Interview With Rick Rapier

Below is my interview with screenwriter Rick Rapier. Follow Rick on Twitter @Rickrapier. For more information on Rick check out his LinkedIn page here.

What is the current project you are working on?

How to answer this goes to some of your other questions: A screenwriter doesn't just write as a part of his work, but also helps market himself and his work. So, while I'm writing a treatment for a reality TV show, one for a feature comedy, and refining other treatments as thoughts come to me, I'm also helping my manager focus on production companies that might be interested in some of my spec scripts. And dovetailing with my efforts as a writer, I am also pushing forward as a producer with a business plan I've been refining with the help of a venture capitalist and my partner in the production company. We hope to begin seeking funding in the next couple of months.

It's easy to imagine that once you've sold something or gained representation you just focus on writing while your representative sells you. Not in my experience. It's my career and I want to help shape it, as well as to help influence where my manager or agent takes my scripts. For a couple of years I've been trying to get my Ferris Bueller sequel into the right hands. Every producer who has read it wants to make it, but none have had the right connections to move it forward yet. So, my manager and I are targeting producers and production companies whom we believe would handle the material in the spirit of John Hughes, and who have connections to Paramount.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

I always wanted to be a storyteller, and that is the way I look at filmmaking. As a kid I wanted to be an actor, but it took a seminal moment for me to think filmmaking/ screenwriting was the right avenue for me to tell stories.

What inspired you to become filmmaker?

STAR WARS. That was my seminal experience. I felt absorbed into that world as a kid, and I realized I wanted to use stories to create that experience for others. But there were specific experiences later which refined the scope of that dream. The first was seeing AMERICAN GRAFFITI, and the second was seeing FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. Both of these films accomplished the same escape/dream mode for me, but showed how that could be done in a more real world setting, the world I inhabited in flyoverland.

What is the best thing about being one?

Telling stories that entertain and engage people.

What is the worst thing about being one?

Working so hard yet appearing unemployed most of the time!

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

I've written approximately 25 features and several shorts, along with dozens and dozens of treatments. I've written features for hire and sold specs that have yet to be produced, while several other features have been optioned. I recently wrote and co-produced a 16-min. rom-com short that is making the festival rounds (LATTE TROUBLE) and am seeking funds for our first feature, a thriller titled FOOTSTEPS.

Who is is your favorite filmmaker?

Through my teens, it was a bit of a tie between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. But as many who know me would guess, hands down, John Hughes, which took hold when I was in college. Hughes became a hero of mine, for many reasons. I count many of his films as among my favorites. I'm from the midwest of the U.S. and I think that he had his finger on the pulse of flyoverland, of a vast audience that has gone under-served for many years. (Many try to serve us, but they don't understand us, so miss the mark. PIXAR gets flyoverland, and they reap the rewards.)

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

I've lost the respect of friends and family and seen my credit score plummet. *barum-boomp!* Seriously, I've never felt more fulfilled. I think it's in my DNA: My daughter made short films and even co-wrote a screenplay with me, all before she was eight.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to make it in the movie business?

Don't expect it to happen overnight. Tenacity is key, but the best advice I ever got was that no matter what your day job is, when you meet someone and they ask you what you do, tell them what you love to do, as if that's your job. At a party an actor doesn't say she's a waitress. A screenwriter shouldn't say he's grade school teacher. When I got over my reservations that I couldn't say I was a screenwriter until I'd sold something, I finally started making connections. I stopped saying I was a copywriter or a whatever. It made a big difference internally as well. You just never know who knows someone who knows someone, and if you don't believe it, who else will?

Another thing I would offer is that a contract is only as good as the people who sign it. Unless you have the money and the inclination, suing people is a fruitless endeavor. So, carefully choose the people with whom you want to involve yourself and your work. All the contracts and clauses in the world are worthless if the ones who signed lack integrity.

What do you like to do besides filmmaking?

Before I had kids I did a lot of exercising and enjoyed hosting get-togethers with friends. Now that I have kids, I spend most of my extra time with them and my wife. I've actually become a reader because of them. I used to avoid reading fiction, not wanting to steal by osmosis. But now I read aloud with my son and daughter for enjoyment. It's a great way to share the power of story with them. (And we watch a lot of movies too!)

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?

Yes. In college I studied Advertising and Marketing because John Hughes had apparently parlayed that into a film career. (I was slightly wrong about how he ended up where he did.) After college, loaded with student loans, I took the first good job I could get, in commercial print management. That actually helped me get my first copywriting job a few years later. So, after that, I worked in advertising for several years while I wrote screenplays on the side. When I placed in a couple of big competitions (the Nicholl and Spielberg's Chesterfield Film Project), I decided it was time to make a move. Within a few months I had sold something to Miramax/Dimension.

In there someplace I was also a junior partner in a prodco with funding and a distribution deal. But after a couple years of development, the deals fell apart and none of the scripts I wrote made it to the screen. That was tough. So, it hasn't been an easy road since taking the leap of faith, and I've had to take day jobs to pay the bills, but it's always been with an eye to my goals.

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

There was a time when I would have thrown in films that I've seen that I'm supposed to like, if I'm worth my salt. These days, I'm more comfortable with the honest truth. I think I'm clearly a populist and always have been.

