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I knew I wanted to be a screenwriter........
I knew I wanted to be a screenwriter
when I felt the urge to tell my own love story, which took place in the
turbulent 60s, when I was a journalist. I had to overcome my doubts of being
capable to write a full screenplay.
I know I've succeeded........
I know I’ve succeeded in learning the
basics of screenwriting and in acquiring an awareness of the job’s immense
complexity.
My inspiration to write
CONFIDENCES OF A CHINESE DEALER.......
My inspiration to write CONFIDENCES
OF A CHINESE DEALER stemmed from a real, compelling, out-of-the-ordinary true
story.
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FilmMakers
Magazine:
What inspired you to write?
Daniel Dorian: Books; great movies and their impact.
FilmMakers Magazine: What did you do to prepare yourself to write your first script?
Daniel Dorian: I first attended the Robert McKee seminar. I
then proceeded to read all the books I could lay my hands on about
screenwriting (Linda Seger, Syd Field, Tom Lazarus. William Goldman,
etc.)
FilmMakers Magazine: Is this your first script and how long did it take you to complete?
Daniel Dorian: No, It was my second script that I wrote ten
years ago. New circumstances in the life of the person whose story
inspired me prompted me to undertake the rewrite last winter. The
rewrite took six months.
FilmMakers Magazine: Do you have a set routine, place and time management for writing?
Daniel Dorian:
I make sure that I am at my computer from 8:00am to about 3:00 to
4:00pm, every day.
FilmMakers Magazine: Do you believe screenplay contests are important for aspiring
screenwriters and why?
Daniel Dorian: They offer the opportunity to be read, which is
the bottom-line. Being a finalist might just be enough third-party
validation for producers and development managers to take the time to
read my script.
FilmMakers Magazine: What influenced you to enter the
FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards?
Daniel Dorian: ‘Moviebytes’’s rating of the contest. The
prospect of being read by people in the industry. The fact that
Filmmakers International offers finalists the opportunity to be read
by the Radmin Co.
FilmMakers Magazine: What script would you urge aspiring writers to read and why?
Daniel Dorian: McKee says ‘Casablanca’. Of course, but my
choice is ‘Citizen Kane’, for the power and originality of the
concept, for its innovative use of flashbacks, for its lyricism, for
the depth and intensity of its characters, for the creation of an
extra-dimensional anti-hero, for its unbelievable maturity, for its
‘vision’.
FilmMakers Magazine: Beside screenwriting what are you passionate about and why?
Daniel Dorian: Photography. I have always been a visual person
and find photography the ideal way to express a feeling, to catch a
mood, to encapsulate the essence of a situation such as the horror of
war, the tragedy of poverty or the elation of victory.
FilmMakers Magazine: Who is your favorite Screenwriter
and Why?
Daniel Dorian: Jean Cocteau for his ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and
‘Orpheus’, two poetic and lyrical masterpieces taking place in
imaginary worlds that connect with our inner aspirations, our hidden
dreams and sometimes our deep fears.
FilmMakers Magazine: Name the director you would love to work with and why?
Daniel Dorian:
I‘d be remiss to name Martin Scorcese
without mentioning Andrew Lau, one of the two directors of ‘Internal
Affairs’, the movie that inspired ‘The Departed’. Why? Simply because
of the conciseness and the swiftness of the story telling.
FilmMakers
Magazine: Name the actor you would love to work with and why?
Daniel Dorian: Josh Hartnett. He would be perfect for my lead.
FilmMakers Magazine: Any tips and things learned along the way to pass on to others?
Daniel Dorian: Reject complacency. Be your toughest critic. Do
not hesitate to eliminate, add, rethink, reshuffle a sentence, a piece
of dialogue, a scene you’re not comfortable with, you have the
slightest doubt about.
FilmMakers Magazine: What's next for you?
Daniel Dorian: Another screenplay, but this one a more intimate
and psychological story that takes place in a single location
throughout the four seasons.
FilmMakers Magazine: Where will you be five years from now?
Daniel Dorian: Same place, same dreams, same aspirations. |
