Screenwriter Scott Jackson got in touch with us last month to let us know that his script “Loose Ends” was recently acquired by an independent production company. Scott also got picked up by an agent after using our service.
SCRIPT MAILER: So Scott, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
SCOTT: Well, I’m originally from Oklahoma, but moved out to the DC area after I got an internship there. I then spent a couple of years working in a legal company before I decided to try my hand at screenwriting.
SCRIPT MAILER: Why screenwriting? It seems like a far cry from legal work.
SCOTT: I always loved the movies. But for some reason or another, I never felt like I had the guts or the talent to make it in the entertainment industry. In fact, since I was a kid I always wanted to be involved in the movies. But I really didn’t know where to start. At first I wanted to be a director or get involved in special effects, but somehow I ended up getting involved in screenwriting.
I think I chose screenwriting because writing scripts seemed a lot easier than any of the other professions. I realized I loved thinking up cool stories and scenes. I loved watching movies, especially older movies and I was always creating movie scenes in my head.
Actually going out and shooting a movie to become a director looked a lot more difficult than writing a script. I would have to get camera equipment and learn about filming, and I’m really not a technical person. Writing movie scripts just seemed like an easier thing to do in to the movie industry than anything else. Fortunately, I loved writing scripts so it was a good fit.
SCRIPT MAILER: So tell me about “Loose Ends,” was it the first script you wrote?
SCOTT: I’d written a bunch of scripts before. Most of them were never finished. I’d get like ten pages in and then give up. I was always working a day job at the time so it was really hard to get into a natural writing rhythm.
Loose Ends was definitely the first script I was able to finish and had that feeling of completeness about it. All the other scripts that I’d been working on were shelved or thrown out, mostly because they just didn’t work and I had no idea where the story was going.
SCRIPT MAILER: What is Loose Ends about?
SCOTT: Loose Ends is really just a simple story about a guy who gets out of prison and has some “loose ends” to take care of. The main character gets out of prison and has a new life, new job, new place to live, new everything. But he’s still got elements of a past life that come back to haunt him and he still has to take care of that.
It’s actually supposed to be quite a funny movie too. I have a brother who spent time in prison and this script was kind of inspired by him and about how difficult life can be after you get out of prison. It always amazed me that my brother still managed to keep his head and keep his sense of humor, which I thought was really inspiring.
SCRIPT MAILER: it sounds like an interesting movie with some personal insight too. But not your regular type of Hollywood movie?
SCOTT: I wouldn’t say it’s a big budget Hollywood movie. It’s more a kind of character movie. I always loved movies with interesting characters who do crazy things and make strange choices. When I was writing the script I really enjoyed just talking about the character and seeing his story play out on the page. I really had a lot of empathy for the main character in my script. I felt like I was him. I guess a lot of writers must feel like that with their main characters. A part of you is always in the character. It’s your expression, your emotions, a part of your personality.
SCRIPT MAILER: Why do you think Loose Ends got picked up by a producer?
SCOTT: I think the main reason that my script was optioned was that it just worked. I don’t know if I got lucky with the writing, but everything just fell into place. The story worked, the characters worked, it all just clicked together. That’s never happened to me before. Writing this script was so easy and fun, I loved every minute of it. I guess that must have shone through in my writing!
SCRIPT MAILER: Do you have any advice for other screenwriters out there?
SCOTT: Write a script that you enjoy working on. If it’s a struggle and painful and stressful, let it go. I spent a lot of time working on scripts that I didn’t really enjoy. Find a story that you love and write that.