Interview: Will Simmons — Part 5

Will Simmons made a splash when he wrote the 2012 Black List script “Murder City” which was subsequently acquired by Aldamisa Entertainment. He also has two other projects in the works: “Romeo,” a modern day re-imagining of Shakespeare’s play, and “Defenders,” a science fiction thriller pitch bought by Warner Bros in June 2013 based upon a Hugo Award-winning novel.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Will at length about his background, “Murder City,” and the screenwriting craft.

Today in Part 5, Will provides some insight into two other film projects with which he’s currently involved and discusses some keys to the screenwriting craft:

Scott: Let’s talk about the two other projects you’re involved in. “Romeo,” a modern day re‑imaging of Shakespeare’s classic play, where Romeo is an undercover DEA agent infiltrating a Miami crime syndicate controlled by Juliette’s father. You’re also a co‑producer on that. How did happen and what’s the status?

Will: We sold that project as well, and recently attached a director, but we’re still waiting to make a formal announcement, so I shouldn’t talk too much about it yet.

As for the genesis of “Romeo”, it started with an idea Brooklyn had for an urban re-telling of Shakespeare’s play, and throughout the development process it evolved into an original story that’s more of an homage to the source material than a contemporized adaptation.

Scott: Did you write that on spec?

Will: Yes.

Scott: Then just this month, a preemptive pitch deal. Warner Brothers acquired a sci‑fi thriller that you pulled together, “Defenders,” based on an upcoming novel by Hugo Award‑winning author Will McIntosh. How did that happen?

Will: “Defenders” started out as a short story, which was given to me by Donald De Line and his vice president, Jacob Robinson, during a general meeting. Out of dozens upon dozens of short stories, graphic novels and articles I’d read over the course of several months, “Defenders” was the first one with a “why hasn’t this been done before”-factor. The premise is so utterly fresh and cinematic, coupled with a thematic richness that’s increasingly rare in mainstream sci-fi cinema. At its core, the story is about defining “humanity” and all of its permutations, but it’s set against a highly-commercial backdrop of an alien invasion and robot uprising. I’d encourage everyone to seek out the short story by Will McIntosh, which is available online.

After reading the source material, I extensively developed my pitch with Donald and Jacob, who have been a dream to work with. Once we were satisfied with the status of my outline, we took the pitch to Warner Brothers, where we paired-up with a fantastic team of executives, Niija Kuykendall and Chantal Nong, who believe wholeheartedly in our vision for the film.

Scott: So you’re living the dream, right?

Will: You know, people ask me that quite often, and while I’m extremely grateful for the successes I’ve had, I’m never satisfied. Complacency is the death of creativity. Maybe I’ll celebrate when the movie is greenlit, knock on wood, but at the moment I’m focused on writing a bulletproof draft.

Scott: Let’s jump into some craft questions. How do you come up with story ideas?

Will: Story ideas usually begin with a burning question or a visual motif. If you’re about to spend months writing and developing a script, you want to be certain that the central concept is worthy of your time. So I look for ideas that haunt me and keep me up at night. If you can find a question that gnaws at your creative subconscious and refuses to fade away, then you’re primed to write a story from a position of strength.

This is a profession of obsessions. As writers, we’re stalkers of the written word, always hunting for the perfect combination of ideas and phrases to express images flickering in our mind’s eye. After I’ve settled on an idea, I use a methodical approach during the initial stages of development. I try to be a ruthless and objective evaluator of my own writing, which probably stems from my work as a film editor.

Scott: You worked as a film editor in LA?

Will: Yeah, when I first moved to LA, I earned my rent money working as a freelance film editor; cutting short films, music videos, commercials. The process of cataloguing hours of footage and then selecting the best takes is grueling but also quite informative. You search for moments of honesty and truth, and from a writer’s perspective you can deconstruct the mechanics of each moment to find the origin point on a basic story level.

Scott: Do you consciously think that you bring your editorial capabilities to your screenwriting?

Will: Definitely. Transitions between scenes are absolutely essential to a script’s pacing. There should be a rhythmic quality to the writing, where each scene follows an intentionally composed cadence, and then flows or smashes into the next scene with purpose. Once again, it’s about exerting control over the narrative, and allowing readers to lose themselves in the story and engage on an emotional level. Without cohesion, you run the risk of writing a script that comes across as a divergent collection of vignettes.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Will digs into more aspects of the screenwriting craft.

For Part 1, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

Please stop by comments to thank Will and ask any questions you may have.

Will is repped by UTA and Energy Entertainment.

Twitter: @willsimmons_.