LINDA FEDERICO OMURCHU
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Linda Federico Omurchu

How did you discover The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
I discovered SBISA on FilmFreeway. What an amazing opportunity, I thought, to show my work to award-winning WGA writers, Hollywood producers, show runners, and DGA directors! When I was notified I was a finalist, I couldn’t believe it. 
 
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Montclair, NJ, USA 
 
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? What inspires your overall journey into screenwriting?
Pippin & Lulu started out as a graphic novel. The creator of a graphic novel starts with a script that outlines the story, and serves as a story beard. As soon as I started writing the script, the whole project came to life in front of my eyes. Whoa, I thought, this needs to be movie! It was already a living, breathing thing.  
Pippin & Lulu is one of the first scripts I’ve written. I make my living as a journalist, and am currently working on two novels. I’m also an illustrator and photographer.
 
How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes?
When Pippin left home, he vowed, “I’m going to chase my dreams like a car.” This felt like a universal theme to me; in youth, we’re always trying to catch that damn car. We’re always seeking our identity, searching for clues to who we really are, what the meaning of our lives are. So much of the time, we feel like imposters and losers. Like we’re all puppies sitting in the raffle basket of life, bracing ourselves for fate’s kindness or cruelty. 
Aside from these themes, I’ve always wondered what the inner lives of animals are like. Do they, too, search for life’s meaning? Do they fall in love, and remember lost loves? Do they read our books and listen to our music when we’re at school/work? Can they speak a language people don’t have the aural frequency to hear?
Pippin & Lulu is, of course, comedic, yet these are serious questions I’ve always wondered about since childhood. I believe animals possess emotional depths we don’t fathom. As Tallulah the canine philosopher told Pippin, “dogs are born with undying loyalty and purity of heart. Humans are still learning those things.”
 
What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive?
I can’t NOT write. When I don’t have a creative outlet, I get nervous, irritable and depressed. I often resent the practical world, with all its urgent responsibilities, boring bureaucracy and stressful tasks. In general, my modus operandi is, put out all the nearest fires (i.e., go to work, do what needs to be done) and then escape with great relief to an inner creative world.
 
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?
Pippin & Lulu started as a graphic novel script/outline. The quotes from famous literary figures were the scaffolding it was built on. As for the characters, they lived in the back of my mind and just rose to the surface of my consciousness, like dreams. They were drawn from my life experiences, my loves and my observations.   
For me, plot was the hardest part of writing this script. I wanted to write a movie that was fun to watch -- for children, as well as for parents and grandparents -- so I had to write scenes with action and intrigue, not just play around with fun visuals and witty dialogue.
I never use index cards or a white board. I just rewrite/think/rewrite/think/in a continuum. My outline exists only in my head. It took me 2+ years to write Pippin & Lulu. Honestly, I would never use tools to organize my writing because for me it’s an intuitive process that involves mulling, testing, daydreaming, taking long walks.
 
How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process?
I don’t really get “Writers Block” per se because I’m so grateful to have the chance to write, I just plunge in, knowing I might not get another chance for a while. Doubt, however, is something I’m all too familiar with. Because I never expected to show Pippin & Lulu to anyone (it felt so “fluffy”, not like a serious script) I never had to worry about criticism. That was my armor. A fanciful script is insulated from logic in a certain way, which can be freeing for a writer. Thinking no one will ever see what you’ve written is also incredibly freeing. 
It took me 2+ years to write Pippin & Lulu. I started writing it in the middle of the pandemic, when everyone needed humor, hope, music and beauty. It became kind of a political act on my part, to write something I felt our bruised world needed. We had been through so much. We deserved to laugh, to escape. (When they dubbed Covid a ‘novel coronavirus’ it sounded to me like tacit permission to write a novel. In the end, I wrote a novel and a screenplay.) 
 
What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter?
I use Final Draft. I like software programs to be simple and non-distracting. 
 
How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests?
At first, I just entered any contest I felt like entering. Then I realized that it made no difference whether I won or not, in terms of career advancement. A small contest was never going to get the attention of a manager or producer (though it felt good to win) so now I’m trying to only enter the big contests. It takes a long time, though, to wait for notifications. It can be frustrating.  
I also started entering international competitions this year, because Pippin & Lulu is set in Ireland and France. Most of the characters are European (one, Tangerine, is American.) I knew countries like Ireland, France and Italy allocate money for filmmakers so I started entering international competitions, and have gotten good results so far. I’ve now won or placed in about 20 competitions.
I don’t have that much hope that I can outright win a huge contest like Big Break, Page or Titan, etc., because it seems to me small, quirky family-friendly movies rarely win major prizes like this.
 
Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it?
Pippin & Lulu is unusual because it talks about romantic love – crushes, rejection, heartbreak, emotional healing. Children’s movies typically don’t address these things. I’ve always wondered why children’s movies often show violence, cruelty, disturbing malevolence and harsh language, but pointedly avoid approaching the subject of romance, even the sweetest, most innocent romance.
When my kids were little, I rarely took them to the movies. This was because there was so much cruelty, violence, and evil for evil’s sake in every movie. They’d scare my kids and make them cry, and I’d feel guilty. I had taught them to believe in people’s goodness, yet in every movie there were vicious characters who hated and killed for no reason at all. I thought this was such a damaging message to give to innocent children.
I’d have happily brought them to see Pippin & Lulu, however, because even the youngest child understands what love is. And if there’s danger, fear, betrayal, and sadness in some parts of Pippin & Lulu, there is also forgiveness, redemption, self-empowerment and hope.
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Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter?
I desperately want Pippin & Lulu to get made into a movie. I know the odds, yet I dare to hope. Within the next five years I would like Pippin & Lulu to be in theaters. I’d also like to be in a writer’s room writing an episodic series based on the novel I wrote during the pandemic. It’s a GREAT story! 

