THOMAS O'CONNORSearch WILDsound  11 Questions with THOMAS O'CONNOR. A WILDsound SPRING 2009 Feature Screenplay Finalist 1. What is your screenplay about? The story is about a guy at a crossroads. He wanted to be a rockstar but fate (and a bad wrist) have conspired to dash that dream... so where does he go from there? 2. Why did you decide to write this screenplay? I used to play in bands. I spent a lot of time hanging out in guitar stores and I knew there was a story there. Also: According to my research, there has never been a movie set in a music store.. It seems that, in the movies, musicians were/are always shown hanging out in RECORD stores... That just isn't the same thing. 3. How long have you been writing screenplays? I guess I really started writing in college. I have been writing various things ever since (I have written for videogames, anime, reality TV, print media and the web.) "Rock Hard, Big Dicks" is just my 2nd completed a full-length feature script. 4. What film have you seen the most in your lifetime? Without a doubt: "THE BLUES BROTHERS" 5. What artist in the industry would you love to work with? Impossible to pick just one, or even to pick just twenty... There are just so many. 6. Who was your hero growing up? I had many heros, but comedy-wise it HAS to start with BILL COSBY (thanks to my uncle giving me his old Bill Cosby comedy records.) also most of the cast of SNL. 7. Ideally, where would you like to be in 5 years? These are strange times, so it is tough to say. I would like to be writing for film, TV AND videogames. 8. Describe your process; do you have a set routine, method for writing? There are a couple of different steps. First of all, I have to write SOMEthing every day. If I'm not working on a specific project then I'm outlining something new or re-writing some previous draft of something else or even blogging etc. If I have an completed outline for say, a script, then I focus on just writing a (usually ugly) first draft. I'll set a goal of 5 or 6 (screenplay format) pages per day, EVERY day, and not stop until the draft is completed. Then that 1st draft gets put away for a few weeks while I work on something else.... Then I go back and rewrite it etc. Now that I read that back, I guess my 'process' is pretty standard. I don't have any tricks or secrets. I just make sure I sit down and write something every day... usually at night... often late at night. I'm a night person. 9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about? I'm passionate about guitar-playing and music making in general (note: that isn't to say I'm GOOD at any of it.) I also perform comedy, both improv and written/spoken work as often as possible, usually weekly. I also like to teach writing, reading & performing. I'm also a book & old movie nerd... which probably isn't surprising. 10. What influenced you to enter the WILDsound Script Contest? Like most people probably - I discovered your contest while digging through withoutabox.com, did some research and decided to submit to you. 11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers? Just the usual cliche's (because they're all true):1) Write everyday.
Thomas OConnor
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