Interview (Part 2): Ben Jacoby

This week I’m featuring an interview I did with Ben Jacoby. This has a particularly unique hook in that I have an email thread with Ben dating back to July 30, 2013. Every several months, Ben would contact me with the latest development in his writing life, so in effect the emails are a living history of his emerging screenwriting career. The fact he has been a longtime GITS follower makes his story especially satisfying.

Today in Part 2, Ben talks about two indie features he wrote which got produced including one starring Bruce Dern and Peter Fonda:

Scott: In that same email in July of 2013 you said, “And speaking of dreams, my first produced screenplay’s currently in post-production. I’m riding on cloud nine. I was on set for rehearsal, scouting, shooting. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.”

That was a movie originally called The Circle, now called Bleed. The plot is described as, “Six friends blindly follow a deadly fate as they explore a burned-down prison in the woods.” How did that project come about?

Ben: Through some other work I’d done with a producer, he referred me to these guys in Atlanta who were looking to produce their first feature. They’ve been a commercial production company for a long time, wanting to do a feature film.

They found this real location, a burned-down prison in the woods outside Atlanta, and it’s just the most horrifying place you’ve ever seen. If you wanted to build a scary burned-down prison movie set, you couldn’t do it better. And there it was, completely abandoned.

They wanted to make a movie about this place. They had a treatment, we reworked it and I went and wrote the script. They cast it incredibly quickly. Shockingly quick. After all the false starts and disappointments over the years, I just took everything they said with about a five pounds of salt. They said they wanted to shoot this in May. That they were going to cast it, and work on effects, and so on. I said, “OK, sure, great.” I went to Atlanta to meet with them, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. They actually had the entire cast there, all assembled and doing a read-through. They said they were shooting next week. I couldn’t believe it.

Because they were a commercial production company, they had all their own gear. They had cranes and lights and crew and editing bays and sound, an amazing cast, and the same guys who do the makeup effects for “The Walking Dead.” It was shocking to see. They shot the thing quickly, and I think it ended up being really great.

Scott: I think I even posted a trailer on the blog, if I’m not mistaken.

Ben: Yes, that was an early trailer, and it’s since gone through a lot more post-production, more reshoots, and scoring and all that. I think distribution is right around the corner so hopefully people will get to see it soon.

Scott: So then, cut to November 2013. You sent me another email. “I’ve taken two writing assignments of late, one on spec, one paid, so, the slow but not so steady progression to professional writer is still moving forward.”

“Also, I just finished a second draft of a spec that’s been consuming me for some time, by far the script I’ve been most passionate about. I got lost in the world. Fell in love with the characters, their struggles, and their quest for redemption. I really found the animals in this one. It was definitely a case of trying to sell them my dream.” What was that script?

Ben: That was “The Inklings.”

Scott: Ah, “The Inklings.” We’re going to talk about that, because you said to me, “Scott, I hope this is a script that will really resonate with you,” and boy, were you right about that. We’ll hold off that conversation for just a little bit, but that speaks to the importance of writing something you’re passionate about, right?

Ben: Yeah, definitely. I’ve written stuff on spec for the sole purpose of trying to sell it. Something that I was kind of interested in, but mainly had my eye on the prize. And you can really just tell in the finished product. It doesn’t have that spark. So I decided — what is it you say?

Scott: Write what they’re buying, or sell them your dreams.

Ben: Yup. Sell them your dreams, and don’t be afraid to dream big too. I’ve been told by friends not to write certain scripts because either I didn’t have the rights to the underlying material, or because a script would have cost $150 million to make.

But if it gets you excited, it has the potential to be special regardless of all that stuff. “The Inklings” borrows from material I don’t have the rights to, from several authors, and it’s a massive fantasy adventure huge-budget script, but I figured at the very least I’d learn something about screenwriting and about myself by writing it, and I did both.

Scott: Then in June 2014, another email, “Just wanted to share some exciting news with you. My most recent project just landed Bruce Dern in the lead, and Peter Fonda in a smaller role. We start shooting next week, and I’ll be on set.” Now, that’s a movie called Borderland?

Ben: Yes.

Scott: What’s the story on that project?

Ben: It’s a dramatic thriller about crossing from Mexico into America, multiple storylines interweaving. There’s a heavy psychological element too. My favorite movie for a while has been Amores Perros, and I borrowed a lot from Arriaga and Innaritu for that script.

The idea of a single moment branching out into the past and the future, branching out to these characters, disparate characters, bringing them together, destroying some lives, creating new ones. Innaritu hits that structure in almost all of his movies and I think there’s something very profound about it — how we’re all connected.

So, I tried to craft something in that style with Borderland. We had a very, very small budget, but managed to get that amazing cast, and it all came together very quickly too. I started writing the script in April and we were shooting it by June. It was an incredible experience.

Scott: How did you get that project?

Ben: I’d written some stuff on spec for a producer, and he introduced me to the director, who was looking for a writer. We met, talked through the project. They already had a script but wanted to go in a different direction, so we re-broke it and I went off to write it.

Scott: It’s interesting, you’re talking about these producer connections that you had that led to this, that led to that, and then directors who had connections in getting casting and whatnot. It really speaks to the importance of networking, doesn’t it?

Ben: Yeah, I think that’s pretty much all it’s about. It’s about relationships.

You have to perform well, and you have to write well, and you have to be dedicated and driven. But you absolutely have to cultivate relationships. If you meet someone, connect with them, and end up working for them, and they like what you’ve done, you’ve just opened another 20 potential doors. You have to keep nourishing those relationships and hope they lead to something productive.

Of course the problem is that up to that point you have to do a lot of writing for free. There’s no way around it. And that means working on a lot of projects that will probably never reach fruition. You have to write a lot of scripts for yourself that will never be made and do a lot of “work” for others that will never pay. And you have to reconcile yourself to that.

As long as a script leads to something though, as long as it improves your craft, or gets you in the door with someone, it was worthwhile. You have to look at your screenplay as a work of art in itself and be happy and satisfied with that. If you don’t you’ll drive yourself crazy.

Tomorrow in Part 3, Ben shares what it’s like to have not one, but two scripts generate heat from the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Ben is repped by Verve.