Screenwriting in Seattle: Taylor Adams
Taylor Adams, like Prose, hails from the Emerald City. He's the author of Eyeshot, a novel, and director of the short film "And I Feel Fine."
He graduated from Eastern Washington University with the Excellence in Screenwriting Award and the prestigious Edmund G. Yarwood Award.
His directorial work has screened at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival, and his writing has been featured on KAYU-TV's Fox Life blog.
The Evergreen State is his home.
"The Pacific NW has definitely influenced my creative choices," he said in an interview last week. "Growing up near Mount Rainier, I had a fascination with volcanoes, so all of my childhood forays into writing involved some variation of Mount Rainier erupting and destroying the surrounding area via mudflow/lava/pyroclastic flow/all of the above.
"Even now, my friends and family have noticed the occasional volcano reference sneaking into my work. I still watch Dante's Peak every now and then. You know, for research."
We asked Taylor to compare his work in screenwriting to that of other pursuits as an author. How do the two institutions conflict? How does one inform the other?
"I enjoy both, for different reasons," said Taylor. "Screenwriting is great because it's all about structure, and you can rewrite fast. You're in the story's skeleton, and you can rearrange and redesign those bones must faster than a novel, where everything about a scene is carefully detailed from the ground up.
"However, as a fiction author, this also means near-complete ownership of the product. You're not just writing a blueprint for a director, editor, set designer, etc - you're actually filling those roles. Of course, fiction writing is also collaborative (you have editors/beta readers/graphic artists/etc) but it's definitely more of a solo experience.
"I think I'm too early in my career to pick a favorite; hopefully I have a chance to do a lot more of both!"
For those of you that may be interested in writing for the small or silver screens, we tasked Taylor with putting together a list of top "must-see" films from the last 10 years.
Here they are, in order, accompanied by Taylor's commentary.
1)SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
Screenwriter: Derek Connolly
"A warm, insightful story that uses time travel as a metaphor for relationships… and a great example of a satisfyingly open ending. It resolves its characters, not the tedious machinations of time travel, and resonates because of its simplicity."
2) SUNSHINE
Screenwriter: Alex Garland
"This film took some flak for its third act, but I think the tonal shift into slasher-horror (you'll know it when you see it) is a pretty natural extension of Murphy's Law in space. It's bold, smart sci-fi. I may be in the minority here, but I think the climax is brilliantly handled."
3) THE ROAD
Screenwriters: Aloy Adlawan and Yam Laranas
"A fascinating ghost story with a hypnotic, dreamlike structure. The narrative tugs backward in time to form a chilling circle. This one is notable not just for delivering great scares, but for the story's undercurrent of sorrow and genuine sympathy. Even for its monsters."
4) WORLD'S GREATEST DAD
Screenwriter: Bobcat Goldthwait
"A scathingly funny look at the celebrityhood that can sometimes follow an untimely death, and the regular people who get caught in the middle. I can't go into detail without giving too much away… just see it!
"Black comedy gold, nicely crafted dialogue, and a great performance from (the late) Robin Williams."
You can follow Taylor on Twitter @Tadamsauthor and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tayloradamsauthor.
Be sure to visit his site for more information about his current and upcoming works:
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