Interview: Frank DeJohn & David Alton Hedges (2013 Nicholl winners)

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is the most prestigious of its kind and holds a primary place of importance in Hollywood movie development circles. With the recent announcement of the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship winners, I thought it would be a good idea to reprint all of the interviews I have done with previous Nicholl winners since there’s a lot to be learned from these talented writers. Today: Frank DeJohn and David Alton Hedges, interview originally posted April 2014.

Frank DeJohn and David Hedges are one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for their historical drama screenplay “Legion”. It’s a terrific story set in the latter days of the Roman Empire and garnered a lot of attention for the duo including being hired by A&E to write “The One”, described as a “coming-of-age story of exploring Jesus’ early life and formative years as he comes to learn he is the Son of God and is destined for greatness.”

Frank, a businessman, and David, a K-9 policeman, have had an unusual path to Hollywood success, so I was pleased to be able to interview them at length about their respective backgrounds, their script “Legion,” and their approach to the craft of screenwriting.

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

Part 1: “We came across a reference to a Roman fort that in 9 AD that held out for three days against the German uprising. We coupled that fact with a real character, Marcus Caelius, a centurion who died in that battle, and fashioned a story about his last days commanding the fort.”

Part 2: “People that I’ve worked with on our SWAT team, they’re the same guys. The only difference is now they’re wearing Kevlar and carrying AR-15’s, whereas back then they were wearing steel helmets and carrying a gladius. Nothing has really changed.”

Part 3: “She was a boy, of course, when we wrote it. Then we thought, ‘Why don’t we reverse the gender?’ It opened up for us completely.”

Part 4: “ I was actually scooping dog poop in my backyard. My wife handed me the phone, and said, ‘It’s some guy named Greg.’ I’m thinking, ‘God, what’s he selling?’ It was Greg Beal, from the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and he said, ‘Congratulations, you’re a finalist.’”

Part 5: “ I like to work up biographies for each major character the same way an actor would prepare for a role. Get to know them inside and out.”

Part 6: “We’ve been dealing with this quite a bit lately, because the minute you get that phone call, everything does change. You don’t get to write when you feel like it anymore. The question becomes, ‘Can you be a professional writer?’”

David and Frank are repped by UTA and BenderSpink.

I am happy to report I have interviews lined up with two more of the 2013 Nicholl winners and all four of the 2014 winners.

Tomorrow: Stephanie Shannon (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List).