Interview: Daniel Turkewitz — Part 5

It’s always interesting to interview “first-timers,” writers who break into the business by selling a spec script. Such is the case of Daniel Turkewitz, a proverbial overnight success who spent years of hard work before writing “Tranquility Base” which 20th Century Fox acquired in June 2013 for a reported mid-six figures.

Recently I had a wide-ranging conversation with Daniel about his background, “Tranquility Base,” screenwriting, and what it’s like to finally get that phone call: “They want your script.”

Today in Part 5, Daniel shares some of his thoughts about the craft of screenwriting:

Scott: I’ve got some questions for you about how you approach the craft.

Daniel: Sure. Go ahead.

Scott: OK. Apart from standing in Virgin Megastore and being inspired, how do you come up with story ideas?

Daniel: There’s no one way. They just come through different sources. Sometimes I’ll go wandering through a bookstore… not necessarily looking to adapt something… but there’s no better source of ideas than a bookstore. There’s just one topic after another. Sometimes it’ll come from something you see, something you hear. For instance, the idea for “Maine, Canada” probably came around, unfortunately, the Bush reelection. There were all sorts of big celebrities saying, “If this guy gets reelected I’m moving to Canada.” Of course, nobody ever moves. But that got me thinking, “Why just one person? How about a whole state?” So that idea came from there.

It’s a variety of sources. There’s no one place where the ideas come from. Unfortunately they won’t be coming from the Virgin store anymore. Gone.

Scott: I’m interested in this process of prep writing that you talk about. You start off with a two page synopsis and then evolve that into a 15 page treatment. Could you talk a little bit more about that?

Daniel: The synopsis can be three or four paragraphs, one to two pages, just a basic idea of the story. From that, the treatment will be anywhere from 10 to 20 pages. You start to flesh out characters. You start to flesh out scenes. Maybe there’s a scrap of dialogue here or there. Something interesting pops into my mind and I don’t want to lose it. OK. Let’s throw it in. It’s just a more detailed accounting of the story from beginning to end.

Scott: How do you go about developing your characters? Are there any specific tools or devices you use to develop them?

Daniel: No. Sometimes I will do a separate character study outside of the script. Here’s a character. Here’s where he comes from. Is he married? Is he single? Does he have kids? What is his hobbies? I’ve done that for a couple of scripts. Sometimes that information works its way into the script. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s just a way for me to keep these people separate and to keep them as individuals. Sometimes I’ll just develop them as the script goes along.

Scott: What about dialogue? How do you go about finding your character’s voices?

Daniel: It really comes from who they are, who I’m trying to make them become. That’s probably the most difficult part of any of the scripts, trying to make each person sound unique. Sometimes it works and sometimes you need to hear an actor saying the lines before that happens. It’s a challenge. There’s no question about it.

Scott: What about the idea of theme? How important is that to you and how do you go about working that into the script when you’re writing it?

Daniel: I try and come up with some sort of theme at the treatment level. A basic “what’s this story about?” Once I start to write the script, I don’t sit there and think each scene has to be loyal to the theme. But it’s something I keep in mind when I’m at the treatment level. When I’m just doing a two page synopsis, it’s just, “Here’s a basic story.” That’s really when I need to jump into treatment that that comes into play.

Scott: What do you think about when you’re writing a scene? Do you have any specific goals?

Daniel: Move the story forward. Make the scene matter. 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.”

Scott: Knowing that we’re trying to entertain our readers, what keys do you have in terms of writing scene description?

Daniel: Use as few words as possible. I try not to get too flowery. Try not to get too outrageous. Everything that I write in the scene descriptions, the one thought is, “How do you visualize that? How can that be seen onscreen?” If you’re writing something and a character makes a particular decision and you write in the scene description, “He’s doing this because of his unhappy childhood.” How the hell do you see his unhappy childhood on the screen? If you can’t see it, then it doesn’t belong there.

It’s all about what you can see on the screen. You have to word it in a way to make it visual.

Scott: I know you say you’ve got a group of people that are writers that you share your material with. You finish that first draft and you know it needs some work. Do you have a specific process that you go through in terms of rewriting?

Daniel: I send it off to my friends and say, “What do you think?” They send it back and they write up a whole bunch of notes. “This scene is great.” “This scene is OK.” “This stinks. Take this out. I don’t like it.” I don’t usually give it to them and say, “What do you think of this character?” or “What do you think of this scene?” It’s just, “Tell me what you think.” Whatever comes out of that comes out of that. I don’t want to try and direct their feedback. I just want to hear what they think.

Scott: I’m assuming that they must be pretty pleased with your success with the Fox deal.

Daniel: Oh yes. I’ve already bought the first of what I’m sure will be many thank you dinners.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Daniel shares his advice to writers who are where he was just a few months ago — outside looking in:

For Part 1, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

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

Daniel is repped by Energy Entertainment.

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