Q&A: Screenwriter F. Scott Frazier (“The Numbers Station,” “Line of Sight,” “Autobahn”) — Part 3

Since 2010, screenwriter F. Scott Frazier has sold four spec scripts.

That’s right four.

I asked Scott to do an interview and he kindly agreed. Here is a brief bio Scott sent to provide some idea of his background:

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and have spent my entire life here. Right out of high school, I got a job working at a video game company, where I spent nine years climbing the corporate ladder. I’d always wanted to be a writer, it was a dream since as far back as I could remember, but only ever considered it a hobby at best. I got engaged in 2009, and realized I was running out of time to make my dream a reality. So in March, just as the economy was taking a nose dive, I up and quit my day job, to take on writing full time. I didn’t really have a parachute, or a plan of what to do if screenwriting didn’t work out. In January 2010 I was introduced to my manager, and he signed me based off the two scripts I had written the previous year. He in turn introduced me to my agent, and the ball was pretty much rolling at that point. In April 2010 we sold NUMBERS STATION, in August 2010 we sold an as-yet-unannounced spec script, and in February of 2011 we sold LINE OF SIGHT to Warner Bros.

In Part 3 of our interview, we focus the discussion on the script “Autobahn” which just sold last week:

Okay, so in the time we started this interview process, you actually sold another spec script “Autobahn”. Here is how it’s described in the trades covering the deal:

“Autobahn” is described as “Fast and Furious” meets “Taken.”

Is that an accurate description of the storyline?

Yeah, that’s pretty accurate. Mainly because, along with the help of along with the help of a bunch of my screenwriter friends, I came up with that tagline a couple of days before the script went out.

What was the origin of this script? A character? A situation? Or did you literally sit down and say, “I’m going to write ‘Fast and Furious’ meets ‘Taken’”?

No. It was entirely built around a situation. It had been an idea in my head for a while, but hadn’t really gone much beyond a couple-page write up that I had done a few months ago for my reps to get excited about the idea.

I actually didn’t really realize what kind of movie it was until I finished it. That’s when I was able to come up with that tagline.

From the time you started with the story concept to the time you did a final edit, what was the basic time frame for writing “Autobahn”?

Well, like I said, I had the initial idea sitting around for a couple months, but hadn’t done any prep work on it.

I was actually having a pretty creatively-stagnant summer this year, where, for about four months, I had done nothing but pitches and outlines and rewrites. I hadn’t written anything original for a while.

I sat down and wrote the rough draft in ten hours. Almost as a test to myself to see if I could do it as sort of a creative purge. My intention was never really to do anything with it, and for about a month after I had written it, I didn’t read it or show it to anyone.

My manager kept asking me to see the draft, and even though I was sure it was terrible, when I showed it to him, he got really excited.

After that, I spent probably about three months rewriting the script, fine-tuning it, and taking that rough draft and turning it into an actual movie.

So, all in all, I probably came up with the idea in April of this year and finished it up the first week of November. But in those seven months there was definitely a lot of down time, second guessing myself, and endless rewriting.

What excited you about writing this project? What was your point of emotional resonance with the material?

From the moment I came up with the concept, I knew it was an exciting way to do an action movie. And from there, it was just about writing really ordinary characters inside of an incredibly extraordinary situation.

How did this deal happen? It seemed like the script went out in the morning and sold that night. Was it a preemptive purchase or were there other outfits vying for the project?

I kind of leave the business stuff to my reps. I feel like I’ve lucked into the best agents and managers in the business. And, for me, my involvement with the strategy in taking out the script ends when I email them the final draft.

All I know is that the afternoon we sent the script out, I got a phone call saying we got a pre-emptive offer that was a great deal, and I said take it.

The company that bought “Autobahn” is described as a “British production company/financier Between the Eyes.” What was the thinking of you and your team in going with this outfit as opposed to a Hollywood studio or prod co?

Again, I don’t really know the strategy outside of my guys sending the script to people who want to make the movie. The last couple of years I’ve found getting a movie made is even harder than selling that first spec script. And anybody who shows a passion for getting something into production is, in my mind, a leg up on competition.

The title “Autobahn” suggests the story is set in or at least has something to do with Germany. If that’s true, was your choice to set the story in an international location influenced at all by the increasing revenues from the foreign market? In other words, were you specifically attempting to target international audiences figuring that would help your story’s sales appeal given Hollywood’s increased focus on that market?

It was definitely a consideration, but I generally tend to think in international settings. I would say more than half of my own scripts take place, or could be set, in international locations. I’m personally kind of bored of movies where the climax always takes place in Los Angeles.

I assume you were aware of another spec script “Autobahn” that sold earlier this year. Did that impact the strategy re your script? Was there ever any thought to changing the title?

I found out about the other AUTOBAHN about a week before we were planning on taking the script out. A few other titles were discussed, but nothing that got everyone excited enough. So we stuck with AUTOBAHN.

The fact you have these three other projects — “The Numbers Station,” “Line of Sight,” and the mysterious project with a “the” in the logline — plus you have been going up for OWA’s and doing pitches, this brings up the subject of stacking projects. Assuming you prep other projects while writing something, how do you manage that? Do you find it challenging to switch mental gears from one project to the other or not? Are there any organizing systems or software programs you use to manage multiple projects at once?

You definitely have to be able to stack multiple projects in order to get to that next step in your career as a screenwriter. Like I said, I was doing a lot of pitches and going out for a lot of OWAs earlier in the year. And for those, it’s just a matter of writing everything down. Keeping good notes. And kind of giving your brain the freedom of thinking of multiple ideas at once.

On top of that, I’ve always preferred having multiple scripts going at once. Usually two. Sometimes three. What I think is important about juggling scripts is that you’re working on them at different stages. For example, I’ll be writing one script as a rough draft, while at the same time, rewriting another script, and polishing a third. The kind of skills and brain space that you need for each of the stages of a script are really kind of different from one another. So I use that to my advantage to maximize my output.

Selling four spec scripts in two years, the logical question to ask is how good that feels, but let me go the other way with this question. Are there aspects of the business of screenwriting you have discovered that have proved to be problematic? For example, balancing all of those projects or working too much.

I think there is definitely a maximum amount of work that can be done simultaneously. But I’m not sure if I’ve reached it yet. There were a couple times this year where I definitely felt overwhelmed, but I’ve been good at multitasking, and I just found a way to make it work.

To me, one of the keys of making that next step from someone who sells a spec to someone who is a screenwriter is being able to have a lot of plates in the air. So that’s what I like to do.

Finally do you have any interest in directing? Moving into producing as well? What is F. Scott Frazier doing 10 years from now?

I’ve never really thought about directing, but it does seem that writer/directors have a somewhat easier time getting movies off the ground, just because they bring two elements to the table rather than just one.

If ten years from now I’m writing big, entertaining, popcorn movies, I’d be incredibly grateful.

I want to follow up tomorrow with some takeaway about writing from the interview, but today would you please go into replies and thank Scott for taking the time to share information and insights with us? As you can see, he’s juggling a lot of plates right now and it was terrific of him to add this interview as yet another plate.

Thanks, Scott! Creative juju coming your way!

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