Interview with Screenwriter Matthew Willis (ARINJAY)

What is your screenplay about?

Arinjay is about an ordinary boy from the real world and an extraordinary girl from the Dream World, and how they try to stay together forever… or die trying.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Drama, comedy, surrealism, fantasy, sci-fi and parody

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

Arinjay should be made into a television series because it has unlimited story-telling potential with an amazing couple in the starring roles, Roger and Jade, who have a delicious “will-they-won’t-they” romance that just won’t ever end, forever teasing an audience to watch.

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

Unlimited Dreams.

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

Silence of the Lambs – dozens of times

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

Arinjay started off as a staged play, then became a comic that was never finished until I finally adapted it into a screenplay. Altogether, Roger and Jade have been running around in my head for seven years, but as a TV pilot, two years.

7. How many stories have you written?

Many.

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

Right now, it’s “Meet me in the Wood” by Lord Huron

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

The most difficult part was adapting all the source material, from the play and the comic book, and making it fit into a serialized television pilot.

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

History, irony and love.

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

Positive! Filmfreeway is a great way to submit your screenplay to contests all over the world.

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

The initial feedback was awful. Clearly the reader had not read my script because they constantly referred to it as a feature film when it was a TV pilot, and dispensed writing advice that felt copied out of a screenwriting book. But then the second reader clearly took their time to go through and pick out the pros and cons of the script.

Watch the Screenplay Reading:

How an ordinary boy from the Real World and an extraordinary girl from the Dream World plan to stay together forever… or die trying.

CAST LIST:
Narrator: Allison Kampf
Narrator Jade/Rosaline : Hannah Ehman
Narrator Roger : Allan Michael Brunet