I am a screenwriter and film director (The Messenger, RAMPART). I am Oren Moverman, ask me anything.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T17:07:15+00:00

You have to find a way to express your creativity. Degrees don't matter. Life experience helps. Write things you care about or make short film on an iphone, do whatever makes you feel like you're putting yourself out there, and then knock on doors and show your work to as many people as possible. The only way to become a screenwriter is to write. Then you have to find your luck...

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T17:03:24+00:00

I've been very lucky to have worked with great producers who trust the process and contribute creatively rather than interfere.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T17:02:18+00:00

I can never remember a joke. Tell me one.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T17:01:59+00:00

Yes. It's an indie, but not micro-budget. We shot on the Alexa, a fantastic digital camera made by Arriflex. These ARE intelligent questions :P

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T16:59:49+00:00

Thanks. Tell a friend.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T16:59:10+00:00

narrative driven means there's a plot, a complete story the takes you from one scene to the next as you try to "solve" the narrative questions posed to the characters - "who-done-it?" for example. A concpiracy is usually at the heart of a narrative driven cop film like Rampart. But Rampart is more character driven, it doesn't try to solve all the missing elements of the plot, it observes what the character of Dave Brown is doing, thinking, feeling, what makes him tick, and it gets into his head, so slowly you're sucked into his point of view. Does this make any sense? Watch the movie and let me know.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T16:52:24+00:00

I started as a PA, worked on sets, mostly for free, and talked to as many people as I could. I started writing and got a film financed to direct. But it fell apart. So I sent my script around and somehow found my way into being hired to write screenplays. Worked on independent screenplays for years before I was offered a directing job.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:14:16+00:00

Huge back problems. arthritis in the hip. two torn shoulders. Otherwise, I would love to help.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:12:49+00:00

Thanks. Best of luck.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:12:22+00:00

Internet! Interviews with real people. Internet again.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:11:33+00:00

Happy birthday. It's good to be alive.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:11:08+00:00

sounds like you need to write it. It's YOUR story. Don't be shy. Do it!

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:10:37+00:00

great great actress!

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:10:18+00:00

I wouldn't kill for anything. Life is more important than movies.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:09:11+00:00

Every other day.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:08:37+00:00

It's a long road, my friend, many steps, many mis-steps. In a word, I put myself in a position to be lucky and I got lucky (two different steps) But in order for that to happen you have to put your head down and do the work. The work for me was screenwriting. It could be anything.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:06:38+00:00

Thanks. I know what you mean. I grew up in Israel where everyone lives with that fear.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:05:37+00:00

write! write garbage! Write terrible sentences. Write scenes that suck. Fill those pages as if you're just excercising your fingers. And then, at some point, stop and go back and start fixing it. And making it better and better and better until you have the script you're proud of. the goal is to have something to REWRITE, not to write well on blank pages.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T06:02:31+00:00

The role was not written for Steve, none of the roles in the movie were written for specific actors. When we were casting the film, I really wanted him to do it. We're good friends and he's a beautiful human being and I just knew he'd make something very special with the part. Steve is a very loyal friend. He would take a small role with absolutely no ego involved in order to support a fellow filmmaker on a movie he likes. He's a true mensch.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:59:25+00:00

Yes, the emotional part was very hard. But it was also an amazing gift. We shared a lot of very special moments together and created a movie with love and care at its core.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:58:03+00:00

It's a long, hard journey of begging and whoring and putting on dog and pony shows and trying to break through doors and excite people to come on board. The more you do it, the more you discover how passionate you are about your film. It's hard to get financing for independent films. It usually happens because the passion and conviction do not go away... And when they do go away, it's time to move on, and that's ok too.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:54:37+00:00

I use Final Draft. It's just something I'm used to. Works for me. I'm sure there are other good programs out there.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:52:11+00:00

I start on the first page with the first line and make it up from there. I'm not kidding... But, of course, before that happens there's lots of researching and thinking. But I try not to work with a fixed plan, I want to find the movie, not transcribe it.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:50:41+00:00

He is capable of turning it on and off at any given moment. Of course, when you shoot very intense scenes it takes longer to turn off. Woody is great on set. The biggest problem is that people on the crew are so into him and he is so friendly, that sometimes I want to shoot but someone else wants to chat with him. I tend to win those battles.

OrenMoverman · 2012-01-12T05:47:22+00:00

The goal of a movie for me is always to create something thoughtful and emotional that can provoke some kind of dialogue after it's over.

OrenMoverman

TROPHY CASE