MARK ZASLOVE
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Mark Zaslove

How did you discover The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
Found it on FilmFreeway. I entered as a lark just to see what was what.
  
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Los Angeles, CA, USA, etc.
 
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?
I was looking for something interesting and discovered that everyone thinks the Wright Brothers story ended with their first flight, but in reality, no one believed them, and they went through years of others taking credit until they finally just slapped them all down by being so far ahead of everyone in flying the world HAD to notice.
I was writing scripts at the time, so I wrote a script. At another time in my life, it might have been a novel.
My father was a fine artist and animator, one of my sisters is a classical/opera singer, the other was a dancer. I can’t draw, I can’t sing, and I can’t dance, so I had to do something. Of course, my background at university is theoretical astrophysics and applied math, but I was writing scripts in the summers and my first novel at the same time. Can’t go to school to learn to write, so physics was it.
 
How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes?
I find things that intrigue me. Whatever catches my curiosity; I have to want to see it, so it better be interesting to me. Themes come from whatever the characters might be going through. I don’t set out with a theme; the theme is an organic thing that comes from the arc of the characters.
 
What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive?
I wake up at 6am, do my PT, shower, then I’m working by 7am till around noon, unless I have a deadline, then I might work a little longer. Seven days a week, 365 days a year (except for the occasional time I’m doing astrophography and I’m away from the world). I’m a writer; I write.
 
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 think this was 90 days from research to final script. It’s usually a month of research and idea conjuring (the gestalt period of freeform idea assembly) and outlining, then a first draft the next three weeks, then rewrites till I’m done.
 
How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process?
There’s no such thing as “writer’s block” – that’s a fallacy that should have a stake put through its heart. It’s ruined a lot of writers. The creative process is not a subjective one but an objective one, there are just so many variables it looks subjective. The subjective part is the choice of subject matter; the rest is objective. So-called “writer’s block” is not some mystical waiting for the muse – there’s no such thing as “waiting for the muse”, either; a professional writer writes to a certain level every day, period – but, in fact, a symptom that you screwed something up and now you’re stuck. If you don’t wave your hands and wait for the Writing Fairy to come down and save you, you’ll find that by going back and looking, you’re stuck because one of your characters isn’t right, or you messed up some plot point and you’ve written yourself into a corner, or you have a character’s dialog sounding false. SOMETHING is wrong; that’s why you’re stuck. It’s not some metaphysical “block”. Go back and figure it out. Use your logical mind to find the problem, then use your creative mind to solve it.
We all have doubts and writers most of all (unless of course you’re an actor – gah! They have REAL doubts), but you have to believe you’re doing good work, because if not, go back and get better, which you should be striving to always do anyway. Or drink. Drinking is good.
 
What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter?
Final Draft and MS Word. Libraries, either real or virtual. Search engines (even ChatGPT, though not for actual writing, but for research it’s great). It’s fun to go down rabbit holes of research and discover interesting truthful things. They end up spurring unexpected story and character points.
 
How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests
No idea. This is my first. No, wait, I think I entered one once a long time ago. For me, the real competition is having people pay you money. But this is very fun, so I thought, what the heck, let’s give it a whirl.
 
Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it? 
Managers. I have been screwed over by every manager I’ve ever had. Agents and lawyers, no problem, but managers seem to cause me trouble. I have yet to overcome that, as I’ve been told it’s illegal to shoot, strangle, or in any way cause liquids to fill their lungs until they stop bubbling. It’s a shame, but rules are rules.
 As far as writing screenplays, I did finally break down about six or seven years ago and was just feeling completely confined by the structure of scripts, and then I remembered I started off as a pretty good prose writer and am actually better at that than scripts, so I did a novel, then another, and that let me come back to screenwriting again with a more open mind.
 
Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter?
Hopefully alive and making money.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I started out in high school with a buddy wanting an Oscar. We even had a speech all written up. I’ve won other awards, but not an Oscar. I’d like to win an Oscar before I keel over (or a manager manages to shoot, strangle, or cause liquids to fill my lungs until they stop bubbling. Frickin’ managers NEVER follow the rules).
 
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?
Everyone always needs stories. All stories are based on the same principles regardless of the medium or method. You just have to finesse your work to fit the mold of the medium. As far as A.I., the t-shirt I made to wear on the strike line at the WGA strike said: “My A.I. writes better than your A.I.” I believe that. A good writer will use whatever tools better than a bad writer does. So, write better, work better. Use whatever tools work for you.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
The Goldmans, particularly Bill and James, but ANY Goldman is great. I wanted to change my name to Goldman just to get a leg up. They’re just so good. But, seriously, any great writer inspires me and challenges me to be as good as they are. When you had to buy scripts, I had a whole wall of movie scripts (still do) that I’d pore over and dissect. Now I do it digitally. Best writing school in the world is someone else’s good works.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
No favorites, but you can’t beat Lawrence of Arabia, Raging Bull, Fabulous Baker Boys, Best in Show, Spirited Away, and on and on. TV: The Wire, Foyles War, Deadwood (love the writing beyond belief), Rome, Mr. Sunshine, and on and on.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
I’m the wrong person to ask, but I would think: write as well as you can, don’t settle, don’t let any idea, scene, moment, or line of dialog slip below the highest standard you have in the script. And have a kickass ending.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?)
The love of my life right now is my recent novel that I just finished and am placing. It’s purely literary, sort of a cross between Joyce, Marquez, and Kierkegaard – so, low bar – called “Galilee, Galilee”. It’s either the best thing I’ve ever done, or the worst...and the only hard thing I’ve ever written. So, it probably sucks, but you never know.
 
Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.)
Just look up Mark Zaslove (and not the one person who’s using that name for posting porn, though I’m not judging) and you’ll find me on various social media sites. I even have a website for my previous novel; NOT a literary one, but a fun one called “Death & Taxes: Tales of a Badass IRS Agent”. I know I should put links, but I hate that shite. Bing me, Google me, ChatGTP me.

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