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An Interview With Jill Blotevogel, Screenwriter
Jill Blotevogel is ICM represented and currently writing for UPN's new version of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Her credits include: To Have & To Hold (CBS); Dead Like Me (Showtime, in development); Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) (V); "Crossing Jordan" (NBC) (staff writer); Personally Yours (2000) (TV movie) (written by); Someone to Love Me (1998) (TV movie) (story)
Born: Staunton, IL
High School: Staunton High School. Staunton, Illinois
College / Major: University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
Major / Minor: English / Cinema Studies
Lives: Los Angeles, CA
Years in LA: 11
First Break in the Industry: I was hired to write the story for an NBC tv movie. I achieved it by writing a feature spec drama and using it to get a good tv longform agent. This isn't the writing field I preferred to work in, but an "in" is still an "in".
Favorite Authors: Vladimir Nabokov, Jim Thompson, Martin Amis, Stephen King, Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson
Favorite Films: Ordinary People, Gone With The Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Alien, Aliens, Rosemary's Baby, Blade Runner, L.A. Confidential, Empire Of The Sun, The Sure Thing, A Midnight Clear, The Fisher King
Favorite TV Shows: The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Buffy, The Sopranos, ER
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AASC QUESTION #1. Did you receive any other writing education beyond college?
One UCLA Extension screenwriting class. School of hard knocks.
AASC QUESTION #2. Who are your favorite screenwriters? Why?
Alexander Payne, Richard Curtis, Richard LaGravenese, Scott Frank, William Goldman, Frank Pierson, Callie Khouri, Scott Rosenberg. Because they are smart and funny and make me fall in love with them and their characters through their scripts.
AASC QUESTION #3. What made you decide to become a writer?
It's what I love. I realized it's how I can change people's lives.
AASC QUESTION #4. What are the best and worst things about your line of work?
Best: I'm my own boss (most of the time) and I set my own hours (most of the time).
Worst: There are a lot of fingers in the pie between what I write and what shows up on screen; and they usually kick the chef out of the room while they're cooking.
AASC QUESTION #5. What books are "must reads" for all writers?
All the good ones. I read a million books growing up and that's how I learned to write. That's how I learned to spell. That's how I learned to tell a story.
AASC QUESTION #6. What is a mistake that you've made
that you can caution others about...concerning the film business?
Don't think anything is a "done deal" until it's done. Don't think you have a "go project" until it goes.
AASC QUESTION #7. Are you ever satisfied with your writing?
Yes. Often.
AASC QUESTION #8. How long does it take you to write the average TV script versus a film script?
It all depends. I wrote a TWILIGHT ZONE episode in a week because it's one storyline, well-mapped out in advance and 25 pages long. An hour-long drama can take up to several weeks, depending on the complexity of the plot. Weaving subplots in also adds to the difficulty. Ideas which worked in an outline often don't work as well on the page. A feature script is an enigma. A month to a year ... or more.
AASC QUESTION #9. Have you ever made a screenplay worse to appease actors or directors or producers? If so, how did you handle that compromise without sacrificing the integrity of your script?
You have to learn the politics of the room. It's a fine balance. No one's suggestions will ever make a project "worse", just "different". Producers throw out ideas constantly which might solve an immediate problem but throw a huge stone into the pool of your story. As the writer, you have to predict the ripples and point those out in the room. If the ripples are less problematic then the immediate solution is helpful, it may be worth it to make the change.
AASC QUESTION #10. How do you balance the craft of
writing with the
You accept the parameters set by the people in power and then write your ass off within those parameters. When I started in the tv movie business, I was appalled by how bad the sample scripts I read were. The writers obviously didn't care and were just in it for a paycheck. But, I decided to write every tv movie as if it were a feature. I did my best work and it has paid off.
AASC QUESTION #11. Would you still enter into this business if you knew what you know now when you were first getting into the business? Why?
Yes. Because it's what I do.
AASC QUESTION #12. What sort of priorities does a successful screenwriter have to have? What type of person does a person have to be in order to be a successful screenwriter?
I don't know about priorities. I'm not married and I don' have children, but I know that I would be able to balance everything if I needed to. I feel your life -- rather than your career -- dictates your priorities. Re: type of person. You need to be a self-starter. You need to be incredibly motivated and you have to believe in yourself. You have to stare at a blank page and create a world. That calls for a healthy ego, a vivid imagination and pure dedication.
AASC QUESTION #13. What is an average workday like for you?
Writing by 10 AM. Usually done around 6:30 PM. I also check e-mail, research online, make jewelry, read books for research, watch movies for research. Play a few games of computer Scrabble to improve vocabulary.
AASC QUESTION #14. Where did you get most of your education about the art of writing and the entertainment business? From school or experience?
The writing skills were learned in school and honed through experience. Any aspiring writer must read scripts. Lots of them. Good ones. Go to the Academy Library.
AASC QUESTION #15. Are there any other writers in your family? Or are you the first?
No. First.
AASC QUESTION #16. What is a higher priority with you? Plot development or character development? Why?
Character development. Without them, you don't have a plot.
AASC QUESTION #17. If you had to redo your career over again, what would you do differently?
Be more aggressive.
AASC QUESTION #18. Being a woman, do you feel like you have a heightened sense of responsibility when you write for female characters in film and TV? For men?
I do tend to write strong female characters. I want to see women in leading action star roles as well as dramatic parts. Men will always get great parts.
AASC QUESTION #19. Do you have any words of caution for emerging female writers in the business?
Don't let strong men walk all over you. Have an ego. It's okay. No one else will have one for you.