MAUREEN LARKINSearch WILDsound  11 Questions with 2010 Screenplay Finalist MAUREEN LARKIN 1. What is your screenplay about? A bad boy 80s rocker dude sets out to win back his high school flame and accidentally enlists the help of her younger sister. 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? I wanted to write a story about a protagonist (Barry) who has to learn to let go of the past to find love in the present. I chose to make Barry’s past the glory days of 80s hair metal because I think the music, fashion and bad-ass lifestyle of that era is immensely entertaining. Hair metal power ballads were a particularly important source of inspiration for LITTLE SISTER. How great is it to hear a tough rocker dude sing an earnest, sentimental love song? I wanted to create a romantic comedy hero who embodies that seemingly absurd contrast, a bad boy who wears his heart on his sleeve. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? I’ve been working on story and character ideas for films since I was in high school, but I didn’t really throw myself into screenwriting until 2004, when I completed my first feature script, a teen comedy titled SHE BOP. As the Cyndi Lauper-inspired title suggests, 1980s pop culture figured prominently in that script as well. 4. What is your favorite MOVIE of all-time (name only one and explain why it's on top)? GHOSTBUSTERS. It’s tremendously funny and every bit as entertaining to me now as when I first watched it as a kid. 5. What artist in the industry would you love to work with? Cameron Crowe. I admire the emotional honesty of his films. 6. Who was your hero growing up? My parents, first and foremost. As far as celebrities who made a big impression on me as a kid, I was inspired by spunky, spirited ladies like Gilda Radner, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Elizabeth Manley. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? Healthy, happy and continuing to do creative work. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? I try to free write for a couple of hours each day. When specific character and story ideas emerge, I focus my free writing on those ideas. Eventually (hopefully!) character bios and a treatment will take shape, then an outline, then a script. And then many, many, many revisions. Music is a huge source of inspiration for me throughout the entire process. For example, while writing LITTLE SISTER, I made an iPod playlist for the character of Barry. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? Music. I play piano (adequately) and guitar (badly), work as a wedding and special event DJ, collect records, and love few things more than belting out a karaoke “performance” in front of a packed bar. Music is a huge, huge part of my life, always has been. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? I was excited to by the prospect of possibly getting feedback on LITTLE SISTER from a live audience. 11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers? Be true to yourself. And never give up.
MAUREEN LARKIN
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