Interview: Eric Heisserer (2012, 2014 Black List)

Go Into The Story Interview: Eric Heisserer (2012, 2014 Black List)

My in-depth interview with one of Hollywood’s hottest screenwriters whose credits include Arrival, Lights Out, The Thing, and Hours.

I first intersected with Eric Heisserer via social media and I regard this 2013 interview with him as one of the best in the Go Into The Story series. Eric’s writing credits include The Thing, Hours (which he also directed), Lights Out, and Arrival for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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

Part 1: “I’m a bit of an autodidact, so I picked up Final Draft software and a couple of screenplays that I purchased through bookstores. I had an idea of what a script was supposed to look like, and I started writing.”

Part 2: “I’ve been keen to work new muscles as a screenwriter, and every year, I at least attempt to write a screenplay in a genre that I haven’t done before.”

Part 3: “What appealed to me is that it’s a polarizing issue. Therefore I feel like it’s something that is worthy of exploration.”

Part 4: “That’s my new mantra, my new mission is that whatever I write, I’m writing something that, in reading, the director knows exactly what kind of movie it is.”

Part 5: “When I’m writing a scene, and if I’m blocked, it’s typically because there’s nothing in the scene I’m excited about.”

Part 6: “Write as much as you can. Write any and all of those things…screenplays, short stories, novels. The more you understand the language in the world, the better.”

Entire Interview

Eric is repped by WME and Art/Work Entertainment.

Twitter: @HIGHzurrer.

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