already rehearsed! And owns it. He claims he just has to tap into his inner asshole. I’m thrilled he owns that too!

While I go deep past the midnight hour tonight to add all of these additions to draft three I’m happy to say I’m even more excited. I’ve always known the supporting roles bring such memorable moments to the cinematic experience. I never really knew how much power the supporting actors had until my real life kept being interrupted by the desire to get to the computer and feed my characters even more.

I’m so glad you as readers are joining us on this journey. If you’re interested in supporting TITLE VII in our pre-fundraiser fundraiser with a $15 tax-deductible donation, you can! We have a little more than $29,500 needed (thank you so much to the generous donors already!). We’re marching to victory by requesting small tax-deductible contributions of$15 per person that offers unlimited streaming of the final film, a film credit (if contacted by the summer deadline) and a social media shoutout. Can we do it? I’m sharing how to do so with a tax-deductible donation here. My fiscal sponsor, An EPIPHANY Conversation, is the portal for all donations in this round. An EPIPHANY Conversation was formed as a fiscally sponsored community dialogue to introduce and educate using EPIPHANY Inc. media projects that take pride in communities of color — like we’re doing with this film! TITLE VII is that special project this year.

Thanks, Everyone!