American: STAR WARS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, BREAKING AWAY, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, FERRIS, PLANES TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, THE DARK KNIGHT, SIGNS, RETURN TO ME, JUST FRIENDS, SLING BLADE, GET LOW.

Foreign: SHALL WE DANCE, AMELIE, ABOUT A BOY, LOCAL HERO, SON OF RAMBOW, SLUM DOG.

TV: I don't watch much narrative form TV. "iCarly" and "Good Luck, Charlie" (with my kids), both of which I think are funny; "The Office" with my wife. I used to love "The Sopranos" though.

How would you describe your film education?

Cobbled together. College and seminar stuff, lots of reading how-tos and screenplays. But what I discovered was that I already had the structure ingrained from watching so many films. And I found that writing short stories and poetry helped prepare me in a lot of ways for the concise, evocative voice needed for screenwriting. I personally think that novels are a terrible analogy to screenwriting.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

It tends to be pretty lively, mostly with micro-budget direct-to-video features, being made by very passionate filmmakers. There's a community college here abouts that is considered one of the better film schools in the States: Scottsdale Community College. How that came about, I don't know, but I think it helps give the community here some added energy.

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

I'm not sure how it has changed the content, to be honest. Digital video seems to be a more powerful change agent to me. But I do see that some projects gain a great buzz and following through social media, which creates grassroots PR. But I don't have any experience with crowd-funding, though it seems to be a good thing for funding shorts.

I have gained a lot of contacts that I think would not have been available to me otherwise. One of my scripts is being considered for production by a top prodco in NYC through a Twitter contact. A couple of others were on a short list for production through an exec I met on LinkedIn. I've had scripts read through connections I've made on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I came by my current manager through a Twitter introduction. So, social media seem to have broken down some of the walls of separation, allowing people from all over the country to connect despite physical distances. I hope it pays off for lots of writers and producers around the country.

BTW, I can't remember the last time I snail-mailed a hard copy script to a producer.

What is the casting process like?

I've only done casting on LATTE TROUBLE, and it was a real learning experience, especially as a writer. Unfortunately we didn't get to that point when I was partnered in that prodco. Anyway, in your mind's eye, you see these characters, but despite how strong their images are, it can really be challenged by the actors who are available. Someone might really look the part, but not give the right read.

For LATTE TROUBLE, I had imagined a sort of semi-good-looking nebbish, a kind of Jason Biggs type. But in walks this tall, amazingly handsome guy of Pakistani descent. Just a few lines into his read, I knew he was the one. Kasim Aslam. Blew me away and forced me to change my mind about what that character looked like. (I think he's going to be a star.) I loved the results. Same thing happened with a side-kick whom I'd imagined as a sort of Jack Black type. Ended up casting a slim Greg Renfro, a very gifted African-American actor. I loved what he did with the part. (I think he should do feature films too.)

And while screenwriting is a solitary effort, working with another producer, a casting director, and a director, hearing their input, how they perceived "my characters" and the actors who auditioned -- it was really enlightening and a great experience in collaboration.

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

In my experience, independent strives to be more artful, more about self-expression and less about storytelling, less interested with the audience and entertainment. For me, I aim to use the independent approach to make classic, entertaining films for audiences. Angst was something I'd put into my short stories and poetry. I don't think most audiences want to lay down their hard-earned money to hear me whine by proxy. If I can entertain them with an artfully told story, fine, but I think movies should be for the sake of audiences, not for the sake of those who make the movies.

You could go back in time and see any classic film being made. Which
film would it be?

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. One of my life's greatest regrets, and I mean this sincerely, is that I never got to meet John Hughes. I believe I owe him a great deal, and I would have liked to let him know that and to thank him. And there is something about that film in particular, about the chemistry among Hughes, Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck that I would love to have been witness to, or better yet, a part of.

You could be any animal. Which would you be?

A sasquatch.

You could have any super power. What would it be?

Flight.

What is your opinion on movie remakes?

If they are well-made, I love them. Theater has done it for years. No one slammed Olivier for doing the hundredth "remake" of "Hamlet."

I love a well-made sequel too. To me a sequel is like another piece of great pizza. I want the next slice to taste like the first. If I bought a slice of Chicago deep-dish pizza and loved it so much I wanted another, you better not freakin' hand me some crispy brick oven stuff to throw in a twist or add your own flair. Listen buddy, I'm the one paying for the pizza. Put me first. There are people who love crunchy, but you'd be wise to save it for your next order.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?

As mentioned above, I think novels are a terrible analogy to film. I remember having an argument with a screenwriting professor about this. My position was, and is, that a short story makes for a better adaptation. Their forms are very similar, I think. Yes, they tend to need embellishment, but better that than slashing whole swaths out of a novel in order to adapt it. Novellas, of which there are few, are perfect for adaptation, I think.

* Anything else you'd like to add?

Thanks, John, for asking me to be a part of your blog.


Thanks Rick for doing the interview. Good luck with your Ferris Bueller sequel. It should be noted Rick added the last question in the interview. Thanks for that Rick. If it's OK I'm going to use it in my future interviews.