Interview: Ashleigh Powell (2012 Black List) — Part 3

Scott Myers

27 Mar 2013 • 6 min read

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.

Today in Part 3 of our interview, we delve into some key themes and dynamics in “Somacell” including rehabilitation, conspiracy theories and the heroine’s journey.

Scott: I’ve done some work on the heroine’s journey in comparison to the hero’s journey. There are a lot of different theories, but one thing they tend to focus on is that the heroine’s journey has more of an internal dynamic to it in some ways than the hero’s journey, more of an internal focus to go with the events and actions that go on in the external world. A generalization, I know, but perhaps true. Is that what you were talking about when you were saying the richer opportunities for richer characterizations, when you’re dealing with a female protagonist?

Ashleigh: Yeah, I think that’s right. I remember hearing something…and I can’t remember where I heard this, but some article, or something, was talking about how men externalize violence, where as women internalize violence…that sort of thing. So men are more likely to go out and pick a fight with a stranger or vandalize something, or do something destructive to an external presence. Whereas women are more likely to internalize, act self-destructively or engage in self-harm, or take out their frustrations on immediate family members, rather than strangers.

I don’t know if that’s true, but I think it’s a very interesting perspective. 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.

Scott: Yeah, because it seems like then, the story is in essence about projecting those internalized conflicts out into the real world, forcing the characters to deal with them.

Ashleigh: Right. Yes, I think that’s true.

Scott: And in your story you’ve got the central theme, which is rehabilitation. Obviously it works on one level, which is, the premise is, that they’re using these virtual reality experiences to help criminals get rehabilitated. Taking them back into these various scenarios, and working through these levels of their consciousness, and whatnot. There’s that, but it’s also a rehabilitation working at other levels, too, in your story, as a theme. A wounded individual seeking repair, that kind of thing?

Ashleigh: Yes, I think Delaney is a wounded character, or a broken character, in a lot of ways. In trying to help other people and putting her focus on helping these convicts she’s ignoring her own problems. She’s helping others and she’s not really taking the time to examine what’s wrong in her own life until she has no choice and is forced to confront those things.

Scott: This idea of using virtual reality scenarios, basically to take these prisoners through these things, and to redirect or alter their consciousness, it’s interesting. It’s sort of like the other side of “Minority Report” in a way. That was anticipating crime, this is like, “OK. After the fact, let’s see how we can deal with it.” Is that a fair assessment of what you’re doing in “Somacell?”

Ashleigh: Absolutely…yeah, and Minority Report was a big influence as I was writing “Somacell.”

Scott: And that is a really interesting idea, because as I’m reading it, it reminded me of the concept of reincarnation. Were you thinking about that at all when you were…

Ashleigh: Oh…that is very interesting…I like that. I don’t know if I was conscious of that, but I would love to take credit for it!. But yeah, it makes sense, because it’s giving you a chance to atone for your mistakes.

Scott: Yeah, I thought it was like that basic Buddhist notion that you’ve got to work through your negative aspects, over and over again, until you reach a point of having gotten it together. Then on a universal level, aren’t you playing around with that wish fulfillment, how we’ve all messed up in the past, right, we’ve all made mistakes. I wish I could go back and change that, or I wish I could somehow make that better. Were you consciously aware of tapping into that sensibility?

Ashleigh: Oh, absolutely…that’s such a universal idea of wishing you could go back and change events from your past. Although this technology never changes the fact that they actually did these horrible things — what’s been done can never truly be undone — so it’s kind of a way of saying…it’s a wish that can never really be fulfilled.

Scott: And yet somehow, maybe, at least put it into context, and process it, or something like that.

Ashleigh: Right.

Scott: I don’t want to give away the plot, but there’s a conspiracy element at play in the story. Why do you think movie audiences like conspiracy stories?

Ashleigh: That’s a good question. I think on some level, it makes the protagonist an underdog. We all root for the underdog…I think we all feel a little bit like there’s certain things in life that are out of our control, out of our hands. Like on some level, there are forces that may be conspiring against us in different ways. It’s a basic David and Goliath story, where you have one person up against something much larger than themselves.

But it becomes this structuring task of fighting to break free from that.

Scott: Besides the underdog dynamic, that you just talked about, were there some other aspects of working with a conspiracy story that interested you?

Ashleigh: I’m such a sucker for conspiracy theories…I believe them all every time that I hear a new one.

Scott: As long as we’re talking about these themes, another key narrative element in the script, is the question of what is reality? What about that interested you?

Ashleigh: I love the idea that, what we think of as reality is…it’s what we can notice using our senses. Things we can touch, things we can see, things we can hear… which is such a simplistic, fragile way to understand the world around us. And I think there’s something terrifying about the idea that suddenly you can’t trust your senses to know what reality is. I like the idea of taking common-place, little inconsistencies — things like a flickering light, which happens all the time — making something as mundane as that intentionally a sign that this world is all just some elaborate construct. I think that could be really cool if, if nothing else, the audience leaves the theater remembering just that single moment. Then, the next time a light flickers in their house , hopefully it gives them a moment of pause.

Scott: Yeah. You had that glitch, right, that happened?

Ashleigh: Yeah. Right.

Scott: That’s very cool. At one point in the script, Delaney’s talking to a key character named Bo. They had this exchange. Bo says, “You preach this to me all the time, it’s not just the action that counts.” And Delaney interjects, finishing the sentence, “It’s the motivation.” How does this idea manifest itself in your story?

Ashleigh: I think it’s something that I believe too — that you should choose to act a certain way because you know it’s right… not because you know it’s acceptable, or because you know you’ll get away with it. It’s about doing something because of the consequences, versus doing something because of the moral imperative that’s inside yourself. I don’t know if that makes sense.

Scott: I think it does. You’re saying we’re in the external world. There are people maybe watching you, so maybe you make a choice like that. But Delaney’s suggesting, “No. It’s the motivation, going inside and saying that’s the more authentic way of being a person or making a choice or presenting a choice.” Does that seem inaccurate?

Ashleigh: No, you’re right. I think all too often people have these personas that they like to present, but which are very different from who they are or how they act in private. It’s something we’re all probably guilty of.

Scott: It’s like we wear masks. Right?

Ashleigh: Yeah.

Scott: Something struck me about that sentence: It’s not just the action that counts, it’s the motivation. I thought, “That’s a great writing mantra.” It gets us to look at our characters and dig deeper, beyond the surface level of what they do, to find out why they do it.

Ashleigh: I love that! I think I might adopt that as my writing mantra.

Scott: I’ll tell people they ought to print that out and post it on their desk. “It’s not just the action, it’s the motivation.”

Ashleigh: Absolutely. I’m sold!

Tomorrow in Part 4, Ashleigh shares what it was like to sell a spec script and make the Black List.

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