Interview: Barbara Stepansky (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List) — Part 5

Barbara Stepansky’s original screenplay “Sugar in My Veins” not only won the filmmaker a 2013 Nicholl fellowship, it also landed on the 2013 Black List, so I was excited when she agreed to do an interview to see what we could learn from this talented young filmmaker.

Today in Part 5, we wrap up the discussion of “Sugar in My Veins,” then Barbara shares her thoughts on some key aspects of the craft of screenwriting:

Scott: You mention this comment that Olsen makes. He’s the conductor. He says, “Find something to say.” It’s interesting because Jillian, when she was born, didn’t cry out. She didn’t speak until she was three years old, if I recall correctly. How much of this story is about Jillian finding her voice?

Barbara: Everything. Everything about the story is about finding her voice. It’s a classical pursuit of happiness arc for her. She starts out very unhappy and through the love of somebody else, she realizes what it means to be happy. That gives her her voice, it makes her realize what she wants out of life.

Scott: The violin, is that part of her finding her voice, part of her expression?

Barbara: I always saw the violin as her best friend character. She doesn’t have anybody to talk to so after a bad day at school, she goes and plays violin.

When Ray comes into the picture, the violin almost isn’t good enough anymore. It’s still her mode of expression, but this new connection to other people informs her music at the end.

Scott: There are some surprising twists and turns in the plot toward the end. Was that the ending you always had in mind, or were there other possibilities that you explored?

Barbara: I’ve explored other possibilities, but I’d always come back to this ending. It’s not a completely happy ending, but her getting out of Boulder and going to New York was just such a rebirth for me, and she needed to do this alone. She needed to be independent.

In terms of Ray, I’ve debated back and forth about what to do with him, but I just didn’t want him to go off and get together with another girl. [laughs] That wasn’t going to happen. Also, he could have probably survived if they didn’t have sex, but with everything that happened, this felt like the right closure to me.

Scott: What’s the status of the script?

Barbara: I’ve written this project for myself to direct, so everybody who gets involved knows that that’s non-negotiable. We’ll see what happens.

Scott: I’ve got some craft questions for you here, Barbara. How do you come up with story ideas?

Barbara: That’s a good question, especially now since I have to come up with a bunch. I read a lot. I surf the internet a lot. If there’s a post that interests me I think about it and see if there’s a story there.

I start to pitch ideas to people once a kernel comes in. I’m not very shy about that. I don’t care if people steal my ideas because most of the time, they don’t. When I meet my friends, I usually talk about an idea.

It helps me see if the idea is bigger than just a short story or what the possibilities are. Then I write them down and I keep them in an idea file, and see if I want to explore anything after a while.

Scott: How much time do you spend in prep writing?

Barbara: Probably the most time I devote to is character. I think that plots develop out of character needs and wants. I think the most fun comes from watching people do something and spend time with them.

Once I have a kernel of where I want the story to go or the kind of movie I want to tell, I ask myself who is it that propels this plot forward the most.

Scott: Let’s get into that a little bit more, if we could. You’re talking about developing characters. Are there any specific techniques or tools or approaches that you use when you go about digging into your characters and developing them?

Barbara: First I start out with archetypes in my brain. Is it a drunk from South Glasgow or the bitchy rich girl? But then there’s the digging. You know the stereotype is not the end of the story, because even though they’re fulfilling a certain type of person that I need, they’re still a person and I need to know where they’re coming from.

So sometimes characters completely change on me once I dig in deeper. I start out as archetypal as I can to keep it simple but then I go in and I answer these long and involved character questions.

I start to get a sense of the bigger story behind that person. I described her as bitchy. What does that mean? What is she angry about? Where is that chip on her shoulder coming from?

Sometimes those character traits that I’m coming up with as I’m digging deeper become story points as you realize what their agenda is. How do they change? What do they need for catharsis?

Do they need to cast aside their anger? Who do they need to confront that’s keeping them from achieving something?

Scott: It’s interesting, isn’t? Curiosity is so key to developing characters. It’s asking questions and digging into them, right?

Barbara: Yeah, exactly. There’s so many great screenwriting books that contain, e.g. “100 questions to ask your character”. You have to actually answer them. Most of it you know you’re not going to use, but you’ll know what they’re like as people.

Scott: Speaking of that, what they would say, let’s talk about dialogue? How do you go about finding your characters’ voices?

Barbara: I used to be really, really paranoid about the way people talk. “People need to sound different on the page”, that kind of a thing. Right now I’m doing that approach anymore. For me, dialogue is now a result of what people want, and what they tell other people to go about getting it.

Our words aren’t all that distinct. Maybe if you’re writing a story with a big difference in social standing, then maybe it’s different. I’m mostly writing about people that live in the same social bracket, so for me, it’s not about having to make them sound different anymore, but it’s important that their wants conflict.

Scott: How about theme? How important is that to you? Do you start with the idea of a central theme or themes that you’re going to be working with or do those evolve over the course of writing your story?

Barbara: It really depends on the script. Sometimes I have a very clear theme in mind and I know this is a story about these people discovering a certain aspect about life. Then every scene has to be geared toward that.

Then sometimes, like with “Sugar in My Veins,” honestly no, I never spend much time on theme with “Sugar in My Veins.” I just wanted to tell this particular story and so it didn’t bother me that thematically, it wasn’t that clear in my head at the beginning. It became much clearer later on.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Barbara talks more about the craft of screenwriting, what it was like learning she had made the 2013 Black List, and what advice she has for aspiring filmmakers.

For Part 1, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

Please stop by comments to thank Barbara for taking the time for the interview and post any follow-up questions you may have.

Barbara is repped by ICM Partners and Hertzberg Media.

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