Interview: Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg — Part 6
In December 2011, writer-director Spenser Cohen sold the action-thriller spec script “The Driver” he wrote with Zach Luna. In November 2012, Cohen sold the action spec script “High Value Target”. Then in January 2013, Spenser sold another spec script: “Pantheon”. A writer who sells 3 spec scripts within 2 years is someone we need to hear from, so I’m pleased to present my interview with Spenser.
In Part 6, Spenser talks more about the craft and offers advice for aspiring screenwriters:
Scott: What do you think about when you’re writing a scene, crafting it? Are there questions you ask or points you want to make sure you hit when you approach crafting a scene?
Spenser: It’s important to know who your characters are, what their goals are, and what they want in each scene. Everyone wants something. Everyone is trying to get something from someone else. If your characters want different things, then the scene comes to life. There’s tension. It’s combustible.
Scott: It’s ironic that the one part of the scripts that script readers don’t like to read as much, is a scene description, and yet the bulk of a movie is the action. So how do you make scene description as entertaining as possible?
Spenser: I don’t think anybody likes to open up a script and see giant chunks of action. You open up a book, you expect that, but I think with a script, it needs to be sparse. If you’re writing huge paragraphs then you haven’t figured out what you’re trying to say there, and often times it can be summed up in a sentence. You really need to paint a picture visually and break up the action on the page.
Some of my favorite writers are people who write in an almost staccato style like Walter Hill’s stuff. The script for Alien is a perfect example of that.
Scott: You’re a writer director. What are your thoughts about breaking up individual camera shots into single lines, a line per shot?
Spenser: I love that approach. I think it allows the reader to visualize the sequence, the cuts, the progression of action. It really is directing on the page, and I think that’s very important because you want whoever’s reading it, to be able to see the movie. Not just any movie, but the movie that you wrote, the way you imagined it.
Scott: You finish a first draft, now you’re facing the inevitable rewrite process. What’s that process like, could you describe the stages that you go through in rewriting a script?
Spenser: Yeah, usually I’ll step away for a week, or jump onto another project just to clear my head, because obviously at that point I have no idea what’s good, what’s bad, what’s working, what’s not. I’ll print it out a week after I finish it, sit down, and read through it again. I’m really hard on myself, so I go through and really start cutting and making changes.
It really helps to have someone like Anna. She’ll read snippets here and there, and help me along the way, but she’s really the first person who will read it in its entirety. I’ll get her opinion, and either she’s like, “This is working, but it needs this, this, and this,” or she’s says, “You’re off target here,” whatever it is. It really helps to have that person who you trust, and who can really be there, because often times, you just don’t know what’s working.
After Anna reads it and gives me her thoughts, I’ll go through and cut everything up, and re‑outline things that aren’t working. Then I’ll go back in and do a second pass. Anna will read that pass, then usually we’ll make small changes and that pass will go to Brooklyn. Then there’s sort of a system, you keep showing it to people and you keep getting feedback. Again, rewriting is really just logging in the hours.
Scott: For example, how many drafts do you think you wrote on High Value Target?
Spenser: I probably wrote 12 drafts. It took me maybe two and a half months to do the first draft. Then I probably did 10 drafts within two weeks. That was when I was in the notes session of just getting people’s thoughts, getting feedback. The first draft came in at like 126 pages. We knew that it had to get down. I think our goal was to chop 15 pages out of that. We ended up cutting about 20. But I was really trying to keep it tight.
Scott: OK. Here’s a fun question for you. What’s your single best excuse not to write?
Spenser: Everything, everything. [laughs] Facing the blank page is awful. You’re alone. You will do anything not to write. I’m the guy throwing my pencil at the ceiling, staring at the wall. It’s hard and it takes time to learn to settle in and love that process. But it’s never gotten easier. It’s very hard to sit there and do that. There’s a sun outside and there’s things happening. You’re locked in a room.
Scott: Apart from the experience of enjoying having written something, is there something you do love about the writing process?
