Interview: Ashleigh Powell (2012 Black List)

Ashleigh Powell hit it big in 2012 when she sold her dystopian thriller “Somacell” to Warner Bros, officially marking her entry into the ranks of professional screenwriter.

Ashleigh Powell

Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview:

Part 1: “I read so many scripts and that was immensely helpful too. Especially reading a ton of bad scripts and learning what not to do.”

Part 2: “Writing multiple projects, trying out new things, developing as many stories as possible, helped me establish a voice, rather than, say, focusing on a single opus that I was going to constantly tweak for years and years until I got it right.”

Part 3: “There might be something to that, where women are more likely to internalize than men, and in a psychological thriller, I think that makes them a better fit for a protagonist role…it makes their journey that much more deeply personal.”

Part 4: “I was in the middle of doing laundry. I got this phone call. It’s everyone on my team. They’re like, “Ashleigh, sit down. Warner Bros. wants to make an offer on this script tonight.”

Part 5: “Usually I’ll start with a one page synopsis, just the basic beats of the story. Then I go to note cards, and then I go to a full outline.”

Part 6: “But that’s what storytelling is all about, isn’t it? Creating something out of nothing.”

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

Ashleigh is repped by the Gersh Agency and BenderSpink.

You may follow Ashleigh on Twitter: @SecretEnemyAsh.

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