Nanci Gaglio
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Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Although a born & raised New Yorker (Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan), my home is on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. I travel to NY and LA quite often.
 
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?
Thank you. I’m so glad it did! Several years back, I pulled a lesbian pulp fiction paperback from a friend’s bookshelf. I thought about the 1950s and women’s roles back then, and how these pulp novels gave tomboys and those who did not fit in a sense of “I’m not alone.” That’s when VENUS RISING,  the TV series started playing in my head. The rich colors of the smoldering hot pulp world in contrast with a black and white existence for women is rich for many different dramatic scenarios to play out. I felt it was a story for the small screen.
 
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? All in all, I’d say it took 10 months to write. I write out scenes in long hand and then play them out in the screenwriting software.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
Short term: Find a rep who will work with me. Long term: Have the time in the day to write all of my ideas.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
Alan Ball, Darren Aronofsky, Neil LaBute. I identify with their passion. Each one has a unique style that speaks deeply to me across the screen.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
There are so many. But if I had to choose only one it would be THE WIZARD OF OZ. It’s in my DNA. It’s also my religion.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
It’s important to re-write and re-write. Have as many people as possible - both professional and otherwise - read and give notes. Parents or loved ones excluded.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
THANK DOG! Is a heartfelt feature script (comedy / drama) about two young adults (gay boy and lesbian) from opposite economic backgrounds who form a deep connect at a pray-away-the-gay church in the deep south. We experience with them the consequences and experiences of conforming, loving each other, ultimately accepting and loving themselves, and then escaping the church and their families.
 I SAW WHAT I SAW is a short thriller currently in production. It will most likely hit the film fests in late 2023.
 LIONS AND TIGERS is a sitcom about a working-class older lesbian couple (Rae and Cathy) whose political, economic, and philosophical views clash with their son and his of-color girlfriend who live with them.
 
I have several projects to pitch. My director’s reel is available.

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