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I want Pippin & Lulu to help heal the country’s /world’s emotional wounds, insofar as an uplifting movie can make people forget their troubles. Maybe just for a few hours, but it will always be there when you need it. It would also be a lovely Christmas movie; every year it would pop up again and make people smile.  
As a creative artist, I want to make a difference in people’s lives. Innovative, ground-breaking filmmaking can do that like no other art form. I want my movies to be enter the cultural lexicon. And an Oscar would be nice. ~ sigh ~ A girl can dream J
 
The film and television industry is constantly evolving. How do you see the role of screenwriters changing, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence?
I think people are passionate about the movies that come into their homes in a wholly different way than they ever were about theater movies. “Going to the movies” was once a social thing, a form of shared public entertainment. Now it has become a much more intimate experience. Streaming entertainment comes right into our living spaces. The actors, and whatever situation is depicted in the film, fill up our private rooms, blending into the rhythm of our daily lives, merging with our interior spaces, our comfort places. That’s a powerful thing.  
I think screenwriters will potentially have a lot of influence over people’s hearts and minds in the foreseeable future, because our society is almost certainly headed for a time of even greater political upheaval than the one we’ve lived through this past decade. In other words, whatever means we reach for in times of stress, whatever comforts, escapes and joys we can find, could have heightened importance in our society, and play a critical role in people’s mental health. Art has always reflected human consciousness, but a medium as beloved as film has the capacity to reach people with an immediacy that most other art forms don’t have.
I’m not sure how I feel about AI yet. Obviously, its power is daunting. I envision my own project as a mix of CGI animation and live action, so technology would factor into that. However, I’m just not sure about AI’s parameter of capabilities yet.  
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
I’m inspired by high-quality writing in episodic shows like Succession, The White Lotus, The Queen’s Gambit, The Diplomat. I love multi-layered writing that’s witty, scary, funny, quick, and unexpected, all at the same time. I love sexual tension, I love being surprised, I love a gaspingly good plot twist, like the one in Conclave. Great characters are everything, though I admit it takes a lot to impress me. Movie writers I’m into lately are Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Frances Ha, Barbie) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag.)  
Additionally, I admire writers who can pen a killer soliloquy, like America Ferrara’s in Barbie, Barry Keoghan’s in The Banshees of Inisherin, Jack Nicholson’s in A Few Good Men.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
I’d have to say, Cabaret. The blend of pathos, beauty, danger and dark humor, the extraordinary characters, the deep observation of human nature and society, culture. And of course, the music.  
For sheer entertainment value, Chicago is another of all-time favorite movies because it’s so well-made, fun and naughty. I love musicals that are both funny and serious: All that Jazz, The Commitments, Funny Girl.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
I’ve been told that feedback from family and friends isn’t useful because they’ll just tell you it’s great even if it isn’t. Well, not my family and friends! They’re smart and discerning and don’t offer praise easily, so the warm reception I got from them meant a lot. It was the confidence boost I needed. I knew that “regular folks” are a writer’s target audience, so they were important to my endeavor, and I also knew -- once I got serious about what I was doing – that I’d have to keep improving/ revising the script, because sooner or later I’d have to show it to someone in the business.  
For new screenwriters, I think it’s a good idea to enter small competitions at first, and request feedback. If you repeatedly get the same praise/criticism/reactions from these readers, pay attention to that. Be flexible and open-minded, don’t be stubborn. Learn all you can.
Some new writers may think they have to pay for professional critiques and editing. Maybe, but getting basic professional advice doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Beware of people promising you “access” to Hollywood insiders for a fee. As far as I know, no manager or production company wants to get a poor-quality script, no matter how much a writer has paid a third party.
Personally, I’ve learned a whole lot from online tutorials, writing coaches, producers, and even podcasts. What I’ve learned to as is, is your screenplay entertaining? Is it about you, or is it about the experience your audience will have  watching it? Will they root for your main character? My job, as I see it, is to make my audience laugh or cry, or scream. To make them care about my characters, the story I have to tell. If I reach out my hand to someone and say, “let me take you on a journey,” that journey had better be worth their while.
I know it’s hard. If you’re in the middle of revising and find yourself getting confused or overwhelmed, step back and take a break from the process for a while.  Don’t let other people’s advice, or your own doubts, overpower you. Make sure your literary voice is clear and strong. Remember why you started writing this script in the first place.
Once you’ve made your screenplay as good as you possibly can, enter it in some higher-level competitions. Maybe show it to a producer or a manager, if you know any. Hopefully you’ll find some success somewhere. If you do, be realistic about what you’re hoping for. Selling a script is about 99% impossible, but if an excellent one comes along, hey, you never know. The writer just might have a shot of it landing on the right desk.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?)
I’m currently writing a news story for The New York Times and starting work on my graphic novel. In 2025, I’d like to begin the third draft of my novel (yet unnamed), which would make an amazing episodic series. I can’t say much about it yet because it’s a work in progress, but suffice to say it’s vastly different than Pippin & Lulu! It’s a gothic drama featuring a triple love triangle. It’s an eighteenth century tale of murder, religion, sexual identity, artistic endeavor and revenge.    
 
Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.)
Instagram and Threads: @LensofLinda
LinkedIn: @LindaFedericoO’Murchu
Website: LindaFOMurchu.com
Facebook: @Linda Federico-O’Murchu
Coverfly: Linda Federico-O’Murchu
 

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