Interview: Carter Blanchard (2012 Black List) — Part 3
Carter Blanchard is a great example of talent meeting persistence. His first writing credit is a short film he directed in 1989. Since that time, he has landed numerous writing assignments and sold multiple spec scripts including “Virus” (1994), “Frigid & Impotent” (1995), ”Bedbugs” aka “Dead Asleep” (2004), and “Near Death” (2007). For anyone working in the entertainment industry, that is a long stretch of time. However it is with his most recent spec script “Glimmer” that Carter’s fortunes took a quantum leap, the script selling in a bidding war and making the 2012 Black List and Hit List.
Today in Part 3, Carter provides more insight into writing “Glimmer” and what it was like to sell the spec to DreamWorks for high six figures.
Scott: If I was going to give a thumbnail summary of “Glimmer,” I might say it’s “Back to the Future” goes to the dark side. Is that a fair take?
Carter: Yeah, definitely. I like that.
Scott: With time travel movies, you’ve got to do a lot of careful thinking about who’s doing what where and how their actions influence time. You even mention it in the script, that whole “Butterfly effect.” How much of a challenge was that for you in writing “Glimmer” where you’re writing 14 or 15 drafts, how you’re really having to be cognizant about the implications of actions and events?
Carter: That was something that Madhouse really pushed for. I like being a little more cosmic with my storytelling. I like thinking that you’ve got to have some things in there that the kids do that doesn’t directly affect them, but leads to there being a different president. I put that in one draft. Adam really wanted to keep the cause and effect tight, because otherwise anything is possible. It comes down to a central screenwriting doctrine. If you don’t have any rules in your story, especially with science fiction or the supernatural, then it’s just really easy to lose your tension if anything can happen.
The first big spec I sold was about virtual reality. That was a huge challenge because anything could happen in virtual reality. How do you limit yourself within this world and keep your characters pushing forward in a narrowing funnel of tension and purpose? You need cause and effect, and you need to follow it religiously as you go.
With time travel, it’s very easy to yank the yarn out of the sweater, and suddenly you have a bunch of yarn again instead of a nice sweater. I just moved forward in chunks as we kept cleaning it up. “OK, everything makes sense up to here and all of a sudden this happens. Why would this happen?” It’s like combing snags out of long hair. You have to keep going through it and going through it and going through it. Sometimes it requires some painful yanking, but eventually, hopefully, you’ll have a nice smooth head of hair.
Scott: When I read a script, I’m always looking for characters I can relate to and find some emotional connection with to pull me in. Yet I always look for movies that have an intellectual component, something that makes you think. “Glimmer” does both very well because the characters are compelling, the situation’s compelling, but there’s also this really interesting interplay you have, basically where you’re really digging down into this idea of time travel in a way that I’m not sure I’ve seen before.
Carter: Cool. [laughs] I’m glad to hear that. I had a lot of help of with the characters. I feel like I’m throwing a big praise-fest for Madhouse, but Adam just kept pushing character and why is someone doing this? What’s the relationship? The love story was something he emphasized early on.
One of his first notes was: Okay, if we’re going to have a fractured structure where the hero isn’t always in the story, we’ve got to feel the stakes for him throughout. One way is to focus on the love story and have it be really strong and compelling and lead to a situation in act three where he’s going to have to go save her. That and the villain, who emerged just over the course of, again, just going over so many drafts. It became the hero’s best friend when it had been a different character entirely. I thought of making it his friend rather late in the process and it was a big a-ha moment because it was so obvious. But sometimes you have to work hard to reach the obvious.
Scott: Let’s talk about that. You’ve got a protagonist, Tyler, and you’ve got his best friend, Ben. There’s this dynamic that’s in place, wish fulfillment, basically if you could go back in time, what would you do with that power? Would you use that knowledge of the present to benefit yourself? You have a bit of time with the three characters in the past where they’re doing it in order to survive and whatnot. But Ben, when confronted with this, goes down a darker path. That makes him really a very interesting character and really drives home a question for the reader: “What would I do, given that circumstance?”
Carter: Well, that’s the whole fun of writing a script like this. What would you do if you suddenly had this ability? You capitalize on the wish fulfillment, but start to realize that’s hurting other people… so do you stop? Or do you just try a different way in hopes that you’ll stop hurting people but can keep reaping the benefits? It would be very difficult to give up a situation where you can become as rich as you can possibly imagine. But certainly, people are going to be hurt if not killed because you’re altering all these trajectories. That’s why it’s fun to make a guy and his best friend go in polar opposite directions and eventually have to confront each other over it.
Scott: Isn’t it fair to say that one of the themes going on in “Glimmer” is it’s really a story about self identity, particularly comparing and contrasting Tyler and Ben, the choices they make given the unique circumstances of the story?
Carter: Definitely. That’s a lot of it. But all of that came out once the time travel logic made sense. That’s when a lot of the emphasis on character kicked into high gear, particularly when… I haven’t even mentioned Dreamworks’ part in all of this.
Scott: Let’s jump to June 2012. Your script ends up in a bidding war between DreamWorks and I think Paramount was involved?
Carter: Yeah.
Scott: Could you maybe walk us through a little bit of the chronology of how that deal happened and what that experience was for you?
Carter: Well, I was thinking about going back to Boston and teaching before it happened. My buddy teaches at BU now. That was a compelling option. I was out of money, drawing off my IRA. I had a good feeling about “Glimmer,” but you never know. It went to producers first and by the end of that day, I was getting an email from Adam saying, “This is blowing up all over town. Sit tight. Stay positive.” It felt like good news, but because he added, “Stay positive” I got worried, because I’m used to someone saying “stay positive” as a sign that things are not going well.
The next morning, my phone rang at 8:30. It was my lawyer, my agent, and my manager. They said, “Okay, DreamWorks made an offer.” I was jumping up and down saying, “Great, take it!” They said, “No dude, this is only the first studio to respond.” We talked about some details and then they said, “Go back to doing your thing. Don’t worry about it. Just always have your phone ready.”
I was meeting a friend for lunch when I got another call from the team saying Paramount and DreamWorks both wanted it and I had to make a decision on the spot. Paramount was offering a little more up front, but DreamWorks’ was a progress-to-production deal, meaning they had to start shooting in 12 months or I got the script back free and clear. Then Boxerbaum said, “You’re also going to meet Steven Spielberg tomorrow if you go with them.” So then it’s not even a question anymore. DreamWorks! [laughs]
My favorite movie of all times is “Jaws.” Hands down. That movie is ultimately why I went into the movie business, if you go back to the real origins of what inspired me. So this whole situation was so great. It was just an amazing thing. The deal closed in the middle of lunch and my friend was like, “You’re buying.”
The next day I went in and met Mr. Spielberg. He was incredibly nice and really complimentary about the script. I kept thinking maybe he wasn’t really there and I was talking to a hologram because it was so surreal. I had another meeting five days later and then I was commenced on the rewrite. It was the fastest I’ve ever been commenced after a spec sale before. Usually it takes months. And DreamWorks’ notes have been excellent. The script has improved enormously under their watch.
Carter has parlayed his success with that script into a high profile writing assignment, adapting the best-selling video game “Spy Hunter” into a movie for Warner Bros.
For Part 1, go here.
For Part 2, go here.
Tomorrow in Part 4, Carter talks about persisting through lean years and the necessity of “stupid arrogance.”
Please stop by comments to thank Carter and ask any questions you may have.
Carter is repped by Paradigm and Madhouse Entertainment.
You can follow Carter on Twitter: @CartBlanch.
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