Carry on the discussion about screenwriting on my new Facebook page — The Working Screenwriter! I hope you'll come join the conversation!
Where were YOU in '82! Check out my new novel! (An interview with yours truly.)
Q: With your previous novel, Luigi’s Chinese Delicatessen—which was based, at least in part, in your early years as a screenwriter—you claimed that 97% of it was a work of fiction. So, what percentage of Sunshine Terrace is a work of fiction?
JV: All the central characters—Denny, Katrina, Billie, Matt, Gretchen, Lana, Daniel, and even C. W. Strathmore—are based on actual people, so there are miniscule bits of truth with each of them. But I’m sure the real question you want me to answer is: Am I Jace Deckard? Again, there are bits and pieces of me in that character. Yes, I was, and still am, a photographer. Yes, I did shoot the nude pictures for the guy and his girlfriend. Yes, I performed a sketch on stage with two of my friends; and yes, we got a great review. Yes, I worked at a restaurant atop the hill in Universal City. Yes, I had both those apartments in Studio City that I shared with friends. So, yeah, quite a bit happened in real life, or at least had some truth to it—just not necessarily the way I tell it in the book. That’s the fun of writing a novel: you can take real-world facts and rearrange them and take characters and situations in a completely different direction.
Q: I don’t want to offer any spoilers, but the girl Jace ultimately falls in love with—she isn’t based on an actual person?
JV: Well, no. I mean, I did meet my former wife in a somewhat similar manner to what I detailed in the story, but other than that one sliver of truth, the rest of it is pretty much complete fiction.
Q: Pretty much?
JV: Ha ha. Nice try.
Q: What about the somewhat unhinged—but hella sexy—Maya?
JV: Somewhat unhinged? No, Maya wasn’t someone I knew, not really. Though I wish she had been—or at least certain aspects of her!
Q: I thought the character of Daniel was especially interesting; tragic, but interesting.
JV: There was more truth to that character than most of the others. Sad, but true.
Q: What reason did you have for setting your story in the early 1980s? Why couldn’t it all have been updated for present day?
JV: For one thing, all of it did happen in the early ‘80s! That’s what made it so much fun for me to write, going back to that period. I also think it’s more interesting for younger people today to know a little of what the world—or at least life in Los Angeles—was like 40 years ago. There were no computers, no cellphones, no Uber or Lyft. If you needed the number of a neighborhood restaurant, you looked it up in your copy of the Yellow Pages. If you were supposed to meet a friend at a movie theater and they were late, you couldn’t call them and say, “Hey, where are you?” No, you had to wait until they showed up; or you had to find a payphone, drop a couple dimes into it and hope you could reach them. If you were a professional photographer, as I was, you shot on film and then took the film to a lab to have it processed, then add another day or two before you got back the prints or a proof sheet. Anyway, it was a lot of fun for me to recall that period: being so young, on your own for the first time, trying to make a living, hanging with friends, finding your way, the dating scene…
Q: You told me you had finished this novel three or four years ago. Why has it taken you so long to finally publish it?
JV: Yeah, I did finish it about four years ago—well, about 98% of it—but then I felt like I had to set it aside for a while, get some distance, before I did my final edits. I also got busy with a screenplay of mine that went into production. There were also other projects I was working on— and all of this took my creative energies and time away from Sunshine Terrace.
Q: Whether what you wrote in Sunshine Terrace is true, semi-true, or completely fictionalized, you must’ve spent quite a bit of time reliving your past...
JV: Oh, yes, definitely!
Q: So, what was that like for you?
JV: Well, I’m a person who typically spends a certain amount of time thinking about the past. What can I say? I had a great time! It wasn’t all roses, but most of it was pretty great. There were lots of adventures, lots of laughs, lots of creativity. I’ve been lucky. But I had to immerse myself in those times. I had to recall the music, the styles and fads, the relative simplicity of it all. I also had to recall the people I knew, the friends I hung out with, some of the relationships I had, and the creative projects I worked on. For the most part, it was a blast being so deeply entrenched in it all!
Q: What was your biggest takeaway from writing Sunshine Terrace?
JV: It’s funny, you don’t ever realize quite how good things are, how much fun you’re having, when you’re living through it. You have to look back over many years—in this case, forty years—to say, “Wow, those were some fun, interesting times.” I’m also amazed by how much energy I had back then. I still have a good amount of energy—c’mon, I’m not that old!—but a great fun day in 2024 is a lot different than what it was in 1982. These days, taking a nice, long walk (especially in the rain), sitting in a coffeehouse, and doing some writing or reading a book, roaming around town and taking some good photographs—for me, that’s pure bliss!
Q: Your last novel, Luigi’s Chinese Delicatessen, was similar in tone—perhaps even in theme—as Sunshine Terrace.
JV: These are the types of stories I like to tell. Intimate stories about people going about their daily lives, trying to get through it all, trying to succeed…the highs and the lows. These are the types of movies I prefer as well. I’d rather watch Midnight Cowboy than Star Wars. I’d rather watch The Accidental Tourist than Alien. Nothing wrong with those other movies, of course—Star Wars and Alien are both great—but I like stories—whether a novel or movie—to be more down to earth, more personal, more intimate.
