Joan BaranowSearch WILDsound  11 Questions with 2010 Screenplay Finalist Joan Baranow 1. What is your screenplay about? In HOUSE CALL Joel Fleishman's ex-girlfriend Elaine makes a surprise visit to tell him some shocking news: she's pregnant. As Joel grapples with the fact that she became pregnant by the sperm of her deceased husband, Maggie and Shelley team up to plan a baby shower for her. (In a parallel storyline, Maurice contends with his Korean family and his growing awareness that he needs them.) The plot takes a turn when Joel is forced to travel by dogsled to make a house call in the wilderness. Once there, however, he finds that his patient wants nothing to do with him; she beats him out of the house with a pillow. Although the trip is comically unnecessary, Joel returns to Cicely as a hero. He joins in the baby shower festivities, ready to celebrate Elaine's new status as mother-to-be. 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? I have always admired the television series Northern Exposure and wanted to write a spec script. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? Fifteen years. 4. What is your favorite TV show of all-time? Northern Exposure--no other television show has had such a joyful imaginative spirit. 5. What artist in the film industry would you love to work with? Johnny Depp. 6. Who was your hero growing up? American writers and poets. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? I would like to be known for documentary film-making and to have a second book of poetry published. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? I need a writer's group or a workshop that forces me to write. I teach full-time and have young children, so I have to steal time away from other responsibilities in order to write. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? I primarily write poetry, but am occasionally inspired to write screenplays. I have also become involved in making documentaries. I was a producer and assistant editor of the 2008 PBS documentary Healing Words: Poetry & Medicine and am currently producing a second film. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? I didn't want my script to just gather dust. And I wanted to know if it was any good. 11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers? Remember why you write in the first place--the pleasure you feel when your imagination is fired up and a story is unfolding in your mind. There's nothing else like it. Joan Baranow
Joan Baranow
|
CREATIVE IDEAS
1 PAGE SCRIPT CONTEST
SUBMIT your SHORT or FEATURE Script
SUBMIT your TV PILOT or TV SPEC Script
SUBMIT your FILM
POETRY CONTEST
