I used to wonder why someone who was pursuing a career in film would choose a home base in New England. As I get to know more about the film industry in Boston and the surrounding communities, however I am impressed by the actual height of the opportunities that are available in film. I have found this to be especially true with screenwriters I have encountered who have been able to establish themselves while living outside of the mainstream. Both in the indies and majors, screenwriters from New England are achieving notoriety once thought to arise solely from New York or LA. I spoke with Alice Stone, David Hudacek and Richard Guimond about working out of New England as a screenwriter and also about some issues common to screenwriters everywhere.

Screenwriter/Director Alice Stone also works as a Boston-based script consultant. Screenwriter David Hudacek. Richard Guimond in Texas, picking up the Gold Award for his screenplay Kabo adapted frfrom his novel "Melville Windmills."

Alice Stone is a screenwriter based in Boston. She has completed a dramatic screenplay called Firewater, which has been optioned by Homegrown Pictures in New York. Edward James Olmos has signed on as the lead with other cast members including Maurice Compte from Before Night Falls and Tia Texada of Nurse Betty. Stone co-wrote Night Deposit with Monika Mitchell, starring Christy Scott Cashman. The film won many awards including the Slamdance Film Festival's on-line award. "I am most proud of my short film Expired which I wrote and directed," says Stone, "It premiered at the New England Film and Video Festival and was acquired by Atom Films".

David Hudacek lives in Watertown and while leading a busy doctor's life has managed to become an award winning screenwriter as well. In addition to the drama, Shadowboxing, which received great acclaim, Hudacek has written an independent film Anna Blue that won second place at the 1998 Austin Screenplay Competition. The film has been optioned twice and Hudacek is currently very happy with the way it is developing. "In terms of the types of films that I would like to see made, I'm probably happiest with that screenplay," he says.

Richard Guimond has written three novels and ten screenplays. He's won the William Kelley Award as well as the Gold Awards in Houston, South Carolina and the Big Australian International Screenplay Competition. He currently has an option on his novel and screenplay Foggy Joe with Jon Slan who was the producer of Wyatt Earp. He was the writer for the PBS Special: Beyond Adversity, which was hosted by Michael York. He also hired as the screenwriter for an "incredible concept" called Futureball which he wrote the screenplay for and is now assisting in the development of the film and TV series. Melville's Windmill is Guimond's novel in the horror/thriller arena and is currently in the hands of a New York publisher. "I recently completed a Romantic Drama screenplay, Sea Fever, " says Guimond. "If it is not purchased by Hollywood, I am considering doing it myself. The screenplay is perfect for the indie arena." Guimond takes special pride in noting that everything he has achieved has been without an agent or a manager.

Talking about working in the New England area as a screenwriter, I received some interesting perspectives from these three. Stone says, "If you want to live in New England there are many, many reasons to do so, but launching a film career is not one of them. The advantage could be that you stay true to your voice, and don't get caught up in writing according to the latest trend."

Guimond agrees, saying that the "biggest problem with Hollywood" is that everyone is writing the same thing. "That is why the indie route is so delicious".

"A few years back an LA Agent told me that if I didn't move out there, it would be very difficult for me to make the cut. I told him I could be there at a moment's notice, live there for weeks on end, etc, but he still insisted I needed to live there. Well, I never moved and I wouldn't"

Hudacek sees a danger of getting lost in a NY or LA film environment that is not as supportive as the one here. Also, he acknowledges that by living in New England he is also restricting his access to "the powers that be". However, he says that this could also be viewed as advantageous, another reference to the freshness which is often apparent from the screenwriter living outside of "the scene".

Success in screenwriting is something that often takes a great deal of patience in order to achieve. Stone points to "an insatiable curiosity about people from all walks of life, a good listening ear," as well as "a strong visual vocabulary" as all necessary assets to succeeding as a screenwriter. "But most of all," she says you need "a stick-to-it-ness. Lots of people could write terrific screenplays if they could only force themselves to stare down a blank page and fill it, day after day."