Q: Why do you write?
JV: For the same reason I enjoy photography—the act of creating something. And sharing the work is the cherry on top. I hope I can give people something to think about; and I hope I can provide some entertainment.
Q: Writing wise, what have you got on the horizon?
JV: Well, that movie I wrote, the one that got made not long ago, is still in post-production. I’m hoping it wraps up soon and it can hit the festival circuit in the fall. We’ll see. The interesting thing about that movie is that two movies were shot simultaneously—one in English and one in Hindi. I’m also working on a screenplay that my manager and I have high hopes for. We’ve already got some strong interest. Again, we’ll see. As far as novels go, I recently finished writing the sequel to my [2015) novel, Luigi’s Chinese Delicatessen. It’ll be a while before I get it into shape for publishing, but it’s on the way!
Q: Where can we find you online?
JV: I’m kind of all over the place. If you want to check out some of my photography, look up @JimVinesPresents on Instagram. Also, stop by Jim Vines Presents on YouTube and check out my videos—including one from 1981 where I give Nicolas Cage his very first film award! If you like movies from the 1960s and 1970s, come visit me on Facebook at Hollywood & Vines. I also have a screenwriting blog, which I’ve neglected badly in the last couple years, called The Working Screenwriter.
Q: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Jim.
JV: My pleasure, my friend. I appreciate it!
Get your copy of Sunshine Terrace at Amazon!
NOW IN PRODUCTION...
My feature screenplay, DARK HAVEN, now filming...
#
And for your reading pleasure...
"A rollicking, sexy ride through the Hollywood maze."
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My journey from script to award-winning short horror film...
Never give up, never say never...
DARK HAVEN is a screenplay I wrote 20 years ago. Since
then it's been optioned a handful of times, edged close to production three
times and has sat dormant on the shelf for a number of years.
But now,
finally, contracts have been signed, tweaks to the script executed, and -- I'm
quite pleased to say -- filming will commence today (September 16, 2020)!
Will the finished movie be any good? Your guess is as good
as mine -- but at least I don't have to think about this one any longer!
But the takeaway here is this...
If you think you have a great script, stick with it. One day
it'll pay off.
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Check out my new e-book!
And if you like novels about Hollywood and screenwriters,
you'll want to check out Luigi's Chinese Delicatessen!
If you like novels about screenwriters in Hollywood (and c'mon, you know you do)...
Hollywood...
It wasn’t what I
expected.
It seemed every
other building along the boulevard contained a head shop, tattoo parlor, dive
bar, or outlet for worthless, plastic souvenirs and T-shirts that boasted
bullshit such as, “MY PARENTS WENT TO HOLLYWOOD AND ALL THEY GOT ME WAS THIS
LOUSY T-SHIRT.” Sure, there were pockets of glitz and glamour here and there,
but mostly it was a trash heap. The boulevard itself is embedded with grimy
salmon-colored and gold-embossed stars that boast the names of the currently
known, the long-forgotten, and everyone in between.
This was Hollywood?
Then there were the
people. The outcasts, the forgotten, the ignored. The angry young men and
women—once bolstered by a dream but now dazed by a hard life—struggling against
poverty, drugs, booze, madness, and railing mightily against whatever it was
Mommy or Daddy or Uncle Joe supposedly did to them once upon a time. They
populated Hollywood Boulevard and the surrounding area like cockroaches on a
grease-encrusted sewer pipe.
(Excerpt from Luigi's Chinese Delicatessen,
a novel by Jim Vines)
(Photo © Jim Vines
Luigi's Chinese Delicatessen is available
in paperback and e-book, from Amazon!
My first movie...
My first produced movie, The Perfect Tenant, was released in 2000.
It did very well on the cable TV circuit, broadcast TV, and played all over the world (happily, I received foreign royalty payments from the WGA).
It ain't exactly Alfred Hitchcock -- but it's a fairly diverting 93 minutes.
Hope you enjoy it!
To watch The Perfect Tenant, click here.
A Beast is Born!: A Screenwriter's Journey from Script to Award-winning Short Film,
by Jim Vines
Get your e-book here!
MY NEW E-BOOK -- NOW AVAILABLE!
to Award-winning Short Film
(As of 9/29/19, a "#1 New Release in Screenwriting" on Amazon/Kindle store!)
(As of 9/29/19, a "#1 New Release in Screenwriting" on Amazon/Kindle store!)
A
Beast Is Born! chronicles a writer’s arduous
eleven-year journey to develop his short horror script Susie’s Beast from nascent idea
to award-winning film. Compiled from emails, text messages, phone
conversations, and personal journal entries, A Beast Is Born! demonstrates just how dogged perseverance
and sheer determination are the screenwriter’s truest allies when
searching for a filmmaker who can transform words on a page into a
captivating cinematic entertainment. A Beast Is Born! is an absolute must-read for any
screenwriter who believes their stories were meant for the big—or
small—screen.
A Kindle eBook!
(Also available from B&N, Apple Books,
KOBO...pretty much everywhere!)
KOBO...pretty much everywhere!)
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