We are beyond excited to have award winning filmmaker, Richard Schall on the blog today! Richard is a gifted entertainer and writer (who once worked for the WWE!)
Richard recently sat down with Glass House Press for an exclusive interview on screenwriting vs novel writing, the writing process, and The Goonies, because... I mean... THE GOONIES!
Filmmaker and Author Richard Schall
1) Tell us a little
about yourself.
My name is Richard
Schall. By day I am a special education teacher in Brooklyn New York but my
real passion is that I am also an award-winning filmmaker. I specialize in
short films that are family friendly. I’ve been a part of over twenty different
film festivals and have won fifteen awards. My latest film, Lost in
Manhattan: The Love Story of Hymie and Thelma has just been released on
iTunes. https://itun.es/us/48xoeb
Along with being an
entertainer, I also manage my sister’s stand-up comedy career. She was named
one of the “Top 5 Comics to Watch in NYC” by CBS.com, and together we’ve been producing the
show “Ladies Night” at Caroline's on Broadway in Times Square.
Personally, I have
lost and kept off almost 100lbs since Dec 2015, which has been my biggest
accomplishment to date. Next up: finishing my book! I can’t wait to tackle this
new project. I’ve always been a storyteller, so being able to tell a story on
the page instead of on the screen is very exciting for me.
2) How do you think
the writing process and film making process are alike/different?
Creating a story is
the same in any form. You start with an outline and go from there. I started my
novel the same way I start any of my scripts. Building something entertaining is
the key, and plotting out what the real plot twists will be is always
important. The real difference is that I get to pretend I have a million-dollar
budget for the book and have to limit myself when I make movies.
3) As a filmmaker, do
you write your own scripts or do you shoot what someone else has written? If
you write your own, describe how script writing is different from book writing.
The writing process is very different. As a filmmaker, I usually
write my own script. But even then, I I have to leave
it up to the director, crew, and actors to create my world visually. If something
doesn't work, it gets changed. When you are writing a book, you
need to put the all the visuals in the reader's mind. Your imagination is the
only really the limitation in books--you don't have to worry about that pesky reality of whether something can be done or not!
4) What are your
favorite types of stories to write... and do they correlate to the movies you
like to make (are they the same genres)?
I always love a happy
ending, as you'll be able to tell by my movies and soon-to-be-finished series, Lee
Farenheit and the Gracian Pirates. I am always geared more toward
family friendly movies and books. I want to make you laugh then cry, and then maybe
get a sandwich-and laugh some more. In my award-winning short film, The
Last Prank, I wanted to make it family friendly, but still have a certain
edge, which all ages would enjoy.
5) What is your
absolute favorite movie of all time? What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite movie of
all time is The Goonies, and my favorite book is The Monster
at the End of this Book. What can I say, I am a
child at heart and I love a happy ending!
BONUS QUESTION: Do
you think the SCREEN versions or the BOOK versions are better ;)
The book versions are
always better. As I stated before, your imagination is the only limitation. You
always have a million-dollar budget when you are reading a book. As an
author, you never have to limit yourself. The reader always takes your words and
makes them their own in their mind. The movies always run the risk of not doing
the book justice, and alienating the reader who has grown to love the words on
the page just as their mind sees it.
**
We would like to thank Richard for his time, and we are so excited to get to work with him on future projects!
Happy Reading,
GHP
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