LEE CARLISLESearch WILDsound  11 Questions with LEE CARLISLE. A WILDsound WINTER 2009 TV Screenplay Finalist 1. What is your screenplay about? “Damage Control” is a post season one, pre season two spec for Mad Men. In it, the employees of Sterling Cooper, and the agency itself, face crises of legacies when a client comes under the scrutiny of an FDA investigation. Roger, still recovering from his heart attacks, wonders what kind of impact his work will leave behind, Pete questions how much of his success has come from his name and Peggy struggles to restart a normal social life after her pregnancy, all while Don tries to save the company’s reputation in the face of the scandal. 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? This script started as a project during grad school at Florida State. I revised it a few times afterwards, but that’s where the bulk of the work went in - and where the decision to do Mad Men came from. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? About seven years. 4. What is your favorite TV show of all-time? Currently on the air, the only one I’ve been able to consistently keep up with is Lost - they hooked me something fierce and I‘m along for the ride until the end, even if they pull some crazy time-travel… wait a minute... All time sentimental favorites include Ed, Freaks and Geeks and Futurama. 5. What artist in the industry would you love to work with? There are many other writers that I would just love to flat out meet, but as far as working… I really admire the work of Wes Anderson, Charlie Kaufman, Tony Gilroy and Ridley Scott, so any chance to be involved in any capacity with them would be awesome. 6. Who was your hero growing up? Mario Andretti and Dale Earnhardt. I wanted to be a race car driver when I was little, but instead I decided to pursue the much safer bet of film/tv writing. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? Definitely in L.A., hopefully making a living writing TV shows/movies that I enjoy - making a living doing what I love. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? My process is very scattered - I’m not a very disciplined writer as far as scheduling. I often work through nights and need to bounce around to a variety of different places before I find a setting that really works for a specific project - I just can’t write at home. I really need to invest in some studio space or something… As far as the actual craft, I start with very bare sequence outlines and spend a lot of time tinkering there before moving on to more detailed scene outlines, treatments (sometimes), and eventually, pages. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? My other main passion besides movies/writing would probably be music - there‘s nothing better than relaxing at a good show with a beer. I like to think I have a wide variety of tastes, but the beautiful thing about music is there’s so much out there. I love discovering new (to me) bands and have a constantly rotating soundtrack to my life. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? Knew the name through the grapevine and was specifically referred to it by a fellow writer, Clayton Henry, you may know of him… 11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers? Keep attacking the blank page! If you’re passionate and enjoy doing it, just keep at it - the best way to improve is through practice. Find some like-minded people whose opinion you trust and then just do what you love to do, bounce ideas off each other, read their work, give feedback, read established writers work, talk about what works, what doesn’t and why - I find it immensely rewarding.
Lee Carlisle
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