Q&A with “Script for Sale” director Marie Tang
I’ve been tracking the story of the documentary “Script for Sale” since last week. I first posted on it here:
What a wonderful story:
Ben Resella wants to sell a screenplay. Not an unusual dream, but Ben has already “made it” once in Hollywood. For decades he worked on movie sets as a scenic designer and painter in the Philippines and found his way into Hollywood. But that never kept him from his dream of writing. Even though he’s never so much as pitched a story to anyone, he’s determined to try and sell his a screenplay. He will not be denied his chance. His last chance. Ben is 91 years old.
Filmmaker Marie Tang decided to make a documentary about Ben Resella and his efforts to sell his screenplay. You can see the trailer for “Script for Sale” here.
Then followed up on it here, featuring a post from Tang:
Script for Sale was an idea that was inspired by MTV’s Made, a series which took a regular person out of their comfort zone and partnered them with a mentor to help achieve a specific goal. With Ben Resella, I saw a 90 year old man who had all the ambitions of most fellow filmmakers my age and it saddened me to think that his dreams were less likely to happen due to the lack of opportunities. Knowing that Ben’s transformation from scenic artist to screenwriter would take time and patience, I thought that Channel 22 could create a program that would help support his goals in a shorter amount of time. Ben’s journey could then be duplicated as a series for other residents who have a very specific goal. Sounds easy! Well, maybe not for a beginning filmmaker and a new television station. With the support of Ben’s family, those involved with Channel 22, and screenwriter Steve Mazur as Ben’s mentor, I started documenting Ben’s drive and ambition.
So in the posts I asked if anybody knew Marie Tang, I’d be happy to do a Q&A to promote the movie. Sure enough, I got this email:
Hi Scott, my name is Sahag Gureghian and I’m one of the producers on ‘Script for Sale.’ Thank you for writing about our little documentary.
Sahag got me in touch with Marie Tang who was kind enough to answer some questions about the project:
How did you meet Ben Resella, the central character in “Script for Sale,” and what inspired you to produce and direct a documentary about him?
I work in the internal television station of the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Wasserman Campus (a retirement community for entertainment industry professionals). The station is called Channel 22 and my job is to shoot and edit programs for them. Behind The Silver Screen is a weekly program where we interview residents about their careers. I was operating the camera the day we shot Ben’s interview and we immediately bonded. I visited with him and his wife for months and he would talk to me about his script. In fact, he was basically pitching it to me, because he thought I could help him. I was encouraged by his dedication and decided to support his dream by shooting a documentary on his process, which would hopefully spark interest and help from the community.
What is Ben’s screenplay about?
Ben was inspired by pirate stories that were told to him as a child in the Philippines. They were stories about pirates from all over Asia that had different attributes and fighting styles. He was truly inspired to write a screenplay based on two statues he saw in the One Hundred Islands. The statues were of a Chinese pirate named Limahong and a native princess named Urduja.
What period of time does “Script for Sale” cover in terms of Ben’s writing process and attempts to sell his script?
One Year.
Evidently Ben had a mentor in the writing process, screenwriter Steve Mazur. How did that relationship get started and what was involved in Steve’s mentoring process?
Steve was introduced to the project by the producers, Jennifer Clymer and Marijane Miller. Before getting Ben and Steve together, Jen and I met with Steve to gauge his time commitment and his strategy for mentoring Ben. Ultimately, Steve’s background in teaching screenwriting was a great attribute to the mentorship because he was patient, had a “lesson” plan, and was skilled at giving notes. Steve’s involvement was to offer his expertise in screenwriting and the documentary took a turn when we decided to step away from the screenplay and have Ben learn how to pitch instead. Steve’s involvement with Ben’s script and journey grew from mentor to colleague.
What were some of the challenges you had to face in making the documentary?
I always felt we were running out of time. I kept thinking “Ben is 91 years old,” so I had an internal alarm clock that made me worried. It took months to set up a meeting with producers or studios to hear Ben’s pitch. In the end, it really came down to “who you know”. I called a producer who I had worked for, Bridget Johnson, to offer her notes on the pitch so once we scheduled a meeting with a studio, Ben would be ready. Other meetings were set up based on connections that family, friends, and colleagues set up.
Where did you get financial and emotional support for the project?
Support for the project came a lot from the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Channel 22. Channel 22’s producer, Jennifer Clymer, supported the project from the beginning, during a time when most of the productions that came out of the station were multi-cam interview shows. Ben’s family was also instrumental in making things happen. Without the support of Ben’s daughter, Dita, and granddaughter, Emilia, I’m not sure how far Ben would have gone in his journey. In the post-production process, I was fortunate to work with a Channel 22 volunteer, Deppie, who retired as a restaurant owner and recently found her new passion in design and editing. She has been there from the beginning. Also, I had support from 2 great friends Gil Baron and Sahag Gureghian who co-produced the project by offering notes on every version and cut of the movie. Overall, I’ve found support throughout the process of making this documentary. In the end, we had a wonderful donation from Technicolor who offered to do the final sound mix and color correction, which we sorely needed and are grateful for. I am very lucky to have worked on a project, which had support throughout the entire process.
Do you have any other movie projects that you’re working on? If so, could you tell us a bit about them?
I have been following two other residents on the campus who are writing their first musical. Anthony Lawrence wrote for television for several years. He also wrote a couple of Elvis Presley musicals, but he never wrote the music. He was inspired to write a musical after partnering up with another resident, Larry Kelem, who has worked as an arranger for several singers and TV shows. Together, they are the “odd couple,” but they write beautifully together. This project started January 2009 and I’m still following them on their journey with a camera.
I’m excited about one personal project. I am working with an up and coming hat designer, Bijou Van Ness, on a short film that will be on her website. The video is inspired by the Chanel #5 ads, which have high production values and are 3 minutes in length. For obvious reasons, the project I’m doing for Bijou Van Ness does not have the same budget, but the style is there. I’m thrilled to work on a narrative / stylistic video because I have more control over the finished product. With the documentaries I’m working on, I have to give myself a lot of flexibility in terms of what I shoot and edit, because you can’t control everything. No matter how much I plan ahead of time, in the end, it comes down to what you have to work with in the edit.
Finally if there’s one life-lesson you took away from getting to know Ben during this whole process, what would that be?
I learned about passion. Ben had a drive like no one else I had ever met. It is important to know what you want in life and Ben proved that to me. As a child, he always wanted to come to America and work in Hollywood. When he immigrated in 1963, he landed in San Francisco and found that the studios weren’t there. What did he do? He banged on the door of the San Francisco Opera House and said that he can paint backdrops. They didn’t offer him a job immediately, but a few more knocks on the door got him in. From that job, he was discovered by an agent and was flown out to Hollywood to work on scenic backdrops. His first job was “Hello Dolly!” (1969). He understood that people are on the lookout for talent. His belief was that you should know your talent, train yourself, and go for it. No one else can do that for you.
For those of you in Southern California, here is ticket information for the screening of “Script for Sale” tomorrow:
“Script for Sale”
A film by MARIE TANG
June 5, 2010 at 2:45pm
Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 848–3500
For tickets, visit www.mptvfund.org/scriptsforsale
Also you can go here to the movie’s official Facebook page. You can find out more information and buy tickets to the screening here.
Please forward this information along to anyone you know in the L.A. area to help give Ben Resella a night he’ll never forget — a packed house for the premiere of “Script for Sale.”