Interview with Screenwriter Adam Seidel (CALIFORNIA)

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Adam Seidel: At it’s core California is about a man who decides to fight for his loveless marriage through taking extreme measures. It’s a piece that examines the way we often go all in on lost causes and how that affects us. Do we come out the other end completely destroyed or do we find a strength and purpose within ourselves we didn’t know was there? I think it can definitely go either way. In the case of this story, our protagonist finds the latter.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

I’d say dark comedy / thriller.

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

I think the themes are very relatable to most people, whether they want to admit it or not. I think despite some of the more graphic parts of the story, the end offers a sense of hope. Also there’s a lot of dry comedy in the script that comes in strange moments that sort of tilts the world a bit. I think the script is looking for a very niche producer who loves gritty noir storytelling. If you’re out there, hit me up!

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

Barren hope.

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

It’s a very close call. It used to be Uncle Buck, no question. But the past year my daughter has become obsessed with The Grinch and it gets played at least two times a day. I can recite 80% of the dialog by heart.

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

It used to be a play, which I wrote in 2016. When it had it’s first staged reading this past year, the people in the audience who were repulsed came up to me and told me it should be a screenplay. So I turned it into a screenplay and found out that all those people were right.

7. How many stories have you written?

I’ve written like thirty plays, four screenplays and three pilots. I also wrote a novella about visiting Waupun maximum security prison in Wisconsin and accidentally getting left behind in the mess hall.

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

Pink Floyd “Have a Cigar”

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

Self doubt. Time management. Life in general. The older I get the more I find I can’t just hunker down and grind for 13 hours. Also the majority of people in my writer’s circle that I share stuff with for notes hated the script. How I stuck with it I do not know. Tenacity? Dedication? Stupidity?

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

I love going on walks in the woods during summer. During winter cross country skiing is a great way to be out doors. I’m an avid swimmer. I find it calms my mind and ideas and problems often get worked out in the pool.

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

Pretty great actually.

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

It just seemed like a good opportunity. And here we are now!

Watch the Screenplay Reading: 

After discovering that his cheating wife is planning on running off with his scum bag brother, a scorned and bitter man decides to take violent action, altering the course of his life, and the lives of those around him, forever.

CAST LIST:

Large Trucker: Sean Ballantyne
Narration: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Syd: Miriam Capper
John: Ted Powers