Interview: Stephany Folsom (2013 Black List) — Part 6

I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is my favorite satire of all time. So when I saw this script make the 2013 Black List — “1969: A Space Odyssey or: How Kubrick Learned to Stop Worrying and Land on the Moon” — I knew then and there I had to interview its writer. That turns out to be Stephany Folsom, and we had an informative and fun one hour plus conversation.

Today in Part 6, Stephany and I discuss the confluence of what is happening with movies and TV, and what advice she has for aspiring screenwriters:

Scott: When you finish a first draft and you’re faced with the inevitable rewriting process are there some keys for you in terms of rewriting scripts, and if so, what are they?

Stephany: First, I do a throw‑up draft, which I don’t show anyone. Then I go through my throw-up draft with a very critical eye and get it to a point where I can show it to other people. Then I give it to trusted friends that have experience in the industry, and then I incorporate their notes into the script.

I go through the script multiple times. With each pass I try to focus on a different element. I’ll do a dialogue pass, a scene description pass, a character pass, etc. With every pass I’m very focused on one little aspect, so that all the details get addressed in my rewrite.

Scott: What’s your actual writing process like?

Stephany: I like to call it an office, but it’s really just a glorified shed with a window. It’s a small, quiet space where I write every day. For years, and years, and years, I’ve written every day. It’s just something that’s part of my daily routine. I try to get in at least two to four hours of writing a day.

I’ve done that all along, even with other jobs, and everything that I’ve had to do. I just get up early and get it done, or I get it done at night when everyone else is asleep. I’m a better human being if I get my writing finished.

Scott: There’s got to be those times where you come up with an excuse not to write. I like to ask writers, “What’s your single best excuse not to write?”

Stephany: Single best excuse? There are tons of excuses. I’ll make up excuses all the time. Getting into my office and sitting down at the computer is probably the hardest thing I do everyday. My entire being just fights against it.

It’s not a natural thing to do, forcing yourself to sit alone, and stare at a screen, and make up people in your head. When you really break it down, it’s really a sick, twisted kind of thing to do everyday.

Scott: Conversely what do you love most about writing?

Stephany: What I love is that moment where your story coalesces and all the pieces come together. The story is feeling right. The plot is working and your characters are interesting. Nothing beats that feeling. It’s the best high ever.

Scott: Where do you see yourself at five to 10 years?

Stephany: Hopefully still writing. I have a lot of heat on me right now, which is great. I think the trick is to keep the momentum going. In the next five to 10 years I want to have a body of work I can be proud of.

Scott: You said that you’re working on a TV thing so you’re obviously interested in TV, too?

Stephany: Yes, I am definitely interested in TV. I feel like so many people are down on the movie business right now, which is understandable to a certain extent. But also I think we live in such an exciting time and the technology has just blown open the door on what we can do with storytelling.

I think we are on the verge of recreating how we tell stories. There’s so much cool stuff being done in television and the digital space.

If you have a story that’s one minute, there’s an outlet for it. If you have a story that lasts for three episodes, there’s an outlet for it. If you have a story that goes on for three years, there’s an outlet for it. The doors have just been blown wide open on what you can do. I think it’s very exciting. They sky’s the limit right now.

Scott: I have the same philosophy about that. I remember seeing some comments by the CEO of Netflix and he said, “We don’t consider, ‘House of Cards,’ to be TV. We consider it to be an extended movie.”

I started to think about it and it’s like really with all the cinematic sensibilities moving over to the TV side, I think one of the reasons you could say we have a Golden Age of TV now is that they’re really more cinematic. They really feel more like movie characters and that sort of thing.

There’s an interesting explosion, in terms of storytelling, where we may not even call them “movies,” “TV,” they could just be some other thing in the future, their name or function based on how long they are.

Stephany: I completely agree. That’s the way it’s all going. The medium isn’t going to dictate the story. It’s going to be based on how much time you have to watch something. Do you want to binge‑watch it for days? Do you want an hour and a half worth of entertainment? It really blows the door wide open on the types of stories you can tell.

Scott: It’s funny too. My college students, I’ll ask them every semester. I say, “How many of you people watch TV?” None of them actually watch shows on TV. They all watch them on their computer. I mean, if they’re not watching it on TV, can you call it “TV”?

Stephany: Exactly. Netflix won an Emmy. Does that make Netflix TV? It’s all becoming more fluid. You can’t hold on to the old system. You’ve got to look at not how it used to be done, but at the amazing things we can be doing.

Scott: In some ways, it’s never been more competitive to break into the business, and yet, in other ways, there’s never been more access to an opportunity, for people who are storytellers, to break into the business. Would you agree?

Stephany: I watched an interview with Stanley Kubrick’s wife. They actually asked her that question: “What would Stanley Kubrick think of the state of cinema today?”

She’s said Stanley would have loved what’s going on with cinema today. He was such an avid proponent of new technology. He would have loved that anyone can pick up a camera and make something. She believed Stanley Kubrick would have risen to the challenges of new technology.

If you want to get noticed, you have to work hard and put your best work forward.

Scott: That leads to my last question, then. Here you’ve managed to break in to the business. You’ve got some heat right now. What advice would you offer to those writers that are outside the fortress of Hollywood in terms of learning the craft and breaking into the business?

Stephany: Don’t worry about getting an agent or a manager. When you have enough quality work under your belt, the agencies and management companies will come calling.

Worry about telling stories you’re passionate about. Because the doors are wide open to everyone, it means you really have to care about what you’re writing, and be willing to fight for it for months or years.

While you should be emotionally invested in your writing, don’t get emotionally invested in the business. It is a crazy, ridiculous business, and while you should care about your work, you also have to be able to step away from it and take an outside view. So it’s this weird line you have to walk of being passionate about your work, but not taking every note or comment to heart.

Also, I think writers tend to be very introverted, and I think now more than ever you can’t indulge your introverted side. You have to be a showman. You have to go into a room and convey your passion and sell your passion and sell your ideas. Ultimately, you have to be an amazing storyteller.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Part 3, here.

Part 4, here.

Part 5, here.

Please stop by comments to thank Stephany for her time and ask any questions you may have.

Stephany is represented by Verve and Kaplan/Perrone.

Twitter: @StephanyFolsom.

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