Interview: Roberto Bentivegna (2012 Black List) — Part 5

Roberto Bentivegna’s original screenplay “The Eel” landed the writer on the 2012 Black List. Combining elements of noir and dark humor, the script offers an entertaining tale featuring compelling characters in the quirky subculture of a town on the border of Texas and Mexico.

Roberto was kind enough to agree to an interview and we had a wide-ranging hour-long conversation in which we covered a lot of territory related to screenwriting and movies. I will be posting the whole interview over the course of this week.

Today in Part 5, Roberto delves more deeply into his approach to the craft of screenwriting:

Scott: You said something there that I found quite interesting. We can look for a theme. It’s like hoping that it will allow us to have some sense of clarity on the story about what’s going on and what the meaning of the story is. But it sounds like what you’re saying is, you’ve got to pair that up with the fact you’ve got to have the freedom as a writer not to have the theme override everything else. A balance point between clarity and freedom.

Roberto: Oh, absolutely. That applies to everything, though. It doesn’t only apply to theme. It applies to letting yourself have fun with the writing and putting the rules away a little bit, like I was saying earlier about letting your characters do their talking. That’s something that I have to remind myself of all the time, that balance between structure and creativity… structure and improvisation. It really is a little bit like jazz. You learn your scales, you learn the theme, the motif, and then you go off and you improvise. But by then you are building on some very solid foundations. So if you fall, you’re going to be alright.

I think it’s very dangerous when you get bogged down in rules, because that’s when movies get boring. Rules should not be limitations. You’re hanging things on a skeleton, but you don’t want the skeleton to be all there is. Otherwise, it’s like, well…it’s nothing. It’s dead. Literally.

Scott: Yeah, formulaic writing.

Roberto: Formulaic, exactly. But back to the theme question real quick- when I start something new, I’m definitely sitting there and I’m thinking “What is it that I’m trying to say? What is the theme?” and it’s only natural because you want that as a writer. You want that easy answer. You want to just have something on your desk and look at it every morning and say, “Oh, that’s what it is.” But you can’t do that every single time. I can’t do that. What about you? Do you have a theme worked out from the beginning?

Scott: No, I’m very character orientated. That’s what I start with and end with, but themes can emerge pretty quickly depending upon the nature of the characters. I always start with characters, you know?

Roberto: Do you think it’s more complicated than people think it is or are they right to be worried about theme?

Scott: Actually it’s perhaps the one conceptual area of the craft I think is the most confusing to people.

Roberto: Yes.

Scott: First of all, what is it exactly? Like, for example, as Egri says, “Theme is premise.” That’s great, fine. I tend to look at it as theme is meaning or, more specifically, what’s the emotional meaning of a story. Then I feel like I’m zeroing in. I also don’t think there’s one theme. I think there’s like multiple themes.

Roberto: I agree.

Scott: Like in music composition. You don’t just have one single theme. You have many themes. I see it as a way of enhancing our understanding, hopefully, of what we’re writing and not feeling like we need to come up with the moral of the story or the premise, and that’s it as far as theme is concerned.

Roberto: It does dilute the thing. If you’re coming up with those easy answers, you are reducing it to the point of it becoming something too simple and too straightforward. You’re robbing your audience and your reader of the opportunity to continue the story in their heads and to open up questions and things. That’s really what it is. I think theme, the problems that we’re talking about with theme, are more generally the problems with people have with art, with understanding it, interpreting it. The fact that it’s subjective and the fact that if it was as easy as just saying “This is what this movie is about, and this is what this story is about” then movies would not be an art form- which they are.

I like big, loose concepts for themes. “Taxi Driver” is loneliness. “The Godfather” is family. “Carrie” is high school awkwardness. I think that’s good enough for me, personally. I think that’s a good enough starting point.

Redemption, betrayal, lost love- these are great, inspiring ideas for stories. And then if something else comes up to reinforce it half-way through, fantastic. If not, let the piece stand on its own without forcing a theme onto it.

Please stop by comments to thank Roberto for taking the time for the interview and post any follow-up questions you may have.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, go here.

Part 3, go here.

Part 4, go here.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Roberto discusses his writing process.

Roberto is repped by CAA and Madhouse Entertainment.