Interview (Part 6): Geeta Malik (2016 Nicholl Winner)

My 6-part chat with the writer of the winning script “Dinner With Friends”.

Geeta Malik wrote the original screenplay “Dinner With Friends” which won a 2016 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Geeta about her background, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl has meant to her.

Today in Part 6, Geeta answers some craft questions and offers advice to writers attempting to break into the business.

Scott: How about developing characters? Do you have any specific things you go to techniques or tips or whatnot that you go to, to get your characters coming alive?

Geeta: I definitely try to think about their arc from beginning to end. I really want to pinpoint how they start and how I want the audience to feel about them, or where I want them to be when the credits roll, so I take that broader view when I first start to write.

Then, every once in a while, if I get stuck, there are all those exercises: “what’s in their refrigerator? Where’d they go to school?” I’ll try to fill out their backstory as much as possible to get the creative juices flowing again. Most of that stuff never makes it into the final script, but it helps me explain who they are and how they behave.

Scott: You’ve got a great ear for dialogue, as witnessed in the script. Do you even think about how that happens, or is it just an innate thing?

Geeta: No. I think that’s just an innate thing. Dialogue has always come very easily to me. Structure, and plot, and the script actually making sense? That’s a lot harder for me. I love sitting down with my characters and just bantering. That’s the stuff I really enjoy.

Scott: This is a subject that I have an interesting time talking with writers about because it’s so…There’s not one kind of definitive meaning on this, but how would you define theme? How important is it to you?

Geeta: Theme is something I often get stuck on, and yet it’s so vital to know what it is you’re trying to say. I think of the theme as the overarching message of the movie. What’s the perspective of the film? What’s the comment you’re making on the story, or on society as a whole? How do you want people to feel at the end of the movie? Sometimes, it’s hard for me to articulate that about my own scripts, because I don’t necessarily sit there and say, “I’m going to write a movie about sexism.” It comes out of an emotion, and the characters and their experiences, but it’s the thing that ties the whole thing together.

I think that’s how I define theme. ‘Dinner with Friends’, I feel, has several themes, woven within several stories throughout the script.

Scott: It sounds like you and I would be in alignment on this because I believe that there are multiple themes and stories. When I ask my students, I say, “What do you want people to feel when they walk out of the theater?” just like you were saying. Basically, the central theme, what is the emotional meaning of the story?

Geeta: Right. Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.

Scott: When you’re writing a scene, do you have any goals?

Geeta: A piece of wisdom that I’ve heard from a lot of people is that every scene has to do something to move the story forward. Otherwise, it can bring the whole film to a screeching halt and stall the momentum of the narrative.

In early drafts, there’s so many of these dead scenes. That’s the way I think of them. I try to look at them and say, “Is this scene necessary? What am I saying with this scene? Am I saying this somewhere else already? Is there a better way to say it, a more dynamic way to say it?” I’m not necessarily conscious of it while I’m writing initially, but when I go back for revisions and editing, that’s what I try to do.

Scott: I did a screenwriter’s roundtable with six women writers, Hollywood writers, last year and four of them were moms with young kids. I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask, and I have lots of readers, obviously, both male and female, who have young children. How do you go about managing to find time to write? How do you manage that, given the fact that you’ve got these young kids at home?

Geeta: Luckily, now they’re both in preschool, which is amazing! But, before that, we also had help. We had a part-time nanny and that’s the only way I could have written anything. Before we had the nanny, I’d try and write while my daughter napped, but then I’d open my laptop and before I knew it, she’d be awake. I would try to write at night and I would fall asleep on my keyboard. I really admire the writers who can manage it while taking care of their kids full-time, but I was just overwhelmed. I knew that if I was serious about my career, we had to get some help, so we committed to having the nanny and cutting other things out in our lives financially.

It’s still hard to juggle everything — taking care of the kids and the house and staying creative — because the fun never really stops. There are always more errands to run, more laundry to do, more books to read to them at bedtime, more drafts to revise. But I also have an incredibly supportive spouse, and that’s the real key to any progress I’ve been able to make.

Scott: Do you enjoy writing?

Geeta: It’s my favorite thing to do.

Scott: When you’re writing, do you have your director’s cap on?

Geeta: Not exactly — I don’t worry about things like budgets or logistics while I’m writing, or how realistic it is to make the film — at least, not initially. But I’ll often get a scene in my head, and know exactly how it will look and sound, and then I’ll write it as I’ve visualized it. With Dinner With Friends, because it’s been such a long process, I feel like I’ve seen every scene inside my head, and I know how I’ll want to direct it. I’ve been subconsciously putting together my shot list as I’ve been revising these later drafts. So I’ll be ready to direct it when the time comes!

Scott: I absolutely hope that happens because it’s a personal script. The tone is pitch perfect, and just talking with you I can see it. I can’t imagine anybody else directing it.

Geeta: Thank you. I don’t know if anyone else would want to direct it! It’s a movie about Indian people, and that’s who I am, so it makes sense for me to be the one.

Scott: Putting my producer’s hat on, that’s a huge market, I would think, right?

Geeta: Yes, especially if it crosses over into India and the diaspora.

Scott: A subculture that exists. All right. I’m going to ask you a question that you’re going to be asked as your career goes forward, and you probably already have, and you’ll be asked it time [laughs] and time again. What advice can you offer to aspiring screenwriters about learning the craft and breaking into Hollywood?

Geeta: When I was just testing the waters of being a filmmaker, I had a lot of people tell me, “don’t go to film school. It’s a waste of money. Just go out and start shooting your own stuff.” For me, that would never have worked. I didn’t know the first thing about film, and it was intimidating to just jump right in. Some people are able to go it on their own, but I was never one of those kids who grew up with a camera in her hand. Film school was a vital step for me, and I’m very glad that I went to UCLA, because we also had to write whatever we wanted to film.

So, I say, if you want to be a professional screenwriter or a filmmaker, learn properly, and educate yourself. Whether that means film school, or shooting a short film every week with your buddies, or reading a ton of screenplays, or joining classes, writer’s groups — whatever it is, educate yourself.

And feedback is vital. People can be very precious about their work. I’m always looking for fresh eyes and another perspective on my writing, because I’m writing in isolation. I think it’s very important to send it out and ask, “hey, is this working?” and to be humble about the answer, to understand the criticism when it comes in, and sift through what makes sense for you and what doesn’t.

And finally, I’d focus on what you’re passionate about. It’s very hard to do, especially starting out, because we all want to get reps and get paid! But if your craft is solid, then opportunities will come. It’s really important to do something you’re proud of. I can’t imagine anyone telling me to go write a movie about Indian dinner parties, but it was what I was excited to write, and it’s my authentic voice. You have to know who you are as a writer.

Here is the short film Shameless Geeta wrote, directed, and starred in:

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.

Part 5, here.

Geeta is repped by Paradigm and Luber Roklin.