Interview (Written): Bob Saenz (“Help for the Holidays”)

An interview with Bob Saenz who wrote the screenplay for the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie Help for the Holidays starring Summer Glau and Eva La Rue. This interview via Summer-Glau.com:

Bob, first off, a lot of Summer’s fans are really taken with her work to the extent that many have written fictional works celebrating her characters, particularly River in Firefly and Serenity, and Cameron in TSCC. Would you have any advice for her fans about writing interesting characters for her or any other talented actress?

Bob Saenz: First of all, thank you for letting me contribute to the website. Writing any good script is first and foremost about story. Without a good story you can have all the great characters in the world and it still doesn’t work. One of things that made Summer’s characters great in both series were the stories. With that behind her, an accomplished actress like Summer could grab hold of her character and give her all the subtle attributes that make that character attractive to audiences. Characters don’t really come to life in a script until the actors give them their unique take anyway. To specifically answer your question, I personally write the characters to fit the story I’m writing with no actor ever in mind. That way, casting directors have a clean slate and are able to look for a variety of actors, each one bringing a different take on the character. This gives the director and producer loads of choices for the look of the film and in the direction the film takes.

As for fan fiction, though I have never written any, I do enjoy reading it from time to time. My advice about fan fiction is to remember to not write for the actress, but for the character they play. Remaining true to that character even though you might place her in completely different situations. That makes for good fan fiction.

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The testimonials to your work paint a very complimentary picture (no doubt well deserved!) of someone who has a good understanding of people and what makes them tick. Is this understanding of people and their motivations something that you and an actress like Summer have in common?

Bob Saenz : I’m an actor too (with a very narrow range, but in that range I’m not bad) and as both a writer and actor the one thing that has made a huge difference (besides training) was to be a well rounded person. To experience life outside of the narrow interest of the film industry. I have an actual bucket list, one I’ve had since I was about 13 years old, that I have been fulfilling since then. There are still things left on it I intend to do. This has given me a ton of life experiences to draw on for my writing. I do a lot of hands on research, not just on the internet, for anything I’m writing about, too. I’m also a family man, with a wife of 37 years and grown kids and have a full life with them. Plus, I listen to people everywhere I go. I have gotten some GREAT dialogue ideas just eavesdropping on others. As for the testimonials, I’ve been very fortunate to work with great people and I am grateful for their kind words.

The movie is in current rotation on the Hallmark Channel.

For the rest of the interview from Summer-Glau.com, go here.

For Bob’s website, go here.

Twitter: @BobSnz.