JANE COX
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Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?

I am a resident of Albemarle County, the birthplace and mountain-top home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?

The inspiration for my story came from Thomas Jefferson’s birthplace, Shadwell. While driving my daughters to and from school, I would pass Shadwell. As I drove by the property, I often wondered what it was like for young Thomas to live on the hilly property along the River Anna (Rivanna). What was Thomas Jefferson like as a boy? Who were his family and friends, and what schools did he attend as a child? My curiosity got the best of me, and I began to search for a book about Jefferson’s youth. To my dismay, the public library had no such book, and neither did Barnes & Noble. I thought that was so odd, being that I lived in “Jefferson Country”. When I visited Colonial Williamsburg’s John D. Rockefeller Research Library, I asked to see any books on Jefferson’s youth. The librarian quickly said, “Oh, there are no books of that nature.” Dismayed… I began to research his early years. The information was all scattered. What I was finding through Historical Society folders, historic locations around Virginia, various/few pages of dated books, etc., was so fascinating, that I decided to compile the information I was gathering and write a book. It certainly was a jigsaw puzzle of information, scattered about Virginia. It became a huge labor of love, and four years later, my award-winning book, Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man, accepted many invitations for lectures, book signings, and even a University of Virginia course. As I was writing the book, I foresaw it being an audiobook. Three years later, the 5-disc audio version came out. The LA-based multi-voice actor made Jefferson come alive. The actor’s son played the young Jefferson, and his extremely talented wife played the violin music. After the audio version won “Finalist” from the Audie Publishers Association, I immediately envisioned it as a full-length motion picture. The only problem was that I didn’t know how to write a screenplay. So, I asked my LA actor/friend if he could find someone to write the screenplay from my book, with his connections. He immediately said, “Jayne, you can write the screenplay!” After mustering up the confidence to take on yet another huge project, I began reading and learning how to write a screenplay, while using my book as research material, as well as other sources, for my story. My screenplay, Jefferson, does not follow the book but takes a different focus, which is uniquely different from any book or movie I’ve ever seen about Thomas Jefferson.
 
How long did it take you to write your script…and what is your writing process? Do you outline…use index cards…white board…or just start with FADE IN?

 I was hoping that this question would not come up in the interview because I am embarrassed to answer it. It’s been four years since I began writing Jefferson, I am always improving it, and must have 25 versions on my computer. The truth is that my writing process started with FADE IN. Initially, I was not aware of any books on how to write a screenplay. I had coffee with a University of Virginia student of film and asked him many questions to get me on the right track. Since I truly did not follow any known format, I just began fleshing out the story in a word document. When that was finally done, I began to educate myself on what I learned on the internet. I learned about the Final Draft program and downloaded it.
Through the internet, I discovered the book, The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier. I ordered it on Amazon and it was my means of screenplay education. With every contest entry, I received an analysis. It was through the Santa Barbara International Screenwriters Contest that I paid extra for a zoom meeting with Mr. Bob McCullough, which was extremely helpful. Besides what I learned from his incredible page-by-page critique, he recommended that I read his two books, Stop Screwing Around and Write a Screenplay that SELLS, and Stop Screwing Around and WIN Your Next Screenplay Contest. I highlighted both books in their entirety. I went back into the screenplay, as I had been doing after every contest judge’s critique, and re-wrote, improved, and edited. I took each of Mr. McCullough’s comments very seriously. With each screenplay version, I would enter another contest. This was the only way I could get an industry professional to read my work and receive an honest critique.
 
 What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?

It wasn’t until I finished writing my book, Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man, did I even consider directing the audio version (as the LA multi-voice actor also produced it). It wasn’t until after the audio version of my book received “Finalist” in the 2017 Audie Publishers Association, did I consider writing the screenplay. My nature is to complete one huge project at a time, take it as far as it can go, and then wait for inspiration for the next project. If I am not inspired, I cannot put in the extensive amount of time that each project takes from my personal life. My ultimate ambition is to be on set during the filming of Jefferson and be available to rewrite scenes if necessary.
 
 Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
Not in any specific order, but John Logan’s work in The Aviator was sheer epic grandeur. He has an amazing writing gift, and he is a blockbuster maker. I see my screenplay as a blockbuster movie, and he could make it happen. I admire Eric Roth’s work. Although my screenplay, Jefferson, is considered a low-budge project, Eric Roth could adapt it into a grand scale fitting for the iconic Thomas Jefferson. I just adored Sophia Coppola’s writing for the historical drama Marie Antoinette. I always search for it on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and in my TV listings. I loved the story, the characters/actors, the historical period, and the costumes were over-the-top fabulous. I greatly admire Mel Gibson and Benedict Fitzgerald’s writing in the masterpiece-epic Bible drama, The Passion. Their talented ability to follow the biblical story precisely, makes it, for me, the most accurate and authentic portrayal of the story of Christ’s last days, and was genius. My work is nowhere close to Tony Kushner’s league with his blockbuster movie Lincoln, but I can relate with him, as it took me “years” to write Jefferson, due to all the research and all the books I had to read. Tony Kushner also read extensively about Lincoln when writing his screenplay.
When you write about a beloved and iconic President, your work has to be “spot-on”, and Kushner’s work was “spot-on” with Lincoln, as mine is with Jefferson. Who can forget James Cameron’s writing for the epic Titanic … a masterpiece on every level. It is a period historical that has romance, tragedy, and flashbacks. My screenplay is also a period historical that has romance, tragedy, and flashbacks. These writers are truly inspirational.
 
 What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?

My all-time favorite movies are period historical films. The Titanic, The Passion, Lincoln, and Marie Antoinette rank very high. To have to choose from these four is difficult…but it is … Titanic.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?

My advice, for what it’s worth, is: to keep the words, “Never Give Up”, in front of you when writing. The writing process is long hours, days, weeks, months, and could be years, as you may well know. But, if it is your passion, the time passes quickly, as you “want” to continually improve your work because you are so engrossed in your story. When you feel it is ready, print it out and read it. You will find so many inconsistencies when it is in paper form. I can read the final draft computer version over and over, and still miss so many blatant errors. My biggest advice is this… print out your screenplay when you feel it is read. Read it, mark it up, go into your document and fix it, then reread as if you’ve never read it before… slowly so as to not skim. (If you can “reprint” and read it…that’s even better.) Make sure you have enough copy paper and ink cartridges on hand. When you are satisfied that it is just perfect, submit to a contest and make sure you pay extra for analysis. There are different types you can choose from. All are very helpful, and the judges are very objective. My dream for my screenplay is to see it as a full-length motion picture, and viewable to all ages. My passion is to win a contest and ultimately see my work on the “big screen”. I will continue to perfect Jefferson until I succeed.
 
 What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
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At the moment, I am not working on my future project. I have a story, but I don’t multi- story task well, as Jefferson would surely suffer if I began another project. But, it is based on a true story, and I have the rights to tell/write it. I am going to leave it at that for the time being. When Jefferson is signed, sealed and delivered, I will start writing.-Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?

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