Interview with Winning Screenwriter Jim Norman (TAKE THE SHOT)

July 2018 Winning Drama 1st Scene Screenplay.

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Jim Norman: A BLACK, FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STAR SEES HER DREAMS OF AN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP FADE WHEN HER FATHER’S CORPORATE PROMOTION MAKES HER FAMILY MOVE FROM HOUSTON TO A SMALL NORTH DAKOTA TOWN WITH A HORRIBLE BASKETBALL TEAM.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

COMING OF AGE FAMILY DRAMA

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

IT DEALS WITH A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT FACE TODAY’S TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS: RACE, SEXUAL PREFERENCE, BULLYING AND FRIENDSHIPS. IT PORTRAYS THE CHALLENGES EVEN A SUCCESSFUL BLACK FAMILY MUST COPE WITH.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

PERSONAL STRUGGLES

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

THE GODFATHER I & II

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

FROM LOGLINE TO SUBMISSION DRAFT: 14 MONTHS

7. How many stories have you written?

I’VE WRITTEN 15 SCREENPLAYS IN VARIOUS GENRES. THIS IS THE SECOND COMING OF AGE DRAMA I’VE WRITTEN. I’VE ALSO WRITTEN NUMEROUS SHORT STORIES, MOSTLY IN THE MYSTERY GENRE.

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)

NEIL DIAMOND’S “SOLITARY MAN.”

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

I’M NOT BLACK OR YOUNG. ONCE I HAD THE STORYLINE IN MY MIND, I DID RESEARCH AND NUMEROUS INTERVIEWS TO UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF THE BLACK FAMILY AND LESBIANS INVOLVED IN SPORTS. I DID NOT WANT MY CHARACTERS TO BE STEREOTYPES, BUT REAL PEOPLE. I ALSO WANTED TO INCLUDE STORYLINES ABOUT BULLYING AND THE BENEFITS OF MAKING AND KEEPING FRIENDS.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

LARGE FORMAT, BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?

FILMFREEWAY IS MY PLATFORM OF CHOICE. IT MAKES SUBMITTING EASY, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVALS AND COMPETITIONS.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

USING THE SEARCH FEATURE IN FILMFREEWAY, I WAS ABLE TO FIND A FESTIVAL GEARED TO THE FAMILY DRAMA. THE FEEDBACK I RECEIVED WAS BOTH GRATIFYING AND EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN TAKING THE SCREENPLAY TO A HIGHER LEVEL.

Genre: Drama

A black family with an athletically gifted daughter is forced to move from Houston to North Dakota because of a corporate promotion. Family, race and gender issues are tested in the culture of the family’s new and temporary move.

CAST LIST:

Trey: Jolly Amoako
Friend 1: Justin Darmanin
Narrator: Val Cole
Kassie: Alicia Payne
Coach Briscoe: Zena Driver
Monica: Amrit Kaur

 

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.