Interview (Written): Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan

The indie movie I Smile Back recently premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Starring Sarah Silverman in a dramatic role, Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan adapted the screenplay from a novel penned by Koppelman. This interview conducted via email is from No Film School:

NFS: Was it difficult to distill the novel into a script?

Koppelman: It was difficult but doable. Paige’s objectivity made cutting scenes from the novel easier. Paige and I have been friends for over twenty years and since the moment we met, she had an uncanny ability to put my thoughts and feelings into words. I Smile Back is a very insular novel. Paige, because she knows and understands me so well, was able to identify and help me flush out scenes, which was vital to the process.

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NFS: Tell us about your screenwriting process: How did the two of you collaborate to write the script?

K & D: We live on different coasts but the time difference usually works to our advantage. We work on a project on the phone first, then a frenzy of emails back and forth, more phone calls, until we can get it to a point where we need to get in a room together to finish it. That’s when it gets really fun.

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NFS: What lessons about your screenwriting did you learn from the production of I Smile Back?

K & D: We learned to trust ourselves and our instincts on a much bigger level. We were fortunate enough to be on the set every day and watch these scenes play out, which was really an opportunity to learn how well, or not well, your writing goes over. We also learned not to get too attached to any scene [because] they often get sacrificed.

A New York Times feature on I Smile Back.

For the rest of the interview, go here.