Interview (Part 4): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion about the writing craft.

Today in Part 4, Anthony shares what it was like to learn he had won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and how that has impacted his life:

Scott: Billy Ray said Best Sellers is a love story but not the kissing kind.

Anthony: No, it’s not. Along the way, some people suggested that it should be, but it was not about that kind of love. When people talk about your voice, it really is an all-encompassing voice. It’s also about staying true to the story you wanted to write.

Scott: The script I read has got these wonderful little grace notes. For example, he calls her Silver Spoon.

Anthony: Yeah. That’s a reference to the fact she’s the daughter of this guy that Harris has this real antipathy toward.

Scott: But then at some point, he calls her Lucy. He doesn’t even realize it, but she does.

Anthony: Where he has a Starbucks coffee ready for her with her name on it.

Scott: In fact, that Silver Spoon thing, you even have a little bit of a subplot there, a nice resolve, the script I read, the last two words in the script are “Silver Spoon.” The name of her new publishing company…

Anthony: …it goes through its own little arc. She’s now got her own publishing house. Now she’s given Harris his due. There’s an irony in it.

I believe most of the stories we enjoy have an interesting sense of irony. I always search for that, “Wow! What are the chances that a person with this particular armor must endure these particular slings and arrows?

With the Silver Spoon payoff at the end, those moments come once you’ve done the heavy lifting. They are the details that come to you when you’re driving, when you’re in the shower, or when you’re going for a walk. They suddenly strike like lightening because your brain’s been marinating in this world for so long. It’s like, “Wow, that ties it together. I’m going to celebrate with a glass of bourbon because I just earned it, dammit…”

You can write five shitty pages and feel you’ve earned nothing. Then you can go, “Of course, it’s called ‘Silver Spoon Publishing!,’” and think you’ve done something amazing.

It’s what makes writing so cathartic and rewarding. It may sound like another cliche, but it really is about the process. I sometimes compare it to people doing crossword puzzles and you go, “What’s in it for you? What’s the reward?” It’s similar to screenwriting. It’s problem solving. A lot of it becomes problem solving and there’s a rush in making something work.

Scott: That is another thing Billy Ray said: 95 percent of what you do in your career as a writer is problem solving. He mentioned the words “grace” and “efficiency” as being critical to how you handle these problems.

Anthony: Absolutely. One of the things you start to realize when you get into the world where you’re hired to do something is that there’s no more of, “I’ll work on this when I feel like it.” There’s no more of that.

People expect you to deliver on deadlines. It’s what’s important for any writer, even an amateur. You must create deadlines for yourself, which is why I said earlier how beneficial my writers’ group has been to me.

Scott: Let’s jump to the whole winning the Nicholl Award phenomenon. How did that play out?

Anthony: Well, you get these notifications. These emails that show up. You’re like, “Hey! I’m a quarterfinalist. That’s cool.” Then my wife and I went to Italy for a short time this summer on a family trip.

I couldn’t sleep because of the jet lag. I would look at my phone for whatever reasons. Then I saw an email come in saying I’m a semifinalist. I thought, “Interesting…” And then you really start thinking about it.

Once they tell you you’re a finalist it’s surreal, because very seldom do amateur screenwriters get celebrated by the industry.

It’s very different than having your wife, your mom, or your best friend read something and like it. When you submit these scripts, your name isn’t on it. They don’t know your race, religion, gender. They don’t know anything. The work gets to stand on its own.

You’re always looking for those moments of validation, some level of achievement that continues to put gas in the tank. Winning the Nicholl is certainly one of those moments — one of those achievements. You’re thinking, “Wow! Maybe I’m OK at this. Maybe I’m moving in the right direction.”

That’s been the greatest reward. You definitely sit about an inch taller at your desk and go, “OK. Let’s see if I can write something like that again.”

As far as the fun part of winning goes, my mom flew in from Toronto to attend the award ceremony. Many of my older Italian relatives back home think I’ve won an Oscar, and who am I to tell them otherwise? [laughter]

I’ve met some wonderful people — the other winners, past winners, and the very generous members on the committee. My Facebook profile picture is now a photo of my wife and I standing in front of one of those big gold Academy statues. And of course there’s the prize money, which is great, because I’m now essentially being paid to write my next spec. As much as I enjoy consulting, it’s great to take some time away from that and spend a few more hours a week on my own work. It’s all a blessing. I feel very lucky.

Billy Ray, Anthony Grieco at the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting award ceremony

Tomorrow in Part 5, Anthony answers some questions about the craft of writing.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Anthony is repped by Paradigm and Aperture Entertainment.

Twitter: @SwimCharlieSwim.