Interview with Joe
Ballarini
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Joe graduated from USC film school in 1999, and last month, he sold his
spec script, THE SPY NEXT DOOR, to Dimension Films for $600,000 against $1
million. Did I mention he was only 24? If you haven't thrown
anything at the screen yet, read on.
How did you get bitten by the screenwriting bug?
When I was rejected from every film school in the world, I refused to let them
stop me from making films. I had no money to pay for equipment or even to
buy actors' lunches. The end goal is to direct what I write, but directing
a major motion picture at the age of 17 is impossible-- writing one is not. So I
decided I would spend millions of millions of dollars upon the page, and it
would cost me nothing. I split the cost of a screenwriting program with my
college roommate and set to work on my first big blockbuster, which never saw
past the dust in my closet, but it was the beginning.
Tell me about your experiences at USC.
After five attempts, they finally let me into the film production program.
It was the greatest time of my life, because of all the fantastic people I met
there-- seriously, the celestial mechanics going on between the class of '99
still astounds me. Also there are professors there that will blow you
away. I continue to meet with one of the greatest teachers in the
universe, Paul Wolff, who has become a great friend of mine and is still
teaching me the craft of writing and life to this day.
Of course, there are the down sides of USC: its rampant love of the studio
system, the strict rules for film allotment, and the fear of failure (they do
not like to take risks, although they do it anyway, fortunately for me)-- but in
places of great light there are also deep shadows. There's always a down side to
every up. Fortunately, USC's ratio of light to shadow is 10:1. It
was a place of great unity-- it prepared me for the future through its
competition and resources. Man, that sounds like such a plug for the
school, but it's really the way I feel. Props to my alma mater.
You're represented by FourSight Management, a group
that also came out of USC. Why did you choose them?
Lasker, Heller, Bell, and Abrams (who has since become a successful writer on
his own and has departed FourSight to be repped by them) approached me while I
was in film school. We shared very similar tastes-- and they took very
strongly to my work for all the right reasons. FourSight loves movies,
great films, and they have a true vision and an ability to understand young
filmmakers. And most importantly, they were hungry and ready to kick ass.
Also, you have to have some people in this game that you can trust. I
trust FourSight's opinion greatly; we are all the same age, but they give very
intelligent notes on my scripts and are constantly stoking the fires. They
care a great deal about your future as a filmmaker. I'm happy to say that
I've become great friends with them all over our three year journey together.
You sold a spec script, THE SPY NEXT DOOR, to
Dimension films last month. How did you make this sale?
I had gone out with two other specs before this and I knew this had to be the
one; otherwise I was going to fly to Tokyo to be a monk. So I wanted an
army to go out with SND. I needed a serious posse to break down the
door, especially for a "first time writer" like me-- even though I've
written 10 other scripts, your first sell is always your first script, which I
totally understand. Russell Hollander, a producer at Karz Ent.
(which has a deal with Disney), wanted to work with me on a big sweeping
adventure, like we remembered from our childhood. He loved the idea of the
SND and we set to work.
I would write 44 pages, give them to him, and he would either cheer and go
nuts-- "I WANT THIS CHARACTER'S ACTION FIGURE!"-- or he would say
"What the hell is going on with the first act?" And that was the
way it went for about three months until the script was ready to roll. I
say I wrote the script in three months because that was how long the actual
script writing took, but I had the idea for a suburban spy thriller two years
ago and had collected small details along the way-- I wrote a treatment, a very
thorough outline and all those pieces and details over the two year period of
dreaming came together in a deluge of three months of coffee and non-non-NONSTOP
writing.
Russell and FourSight sent it to agents all over and we said, "We're going
out with this on Tuesday, today is Thursday-- are you in or are you out-- right
now?"
Then things began to happen very very fast.
Dan Rabinow at ICM called us that night. We met with him and several other
agents the next day. On Monday I signed with Dan, because he is a fierce
thriller killer with a big heart for the great adventure films that I love.