Guimond points to discipline as an essential trait for the screenwriter, but first and foremost he thinks, "it's paramount for a writer to recognize him/herself. If you don't believe in what you're doing you'll never get to that other part of recognition. Don't depend on others to make it happen for you. You have to take control of your own destiny and that begins with the writing."

On the same note, David Hudacek stresses that "persistence is vital". On the top of his list though is "artistic honesty - once you begin to write things that ring false," he says, "it's all over."

In addition to persistence, discipline and the other essential traits that one must have to succeed in the profession, there are many other challenges that the screenwriter faces. Stone talks about the pace of story delivery as something she finds important. "Revealing your story should be like walking a tightrope between surprising your audience and confusing them. You don't want to give away so much information that your audience gets ahead of the story and can predict what will happen, but you don't want to withhold information to the point where you've lost your audience." She believes in providing her audience with the element of surprise and feels that many screenplays fail by revealing too much too soon. "I find that so boring that I have a tendency to err the other way and give too little information." To help herself overcome this obstacle, she surrounds herself with a circle of friends, who, because they are not as close to the story as she is, are able to provide her with valuable insight.

Another frustration that can arise for screenwriters is the uncertainty of whether a work to which you have dedicated a great deal of time, will ever get made. Hudacek reflects on the lack of security in his profession. He finds one of the hardest things about his work to be "the fact that the majority of things that are written either don't get made, or get made years later. So it's like writing in solitary confinement - you don't know what the response to the final product (i.e., the film) is going to be."

Once a screenplay is completed and is sold, the struggle changes to one of control. What is it like to give up a work to which you have dedicated a great deal of time? Is the director whose hands it falls into going to distort your vision and if this is a fear, do screenwriters feel it necessary to make it a stipulation that they retain a certain degree of control?

Stone points out that there are certain things that a screenwriter should control and ones best left to a director. This depends on the work and who has the best qualifications to make it look as it was intended to. "I'm attracted to a wide variety of film genres as a screenwriter, but not as a director," she says. "I've written a period piece set in the late 19th century, and I'd happily give up control to a director that knows how to film a battle scene. I have a strong sense of how I would direct Firewater, and so I attached myself as a condition of the sale." Though Stone says she would always like to be a key player in the production of her films she has no desire to "hamstring a director" by insisting upon some sort of directorial control. "If you want complete control," she says, "write a novel."

Guimond sees a screenwriter who insists upon total control as someone who may be in danger of severely limiting him/herself. "I have already found that in my limited entrances to control that filmmaking is all about the people involved. If you want total control, do it the indie way, but don't whine if no one sees your work or if it doesn't make money. Remember, big movies are all about compromises, investors, suits, and generally a lot of people who want their fingerprints on the work."

Hudacek feels a definite pull between giving up control of his work and wanting to hang onto something in which he has invested so much. "Giving up a screenplay is like giving up a child - it's not easy. Also, I've planned to direct everything I've written (and I'm beginning more directing), so the times I have optioned something I'd originally planned to direct have not been easy. The first option for Anna Blue was with a company that, in retrospect, didn't share my sensibilities, and I couldn't wait to get it back. My current option is very brief (six months) and has very specific stipulations which makes me more comfortable."

Many of these issues are ones that are unavoidable to anyone who wants to build a career in screenwriting, regardless of where they are living. "It can be any major city: Providence, New York, Boston," says Guimond. "Indie filmmakers need to realize that they have to make choices. Today's film arena is so competitive that they better have a product that audiences want to see." He stresses that screenwriters need to look at the film, "not so much from an artistic point of view, but from an exhibition arena. It can be indie, but it better be commercial. Do an indie film, but make sure it is for a mainstream audience. If they fail in the above, the film biz will fail in any city." Perhaps if this is true, then New England is just as good as Hollywood if you are looking for success and looking in the right direction.

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Liz Clark is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and now lives in Jamaica Plain. She is currently finshing her Master's Degree at Northeastern University where she is studying Journalism. She can be reached at clidie88@aol.com