Interview (Part 6): Chris Sparling

Variety recently named Chris Sparling as one of their 10 Screenwriters to Watch. With good reason. Chris made his first splash in the business with his script for the movie Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds and followed that up with another contained thriller ATM. He has multiple projects in development and two movies slated for release: The Sea of Trees, starring Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts and Ken Wattanabe, directed by Gus Van Sant, and The Atticus Institute, written and directed by Chris. It comes out on iTunes on January 9, then on VOD and Blu-Ray/DVD on January 20.

Chris and I had an in-depth interview about how he broke into the business, analyzing some of his movies, and his thoughts on the craft of screenwriting. I will be featuring the interview throughout the week.

Today in Part 6, Chris provides some key writing advice:

Scott: How do you go about developing your characters? Are there any specific routines or tools that you find yourself using regularly?

Chris: Yeah, that’s another thing I’ll usually create: a character breakdown. It’s nothing fancy; I make a table on Word and then put the character names, their physical description, their habits, their flaws.

Scott: Is that how the dialogue emerges?

Chris: I think so. I think it helps to make sure the characters and their voices don’t become too similar.

Scott: How bout theme? Do you have any thoughts on that? Do you think much about the central themes or sub‑themes of the story? How does that work for you?

Chris: I think I tweeted something about this recently. [laughs] I frequently find myself at this place with theme, and I think that’s what happened the day I wrote that tweet. I was working on a new project and suddenly realized that what I thought was its theme wasn’t the theme at all.

Sometimes you go into a script with a theme, knowing this is the theme you want to tackle, this broad idea, or even if it’s a narrow idea. Regardless, you go in with a theme and then you build from there. Other times you find the theme as you’re writing, and other times still, you go in with a theme, only to find a different theme is actually what’s driving the story — which is what happened to me with the project I just mentioned.

I think theme is huge. I think it’s the heart of the movie. Maybe even more than that. It’s something underneath, almost like an electric current, a constant underlying current that’s coursing through the movie, through the story. It’s nothing that has to become a lightning bolt, or an electric shock. But if it does, it probably only does once. But, generally, it’s just something that’s always there that everybody feels and it’s real.

Scott: You’ve got that in ATTICUS. An ends-justify-the-means kind of thing going on and you’ve got it at two levels. There’s the military, but then there’s also Dr. West who has his own thing going on. Initially he’s trying to use her in order to validate his theories, his career, but then he gets to see it taken to the nth degree by the military. Isn’t that a thematic thing that ties those together?

Chris: That’s very much the theme in ATTICUS. As I said, theme is that current; the electricity that’s always there and you feel it even if you can’t see it. It needs to be. It’s what we’re identifying with, we’re connecting with, whether we realize it or not.

Scott: What do you think about when you’re writing a scene? Do you have specific goals in mind?

Chris: I do. I think every scene should have a purpose and that your character’s needs and wants are important. A lot of times scenes work best when those needs and wants conflict.

Scott: What’s your actual writing process like? Do you write every day or are you sporadic bursts? You mentioned Starbucks. Do you like to work at home or do you go out or do you listen to music or does it need to be quiet? How do you write?

Chris: Definitely with music on. I try to find music that corresponds with the type of material I’m writing. I’m working on something currently that’s a spooky ghost movie; it’s the project I’m doing with Rodrigo. So I’m listening to Pandora. I found this station called Spooky Symphonies [laughs], so that’s what’s on in the background.

I remember when I was writing BURIED, at times I listened to a Middle Eastern station I found. Music’s a nice distraction, and it’s evocative. It also helps keep me from being distracted by people’s conversations around me when I’m writing in public.

I work from home sometimes, too. Usually my day is, I get up, hang out with my daughter for a little while and my wife, then I’ll take off and I’ll write for about four hours, go to the gym, come home, relax a little and settle in for a bit. Then, at night, I’ll try to get anywhere from two to four more hours in again.

Scott: Here’s a couple of questions I like to ask. First one’s sort of a fun thing. What’s your single best excuse not to write?

Chris: I’m going to sound like a dick for saying this, but it’s the truth. I don’t buy that. I feel like… [laughs] I think it’s fucking stupid.

[laughter]

Chris: If you want to do this, why would you find reasons not to do it? I don’t get it. I don’t get it at all. It’s not as if you’re a fighter, a boxer, and you’re like, “Dude, this guy’s going to beat the living shit out of me. I need to find an excuse not to get in the ring today.” You’re just going to sit down and write.

Again, I probably sound like a dick saying this because I know there are plenty of writers out there that are successful and great and talented, and they probably find reasons all the time not to write, and they may read this and go, “Screw you, pal. Who do you think you are?” I don’t mean it like that. I’m just saying I don’t get it. If this is what you love doing and this is what you want to do, why would you not do it?

Scott: That’s like the best answer to that question ever.

[laughter]

Scott: Conversely, what do you love most about writing?

Chris: The fact that it’s my job ‑‑ not to be goofy about it, but that’s the truth. I get to do this for a living. I enjoy it. A lot. [laughs] You get to make movies, to write movies. You’re not writing, I don’t know, technical documents or economics textbooks. You’re doing something creative, and you’re going to places in your mind that are fun.

Scott: Last question. What advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers about learning the craft and breaking into Hollywood?

Chris: It’s advice I know you share, because either we’ve talked about it personally or I’ve heard you say it, and that is, screenwriters need to read screenplays. You have to, have to, have to. It’s a free education and it’s arguably just as good as any other form of education you could get in this field. I can say, wholeheartedly, reading screenplays made me a better screenwriter. And like I said, it’s free. Few things of that much value are.

To read Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

Part 5, go here.

Chris is repped by UTA and Kaplan / Perrone Entertainment.

Twitter: @chrissparling.