Spenser: Yeah. I feel like for most directors…You don’t make movies all the time. You make a movie every two years, or three years, or four, if you’re lucky, if you’re constantly working. Especially now, it takes a long time to get movies up and going. I think there’s a part of you that, when you’re writing, you’re still directing, because you’re directing on the page, and you get to see the movie come to life. It’s a way to keep those muscles sharp. I really love when you get going, when you’re eight hours in and you have no idea that you’ve been sitting there for eight hours and you can’t stop. I love being in that zone and that doesn’t happen all the time, and it takes a lot of preparation to be able to get to a point where you can get on a roll like that. But it’s fun. It really is. It’s brutal, but it’s fun.
Scott: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Spenser: Anna and I are developing a ton of projects. I’m outlining several features, we’re about to take a TV show out, so I really think it’s just about continuing to maintain a certain quality of work, and really hold ourselves to a high standard with the material that we’re generating. In five years I really hope to just be doing the same thing that I’m doing now, but on a larger scale. I love movies. I love telling stories.
Scott: Finally what advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters about learning the craft and breaking into Hollywood?
Spenser: You have to be diligent. You have to sit and do the work because no one’s going to write the script for you, and it’s not just going to magically appear. Maybe it takes you a year to write something, and that’s fine. Whatever it takes, you just have to log in those hours. You have to put in the time. The first pass might not be good…the tenth pass might not be good, but if you believe in it, and you keep reworking it, then you’ll get there.
I think another thing is really getting out of your own way, not self-editing, and not being a critic about everything that you do. But trusting that you have a voice, and that people are going to be interested in what you have to say, and how you see the world. You have to keep believing that you can do it. It takes a lot of courage to sit there, especially for years, and just keep writing and writing, hoping something will happen. It’s tough — you have to stick with it. You have to be persistent.
I followed up with a few questions to Spenser’s producing partner Anna Halberg and she kindly responded:
Scott: When you crack open a script to read, what are three top-of-mind things you are hoping to find in that story?
Anna: Well-developed, three-dimensional characters; a high concept idea; and good writing.
Scott: Both you and Spenser went to film school. What advice would you have for aspiring writers and filmmakers who do not have the resources to go to film school?
Anna: There are so many opportunities to learn. Capitalize on them. Read books and scripts. Watch movies. Write. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Listen to interviews with filmmakers and industry professionals. Do internships. Apply to competitions. Generate your own content. Take risks, and make mistakes.
The rules of how you get noticed or how you get your work seen are really nonexistent anymore. There isn’t a right way to make it in this industry, and I think that’s exciting.
Scott: In this blog post, I suggested there are two broad paths an aspiring screenwriter can take: Write what they’re buying or sell them your dream. What’s your take on that?
Anna: My personal opinion is to sell them your dream. Trends come and go so quickly that it’s difficult to write what’s “hot” or what’s selling. I think it’s helpful to read the trades, understand the marketplace, and know what’s out there, but I don’t think writers should necessarily cater their ideas to what people are buying.
Like I said before I’m a firm believer that writers do their best work when they’re passionate about an idea. I think it’s the wrong approach to write an idea just because you think it will sell. Every writer has a unique vision, voice and set of experiences that nobody else has. If you can put that on paper that’s what I’m interested in reading. Plus, it’s such a long process that you need to love an idea and believe in it to be able to sit with it every day for months or even years.
Scott: Finally from your vantage point as a producer, what’s the single most important thing a screenwriter can do to learn the craft?
Anna: Write, watch movies and read scripts. I guess that’s three, but I think they’re all equally important.
For Part 1, go here.
For Part 2, go here.
For Part 3, go here.
For Part 4, go here.
For Part 5, go here.
Please stop by comments to thank Spenser and ask any questions you may have.
Spenser is repped by WME and Energy Entertainment.
Twitter: @IAmSpenserCohen / @AnnaHalberg
Six Foot Turkey Productions website here.
Comment Archive