James Mahoney David WilhiteSearch WILDsound  11 Questions with James Mahoney David Wilhite. A WILDsound SUMMER 2009 One Page Screenplay Finalist 1. What is your screenplay about? JAMES and DAVID: Two vigilante wedding bands conspire to save the life of a naïve, young woman by killing off her hooligan fiancé. 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? DAVID: There are just too many single mothers out there abandoned by irresponsible fathers. JAMES: Being a child of divorced parents, I’ve always had a personal bias against marriage; I don’t want to do it. However, rather than write a screenplay that completely bashes marriage, I wanted to write a script that asks the question, “If you haven’t established your life yet, if you haven’t followed your own path and discovered who you are, what good of an influence are you going to be on your spouse and your children if you rush into marriage?” DAVID: I too have a bias against marriage but more because my parent’s silver wedding anniversary seemed more about celebrating fifty years of fighting… and they didn’t rush into it as far as time went but their impetus may have been more because they were getting old by the standards of the day. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? JAMES: I’ve been writing screenplays since I was in high school. I grew up with a very active imagination. The more and more short stories I’ve written the more I envisioned them as actual films as opposed to books, so I found my medium in screenwriting when I turned fifteen. DAVID: I was originally a Journalism major but finally got fed up with all the crap my professors were dishing up. Disillusioned, I sought out playwriting classes where I met James and we’ve been cracking each other up since. 4. What film have you seen the most in your lifetime? DAVID: Without a doubt, Blade Runner. JAMES: The 1953 version of “THE WAR OF THE WORLDS” would probably be the best answer. I used to watch that movie every day when I was kid because I thought the Martian war machines looked cool. 5. What artist in the industry would you love to work with? DAVID: David Rabe. He’d probably get impatient with me but I’d love to rise to the challenge. JAMES: I want to work with David Fincher. I love every movie I’ve seen made by him, especially SE7EN and FIGHT CLUB. 6. Who was your hero growing up? JAMES: Kevin Smith would be my hero. His movie “CLERKS” is what got me into independent filmmaking. DAVID: I grew up in an age when America was devoid of heroes, so I’m afraid I didn’t have one. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? JAMES: The ideal situation for me would be making a living doing what I love, writing and directing movies. DAVID: I want to be alive, happy and living my life. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? JAMES: That differs between feature length and short scripts. Short scripts for most part just pour out of me. I get an idea in my head and just go for it. Feature length scripts work better for me when I do a mini-treatment of each and every scene in the film, and transcribe it later. DAVID: I know this sounds terrible, but I don’t write until I’m forced to, and then it just pours out of me. More than anything though, I really like collaboration, when someone just throws something totally weird at me and I flip it all around. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? DAVID: Sailing and women, not necessarily in that order. JAMES: I really found that I like to swim, it takes a lot of energy out of me, but it gives me a full body workout and helps me get stronger. Other than that I like to direct movies, watch movies and review them, and I also like to read. In fact if I’m not reading a book I feel like the stupidest person on the planet, so I make sure to have my nose in a book as much as possible. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? DAVID: James, you never got my permission to submit this! I’m going to sue! JAMES: WildSound seemed like a great opportunity as far as networking and getting my voice out there, and considering that I already have three scripts that placed as finalists in previous contests, I’m aware that I’m developing a track record with WildSound. 11. Why should people vote for your One Page script? JAMES and DAVID: The script contains interesting subtext that relates to issues we all share: the consequences of marrying young, karma, how life paths are affected by decisions we make, or others make for us, not to mention heightened sexual tension in the midst of violence. We are also intrigued by the possibilities that can be found in the look of the rings themselves. We feel this leaves much for the director to work with and for an audience to ponder so we are both very curious to see how the script is conceptualized in a final production.
James Mahoney David Wilhite
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