Interview: Justin Marks — Part 6

Screenwriter Justin Marks has been described as the “most gainfully employed professional fanboy on the planet right now.” Understandably so given the fact Justin has written such projects The Raven, Super Max, Suicide Squad, Shadow of the Colossus, Hack/Slash and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo.

The Hollywood Reporter recently featured this guest column Justin wrote called “My Life as a Screenwriter You’ve Never Heard Of.”

Justin has written over 20 movie projects. This interview in 6-parts offers an informed perspective of the craft from Hollywood’s front lines.

Today in Part 6, Justin provides some more thoughts about the craft and some of his own writing habits:

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

Justin: [laughs] To get through it as quickly as possible. Writing first drafts is so ugly. It’s such an ugly, ugly part of the process. If anyone ever saw how ugly it is, they’d never think a good thought about a screenwriter, ever again. Sometimes I try to write longhand on a legal pad while I’m sitting in my backyard. Sometimes I try to email myself on my iPhone while I’m sitting on a train. Just actually write out all the dialogue for the scene. But to me, the most important thing is to get some awful version of that scene on that page so that you can go back on it 100 times and make it better. You can’t improve on nothing. I’m a firm believer in the vomit draft.

Scott: Let’s pick up on that. You finish your vomit draft and now you’re faced with the inevitable rewriting process. What are some of the keys for you for rewriting your scripts?

Justin: Time is important. You’ve got to give that script time. Put it away for a few days and then come back to it. You need to be able to read your own work as if you’ve never read it before. Once you do, and you start to see your scripts in the cold, harsh light of day, you immediately see the flaws. I think every writer is innately a better rewriter than they are a writer. I think it’s easier to rewrite someone else’s words than it is to create something for your own. [Laughs] I think the Writer’s Guild would agree with me, if you look at credit arbitration. It’s far easier to improve on what’s already been written then to do it from a blank page.

There’s something about printing the hard copy too. I love paper, because the words are so non‑negotiable on the page. You have to judge them for what they are, and not for what you want them to be.

Scott: What do think of when you write scene description?

Justin: I think it’s all about style. I know certain writers disagree about this, but I really believe it. When you’re in production, and you’re on turquoise pages, and you’re trying to just get the scene out for tomorrow, then style disappears. You’re just writing like a workman. But until then, you’re writing a sales tool, so every scene description has to be entertaining to whoever is reading it.

Of course, it’s more important to do that in the first 10, 20 pages than it is in the rest of the script. At a certain point, a script will feel overwritten if you start to give a lot of asides. But you have to rope people into your world. If I read the first few pages of my script and it feels very dry, I’m doing something wrong.

Scott: You mentioned your writing process. You take the dog out for a walk, you come back inspired. Are there more specifics of your writing process?

Justin: I used to be crazy about it, and I used to write at all hours of the day. Now I write in the morning. That’s it. I get up early. I’m not a breakfast eater. I have coffee on an empty stomach and sit there at my desk. By 2:00, 2:30 PM, that’s the end of my day, unless I have some crazy deadline. I eat lunch at 2:30 and then do meetings and phone calls for the rest of the day. The pretentious way of explaining why I write in the morning, is that I like moving from dream state into writing state with as little interference as possible. That’s how I describe it to my wife when she’s asking me to do something. That’s how I get out of my responsibilities as a husband.

Scott: That’s funny, I remember reading an interview with Robert Rodriguez who used to be a real night owl with his writing. At some point he discovered that as soon as he would wake up, he’d grab his laptop and just start writing. That really opened up…you talk about this moving from dream state into writing. I think that was a similar experience for him. He felt that he was more in touch with the right part of his brain or whatever. He started writing immediately in the morning in bed. It made him a much more efficient and better writer.

Justin: Yeah, it’s hilarious to hear him say that because it’s totally true. It’s like if I speak to someone before I start writing, I ruin my process. I just want to have my own voice in my own head. Obviously I’ll speak to my wife and I speak out loud to my dogs a lot. But I just can’t get involved in other things until after I’m done writing. Writing is, by nature, a self‑indulgent process. Sleep is a very self‑indulgent process. You’re just giving your body what it needs.

Scott: OK. Here’s one. What’s your single best excuse not to write?

Justin: You don’t need one. My excuse is, “I’m not in the mood.” One of the things that I’ve given myself as an older writer is a break. If I’m in a bad mood, I don’t let myself write. Because you know what? I’ve never written myself out of a bad mood. I refuse to sit there and write, just because it’s my job. That’s one of the best perks of the profession. If you don’t feel like writing, you actually don’t have to. I’ve run the risk of burning out in my last eight years, when deadlines have gotten really bad. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not about grinding pages. No one ever succeeds that way. Not in the end.

Scott: Conversely, what do you love most about writing?

Justin: I don’t know how to do anything else. I really don’t. I was always just daydreaming as a kid. The best part about being able to write for a living is the fact that I’m entitled to doing that all day long. Sometimes it feels like a total scam, and it is. My father was a lawyer. His father was a lawyer. He put on a suit every day and went to work. Some days I’m lucky if I put on pants before I show up at the desk. Yet the bills are being paid. The lights are staying on, so I’m doing something right.

Scott: Finally, what advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters about learning the craft and breaking into Hollywood?

Justin: Gosh, something so broad. [laughs] In terms of breaking in, the best advice that any writer can ever give is just, there is no reason why one person succeeds and another person fails. There is no reason why one script succeeds and another fails. There really isn’t. You can say, “It’s better than that script.” But you’ll find encounters where everyone loves something you wrote, that you just despise. Then no one will embrace this one thing you wrote and you just can’t understand why. The reason is because, so much of the time, succeeding in this business is pure, dumb luck. The only way you can overcome dumb luck is with persistence, is with continuing to show up at that table. It’s like playing roulette. My greatest strength is my willingness to just continue working. I’m never going to quit on a script. I may put it down for a couple days. But I’m always going to finish it. I’m never going to quit on my career. But if you stick around long enough, if you continue doing it long enough, everyone succeeds, 100 percent.

For Part 1, go here.

For Part 2, go here.

For Part 3, go here.

For Part 4, go here.

For Part 5, go here.

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

Justin is repped by CAA and Madhouse Entertainment.

Twitter: @Justin_Marks_