The Benefits of Movie Magic Screenwriter
A Screenplay.com exclusive interview with Screenwriter Marc Moss

In 1996, Marc Moss was brought onto the set of the Morgan Freeman thriller Kiss the Girls. While he did not receive credit for his work, Paramount assigned him to write the sequel, Along Came a Spider. Marc remained the sole writer during the development and production of Spider, which was released this spring (April 2001).

SSI: Why do you write?

Marc Moss:  I write because I was foolish enough not to become a teacher or at least channel my love of movies into a career as a development executive or producer. 

SSI:  When you write, how do you generally work; Impromptu or  Routinely?

Marc Moss:  I know that all truly good writers get to where they are by obsessing about their routine, but, alas, one of the great attractions I find writing offers is the opportunity to be shamelessly unregimented.

SSI: What sort of characters & stories interest you?

Marc Moss: In my student days I was rather the elitist and preferred anything to mainstream Hollywood fare. But my tastes have mainstreamed, to the point that I have even a perverse fascination with popcorn movies. So if I had to choose which DVDs I'd  take to a deserted island, they'd be the ones which bridge my earlier tastes and my current interests: I'm probably unusual in the screenwriting community in that I prefer Hitchcock to Wilder. I'd take Hitch, I'd take Kurasawa, I'd take Scorcese, and I'd take Magnolia, which has the most finally realized characters in any movie I've seen over the past two years.

SSI: Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you?

Marc Moss: Yeah, when I was at Columbia film school I quickly discovered my directing aspirations were going to have tragic consequences if I persisted with them. So I switched over to a producing track. But a visiting writer/teacher, Ron Nyswaner, held me after class. I thought he was going to tell me to get the hell out of his workshop. He did the opposite, not only offering encouragement, but reminding me that deep down writing was what I had always done.

SSI: What was your first big break?

Marc Moss: My wife's aunt went to a funeral in Virginia where she saw an old acquaintance, whose son happened to be a William Morris agent. That's a typical weird Hollywood "lucky break," and I'd say most of my other breaks have been just as weird.

SSI: Any memorable experiences during the production of ALONG CAME A SPIDER?

Marc Moss: I was fortunate enough to be able to insinuate myself into the post production testing process. I went to all the test screenings, suffered through the derisive laughter in the early screenings, saw how audience response changed in later viewing as cuts and other alterations were made, and in the process got an education which far surpassed what film school offered. 

SSI: What future film projects are in the works?

Marc Moss: I'll soon be finishing an adaptation of an espionage novel called "Flint," which has been fun because I've never written anything non-linear before. If Along Came A Spider does well at the box office, a sequel might be commissioned; I wouldn't mind doing that because writing for Morgan Freeman is a gift — and because I feel I'm only starting to get a grip on what this particular genre requires. There are some other things afoot, but mentioning them would be jinxing myself.

SSI: How has Movie Magic Screenwriter benefited you as a screenwriter?

Marc Moss: It's an easy and clean writing application which offers excellent backup protection and a number of tools which are particularly helpful in the rewriting stage. Of course, it is an indispensable tool for writing actual production drafts — that I can't imagine doing using an ordinary word processing application. 

SSI: What advise would you give to aspiring screenwriter ?

Marc Moss: The smart thing to do is have a parachute — a law degree or a family business or something where you can default to if things don't work out in this terribly luck-dependant business. The crazy thing to do is to make sure you have no parachute, and that you must write and sell, or die.  For reasons I don't understand I came out here without a parachute, and things have so far been working out okay. Those I know who came out with parachutes have long-since bailed. I suppose my advise needs to be inferred.

Marc Moss studied film history at University of Chicago, and received a Masters Degree in screenwriting from Columbia University.

Since breaking into feature work with Kiss the Girls, Marc has written screenplays for producer Mark Johnson [What lies Beneath, Rain Man], and producer Arnold Kopelson [Devil's Advocate, The Fugitive]. Currently, he is writing an adaptation of the novel Flint for producer Douglas Wick [Gladiator, Hollow Man, Girl Interrupted].

(To see what Marc Moss has to say about Dramatica Pro -- click here!)

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Interview by Reggie Resino