MARK MASOUMISearch WILDsound
 11 Questions with MARK MASOUMI. A WILDsound SUMMER 2009 Short Screenplay Finalist 1. What is your screenplay about? It is about a student pilot who is escorted through the woods by two investigators when he claims the bizarre object that caused his crash landing - has crashed as well. 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? My inspiration came from the true story of Frederick Valentich, an Australian pilot who vanished after encountering a small, unidentified craft. He was never found and neither was his plane but there is a transcript that exists of his final distress call to the radio tower.
I wanted to tell a story not just about a character encountering something mysterious but also about the idea that he had seen something he shouldn’t, perhaps something that isn’t entirely unique. This is where I drew upon the numerous stories about “men in black” but I wanted to approach things a bit differently.
I wanted them to be very human and fallible, to be part of a small cabal of men who know something nobody else does and how the burden of this knowledge and the responsibility to maintain such a secret would effect them. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? It was around 2003 when I began putting my rough concepts and ideas on paper and started learning proper screenplay style and formatting. 4. What film have you seen the most in your lifetime? Possibly “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) or perhaps “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” … I can’t be too sure. 5. What artist in the industry would you love to work with? Dead: Rod Serling Alive: M. Night Shyamalan 6. Who was your hero growing up? Dr. Peter Venkman, Ph.D. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? Putting together my first feature film. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? I usually begin with a small seed of a story, character or premise. This is usually a very unrefined, rough idea but it quickly begins to grow as I live with it in my head for a few weeks.
I begin compiling small notes about what the story could be about as well what the theme(s) might be.
Once I have amassed enough notes and ideas, I begin to formulate the structure and write a 5-10 page treatment. From there it is just a matter of getting the first draft out of my system and refining the subsequent drafts until I reach a point where I’m satisfied that I’ve told the story I want to tell.
In terms of routine, I find that sticking to a set number of pages per day helps. 2-3 pages are what I usually try to aim for, although I may not actually get that many.
There is one method I use to keep momentum going and that is to always stop writing for the day even if you still feel inspired to write more. If you keep your ideas for the next day, you won’t be starting cold and you keep the ball rolling. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? I’m in to history, technology, science, theoretical physics, and a variety of fringe topics and unexplained phenomena. A lot of my inspiration comes from these subjects. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? I think it represents an important opportunity for up and coming writers and filmmakers. Having other creative people critique and give feedback on a script is an essential part of making a script better. In addition, having actors read your script helps to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t. 11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers? ____
Mark Masoumi
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