Interview: Daniel Turkewitz

Daniel Turkewitz is a testament to persistence, having spent many years learning the craft of screenwriting and writing scripts while working as an architect. Then he wrote “Tranquility Base” which 20th Century Fox acquired in June 2013 for a reported mid-six figures.

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

Part 1: “I start out with a two‑page synopsis. Then I string it out into a 15‑page treatment. Only then do I start writing a script. To draw a parallel to architecture, that would be like putting up the frame of the building. I like to know where everything is going. I like to have it all planned and plotted out before I start the script.”

Part 2: “All of a sudden, that just flipped the switch. I saw the astronauts looking out the window, and I thought, What happens to them… How do they get home? What if they can’t get home? What if they’re stuck there?”

Part 3: “I often will jump around from project to project. A good idea is the most valuable thing a writer can have. When an idea comes to me, I don’t want to throw it away. I’ve got to get it down right then and there, even if I’m working on something else.”

Part 4: “I guess once Ridley Scott says, ‘I want this,’ things start happening. Scott Free has a production deal with Fox, so that got Fox involved. They said, ‘If Ridley Scott wants the script, we’re going to go buy the script.’”

Part 5: “Each scene has to serve a purpose. You look at the scene at the end and you think, ‘Well, if I can pull that scene out and it wouldn’t make a difference to the script then it’s got to come out, then it’s a waste of a scene.’”

Part 6: “The best way to learn how to write screenplays is to read screenplays. You have to read and read and read some more. See what other people are doing. There’s no better way to learn.”

Daniel is repped by Energy Entertainment.

Twitter: @DanielTurkewitz.

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