TOM VECCHIO

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
New York, NY
 
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 Widow Marsh” was originally a play I had written for Off-Broadway which helped me to get accepted into Columbia’s MFA writing program.  Some time passed and the play was sitting in a drawer gathering dust.  I decided it would make a better screenplay than play and I could open up the themes of isolation and despair if I had a bigger palette.
 
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?
A fumbling first draft is usually completed in a couple of months.  However, the subconscious character motivations do not rear up and scream their real intentions until the story has had time to marinate, usually a year or so.  I have outlined and written screenplays from that outline as well as writing free form where I knew where I was going but didn’t know how I was going to get there.  I would start with “Fade In” and then let the characters dictate to me how the story would unfold.  It’s kind of fun not knowing what’s coming next, like taking a trip without a map.  But you still must obey the rules of the road.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
To create engaging, surprising stories of relatable characters that will leave viewers glued to their seats after the credits roll.  That’s the hope anyway.  And hopefully able to pay all my bills at the end of the month.  That’s always a good feeling.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
The Coen boys, Paddy Chayefsky, Billy Wilder, Woody, Wes Anderson, Robert Altman.  They are all so relatable and can take everyday circumstances and turn them into deep reservoirs of brilliance that leaves you speechless.  I love when an artist is able to do that to a viewer.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
So many it’s hard to list only one.  Favorite movies are McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Network, Rear Window, Inglorious Basterds, Blood Simple, Far From the Madding Crowd (2015), Bob Le Flambeur, Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Cinema Paradiso, Breathless.  I could go on and on but these are definitely at the top of the list.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Don’t try to write for a crowd.  Writer for yourself with honesty and the rest always will fall into place.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I’ve got a story about these incredibly brave Russians in the U.S.S.R. who are printing illegal rock and roll records for the black market on x-rays as an act of defiance back in the 50s and 60s.  It was the first crack in the Soviet stranglehold on the people.  It’s called “The Bone Records of Leningrad.”  I really love the story and hope to find the funding.  Also, I hope that we can find people this brave in our world today. We could use them. 
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