We clicked immediately and I knew from the start that he was the guy, the dude,
the man in the chair with the plan to stick it to the man. Tuesday it went
out with a legit producer, a legit management company, and biggest baddest
agency machine monster, Dan Rabinow, behind it. We charged the fortress
studios with our Tuesday calvary and by Thursday, Jeff Frankle, my lawyer, and
the rest of the troops had closed the deal with the good people of Dimension.
What are you going to do with the money you made?
Spend it on my family and friends who believe and love. Save it for my
future family. Fund a Haunted House for next Halloween for this Los Angeles
gothic artist animator Brooks Jarrett to design, along with Shawn Levy, an
underground multimedia artist (of Vidayoh fame) producing it. MMM.
Make more movies.
What do you think made this such an appealing script?
I wrote it for my father because he loves big over-the-top action films--- and I
just kept thinking, "What would make pops smile and cheer when the trailer
for this movie came on?" I just went down that road, of following my
father's heart.
Also, no one knows this, but the script is filled with subliminal images-- if
you stare at the page long enough, the reader will see the words "BRILLIANT
SCRIPT" and "HIT BLOCKBUSTER" emerge. But don't tell
anyone about that or I could get into serious trouble.
Do you believe it's essential for a screenwriter to
live in California?
No. I plan on moving to Paris, 1904 to write my next script, then I am
going to Osaka, 2123 to write my comic book.
How do you set out to write a new screenplay-- do you
use outlines, keep to a writing schedule, etc.?
My writing schedule: EVERY DAY, EVERY DAY. I always carry a notebook
and pencil with me EVERYWHERE. It's very nerdy and people look at you
weird like "Oh, another writer in LA, here we go," but trust me,
it pays off to be able to capture the figment that flies from your head.
I do not like to procrastinate when I write-- once I start on an idea I do not
stop until it is done.
I love the actual process of writing the script. I vanish from the face of
the earth until I type THE END. I wake up, toast a bagel, make coffee and
sit and write until 3 p.m., at which time I go for a walk, think, almost get hit
by cars because I'm dreaming, then I get back behind the page and keep going and
going until it's midnight and I wonder if anyone can hear the voices in the head
as clearly as I can. I wake up the next day super early and repeat the
process until I run out of bagels, at which point I go to the store to stock up
on more bagels. I have to figure out a way to not run out of bagels-- that
way I could write more.
But before that, I---
Start with a concept-- something that catches your mind's eye, then see what
that fits with-- another concept-- if it clicks, it clicks--
Doodles.
Music.
Drawings.
Music.
Sketches.
Music.
Pages and pages and pages of ridiculous details and nonsensical notes that
somehow connect together and form truths and magical moments.
Images that inspire me.
Then I pick apart that image and see what interests me.
I understand that you also expect to direct your next
script. Does it help your chances of getting a directing gig if you've had
a screenplay produced?
Certainly. Producing a film is the next step, which I look forward to
doing-- because no one wants to spend their time in development-- no one wants
to purchase a script and watch it sit-- we are all in this to make movies and
that's what I want to do with Dimension and future companies-- make this movie
so we can all sit together in the audience, the great execs, the hot
producers, the brilliant talent, the smooth agents, the loving managers, the
sharp lawyers, and all our friends and families CHEERING FOR THE HEROES WE
CREATED, howling with popcorn flying and sodas splashing. So yes,
I am going to do everything in my power to get this and every movie I write
made.
What are the best and worst parts of your job as a
writer?
There is no such thing as the worst part of being a writer. This is the
greatest job in the world and it is an absolute blessing to have.
You can ask me that in ten years and I will say the same thing
You can ask me that in 20 years and I will say the same thing.
I thank God every day that He has set me on this path and not the road to being
a plumber (no offense if you are a plumber).
What advice would you offer to new screenwriters?
Write every day. Be a nerd. Dream it up until your head spins from
the moisture of the clouds. It is possible. Write. Walk.
Draw. Run. Live fast. Be fearless. Go for it. Go
for it. Look, there is no plan-- my plan was this: write, write, write,
and someone will hopefully read, read, read, read, and they will say, "YES,
YES, YES, YES." Move your pen every day and say your
prayers every day. Give yourself to your craft and it will give itself to
you.
