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| SCREENPLAY FINALIST |
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| titles: |
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Midnight
Screaming |
| screenwriter: |
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Joel
Schwartzberg |
| location: |
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Montclair,
NJ, USA |
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| synopsis: |
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pending. |
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| Q&A
with Joel Schwartzberg |
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| How
long did your screenplay
take to write, from conception
to final completion? |
| Roughly
six months from conception
to final draft. |
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| Where
did your inspiration come
from? |
I
worked as an usher in three
different theaters as a
teenager and found various
secret rooms pretty spooky,
so the idea of a haunted
theater came from there
I also drew inspiration
from a transit bus ride
I once took from New York
to Cape Cod, eavesdropping
on an innocently flirty
conversation occuring in
the row in front of me between
two teens. That bus got
to its destination, unlike
the one im my story
I also wanted to write the
kind of movie I most want
to see -- something really
scary, nightmarish, with
some unknowns built in.
I'm a big fan of the genre,
so much of this comes from
the thrills I've experienced
seeing films like "The
Shining," "The
Sixth Sense," "Burnt
Offerings," etc. |
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| Are
Horror or Sci-Fi your main
creative interests? |
| Horror. |
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| Can
you describe a typical day
in the process of creating
your film or screenplay? |
| I
have a full-time job as
a new media producer for
a TV show, so I do all of
my writing on the daily
40-minute train commute
from NJ to NY. I turn on
my iPod -- a particular
playlist of scores and moody
music without lyrics --
and it feels like the story
is told to me in my head.
I just write it down. Then,
I finesse later and add
texture and cool elements
in rewrites. I'm also a
published and award-winning
essayist whose work has
appeared in New York Times
Magazine, New Jersey Monthly,
and other places. I'm a
former National Champion
public speaker and public
speaking instructor as well.
I had a screenplay finalist
at Shriekfest 2005 as well. |
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| Who
do you consider to be the
greatest horror writer? |
| I
enjoy Stephen King and Richard
Matheson, though I haven't
read enough to feel fully
qualified. My favorite horror
director is David Cronenberg.
But mainly, I have favorite
horror movies more so than
auteurs. |
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| Can
you recall the first horror
film that left a lasting
impression on you? |
| Easy.
"Burnt Offerings", 1976.
Dan Curtis. I saw it when
I was only eight, a bad
judgement call on my mother's
part, and the image of a
frightening chauffeur driver
haunts me to this day. |
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| Who
do you consider to be the
greatest 'Masters of Horror'? |
| Stephen
King in literature, probably
Wes Craven and Cronenberg
in cinema as genre specialists.
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| Do
you currently have any attachments
and/or a cast wishlist for
your screenplay? |
| No
one in particular. |
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| Who
do you see directing your
screenplay? |
| Wes
Craven, based on his great
work in the original "Nightmare
on Elm Street". |
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| How
many edits has your screenplay
gone through? |
| About
5 . |
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Was
this your first screenplay?
If so, are you inspired
to write another? |
| It's
my 10th screenplay, but
many can be considered mere
exercises. It's my second
horror. I had a Shriekfest
Finalist in 2005 "Rosabelle
Believe"; a Semi-Finalist
last year "Guardian
Angels"; and this one
is a 2007 Finalist. |
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