Interview (Part 5): Sallie West (2014 Nicholl Winner)

Sallie West wrote the original screenplay “Moonflower” which won the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. I had a great conversation with Sallie about her background, the writing of her award-winning screenplay, and how she approaches the writing craft. This week: That interview in 6 parts.

Today in Part 5, Sallie describes what it was like to win the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting:

Scott: That opens a door for discussion here. The story is not just about Muriel and Gabriel. You create a richly detailed world. She’s got a sister, an adopted brother, nephews, nieces, this music academy the family’s had for a while.

How did that place and those people evolve into shape?

Sallie: They just showed up in my head and I went with them, they felt real. But they also support her expositionally. Her past failures are in part demonstrated through them as well as the family’s financial reverses. Their interactions reveal character and enrich the story.

The money difficulties propel the conflict with, especially, her sister. Then, they react to her redemption when Gabriel publicly proclaims her cello the best in the world. It turns around the family circumstances. After all, she helps his career by giving him this perfect cello, and he helps her career by validating it so publicly.

Scott: Yeah. The music academy, it’s in a rather precarious financial strait. Then, due to some actions that Muriel…

Sallie: Muriel was partially responsible, but with Gabriel’s televised endorsement that turns things around.

Scott: You have a young filmmaker named Ryan. Again, I’m thinking of putting my writing hat on. He exists in order to facilitate this thing…

Sallie: His documentary is how Gabriel learns personal details about Muriel.

Scott: Right.

Sallie: Yes, that’s it.

Scott: What’s nice about it is, he’s a narrative device, yet he comes across as a very flesh and blood character. Muriel does not at first want to do this, but he says to her something that would connect with her. He says, “Ma’am, my theme is breaking artistic paradigms, conventions.” In a way, that speaks to her personality.

Sallie: It does. Victor thinks so, too, when he says that. But she’s reluctant because of her social anxiety issues. Victor shames her into it. Then it turns out that they have a good relationship.

Scott: There’s another character in the story I want to talk about. That’s Johns Island itself. It’s such a very specific sense of time and place. You’ve got accents and local jargon and eating habits and these little moments around the community.

It feels like that was important to you, to really convey that specific sense of place. Is that right?

Sallie: It is. I don’t know if you’ve lived here long enough, but Johns Island and the other sea islands are home to the Gullah culture. You hear a creole patois among some of the African American people here. It’s distinctive, very beautiful, I wanted to honor their history here, the Gullah Geechees, living here and down through Savannah and beyond.

Scott: There’s one scene I want to talk to you about that was just so fascinating, where Gabriel shows up at her house. Here they are, they’ve been inhabiting these parallel worlds. He’s there, she’s inside, and they still persist in that parallel thing.

I’m wondering what you were feeling when you were writing that scene, because it’s such a great scene.

Sallie: Oh, thank you.

Scott: Do you remember writing it for the first time what you were feeling when you wrote it?

Sallie: Yes, it was challenging to make it believable, and it took me a long time to get it right. I hope I succeeded: that she was so disturbed at having to confront him, that she became physically ill. Also, she was at at her life’s nadir at that very moment.

Scott: Yes. But he sees her eyes.

Sallie: Yes. And of course, he hasn’t read the journal yet, so he doesn’t know anything about her.

Scott: She assumes that he has read it.

Sallie: That’s right. Also, we assume he’s read it. He has not read it. He hasn’t even played the cello yet. By the way, my favorite scene is when he finally plays the cello. There’s no dialogue at all. It’s just his physical reaction to hearing the cello for the first time.

Scott: Why is it your favorite scene?

Sallie: Because the sound is heavenly. It’s the payoff, after everything leading up to it; moreover, it is the point that he begins falling in love. It changes his life.

Scott: The script has a bittersweet yet poignant and satisfying ending. What were your feelings when you typed those last few paragraphs and then, “Fade out,” that last time?

Sallie: I thought to myself, “What now?”

Scott: Let’s talk about the Nicholl Fellowship. What were you doing when you received the call you’d won?

Sallie: I was cooking dinner.

Scott: I guess you probably didn’t finish that.

Sallie: I tried desperately to keep my composure, because they had me on speaker phone. All of those talented Hollywood people were sitting right there listening, and I was trying to hold it together. But I wanted to scream into a pillow. I was alone, but it was really hard to maintain decorum. [laughs] Nobody enters the Nicholl Fellowship expecting to win.

Scott: Did you get contacted by managers and agents?

Sallie: Yes, I’ve been contacted by a lot of people, and I’m getting a crash course in the Hollywood machine.

Scott: In your speech in LA accepting the 2014 Nicholl Award, you talked about, of all the things it’s meant to you, the validation was perhaps the most important thing. Could you explain what you mean by that?

Sallie: I haven’t had job security since the economy tanked, just “temporary” contract positions for the defense industry. Each year the contracts are subject to re-award, so technical writers in Charleston have to chase the money around town as projects move from contractor to contractor. It’s very demoralizing when you do your best work and are rewarded with a pink slip, and particularly difficult for people over fifty.

Scott: And then to have Hollywood give you a big “Yes.”

Sallie: It meant more than I can describe.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Sallie shares some thoughts on her approach to the screenwriting craft.

For Part 1, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.