Writer Spotlight; Pia Cook

For those of you who have been at this writing thing for a while, the name Pia Cook should mean something to you. Pia is one of the best examples of how to keep a razor-sharp focus when the chips are down. What do I mean by that? Stay in this business long enough and you will see the “real” side of screenplay writing. The hard side. The side that makes lesser writers walk away. 

The truly focused ones like Pia push through and persevere.

Pia has also resolved to take matters into her own hands and get on the business side of the camera to produce her own work. And you know what? She’s kicking ass. She’s building her own sets, filming her own shorts and getting better and better with each one she completes. 

Her latest short, Coulrophobia, https://vimeo.com/238055097 was shot using a custom-built elevator just for the story. You newbies should remember that when cringing about how much your screenwriting software is going to cost you.

I met Pia almost 10 years ago in a forum far far away and she’s one of the few writers still around from a pool of dozens I once chatted with. Most have picked up their toys and gone home having not written the next Shawshank Redemption by their third script. But Pia is still at it. Still reinventing herself and still not allowing the sharp side of this business to cut her too deep - Shawn.

Let's get to know you a bit. How many screenplays have you written to date?

I have no idea. Maybe a hundred shorts and maybe twenty plus features. I started writing in -06 and since then, I’ve gone through three computers and a couple of websites and a lot of scripts got lost along the way. I’m not very organized, so I don’t go those extra few seconds to store stuff safely somewhere. 

So what made you do it? What made you say one day, hey I want to write a screenplay?   

I’ve always loved writing. When I was eleven or so in Sweden, we had a writing assignment in school. We were supposed to write a short little story about one page long. I ended up writing ten pages and it turned out to be just the first chapter, lol.  

I loved movies when I was younger.  They took you places. Took you on a journey. Made you experience things. Amazing things. I don’t feel the same nowadays, btw. I haven’t seen a movie I loved in a theater in years. But, when I was younger, loving movies and loving writing, it wasn’t a decision that had to be made. It just happened naturally.

Fast forward 10 years. Where do you want to be in this industry?   

I’ll be pretty old by then, but If I could make a little money here and there to support my hobby of making films, that would be total success for me. 

Tell me about the best line or scene you’ve ever written. The one that gave you chills when you wrote it.   

I don’t know if I’ve ever had any moments like that. Maybe a part in A Mime Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.   

A male mime is in a relationship with a male ventriloquist puppet. It’s a relationship formed out of loneliness. No one likes mimes and no one likes puppets, so they are pretty much all they’ve got. The puppet is very abusive to the mime. One night in a motel room, the puppet gets a phone call. He’s told to kill the mime. If he doesn’t, he will no longer be able to speak. The puppet can’t do it. He confesses to the mime that if he kills him, then he has no one... 

It worked better in the script.

We’ve all hit the wall. What brought you to say, that’s it. I’m done. No more. And what brought you back?

It gets very frustrating sometimes. People want your work, but no one seems to think it’s worth any money. They think writers should be happy with credits...  Occasionally, money does come into the picture and you sell a script, but as soon as the deal is done, you’re out of the picture. No one thinks about the writer again. We’re really treated with very little respect. We’re the lowest rung on the ladder, yet without us, they wouldn’t have anything to shoot.

I remember when I was shooting a short film that a friend of mine had written. It was the second day of the shoot, everyone, actors and crew, had a copy of the script in hand and had been staring at the script all day. I asked everyone to not look at the script and then tell me who the writer was. It was right there on the cover page! No one knew. At that moment I suddenly felt really depressed. That was when I realized how little respect the writers have., but I love to write and script writing is the only writing I know, so I always end up coming back.

If you could write alongside of anyone, who would be the lucky writer?   

Co-writing is VERY hard. Some people do better when they write as a team. I don’t seem to be able to pull that off. If I had to pick one though, it would probably be my favorite author, Stephen King. I don’t think he would consider himself lucky though. I would probably be so intimidated I’d just sit there speechless with absolutely no ideas of my own.

Out of all your scripts, which one do you want to be filmed the most?

When I look back at my early scripts, I get embarrassed. They were so bad. I didn’t think that at the time, but as I get better I see how crummy they were. So, it would definitely have to be one of the newer ones. Maybe, Wanna Play?.  A horror feature based on a short film my friend Dena McKinnon and I shot early October this year. A clown horror/thriller.

When and why did you decide to make the transition from writer to director/producer?  

Very seldom does a film turnout exactly like the script. Sometimes, the film doesn’t even resemble the script much at all. Having directed a few shorts now, I know how that can happen, but as a writer that can be very frustrating. That’s how it started for me. I wanted my vision turned into a film. I still have never managed to make one exactly like the script though. It’s much harder than you’d think.

What do you think of contest and festivals? Great deal or money takers with little value?  

I don’t really have any experience with either to have an opinion.

Tell me how you came up with the name Gator Tales? 

I tell tales and I live in Gainesville Florida, home of the Gators. They also play in a stadium nicknamed the Swamp, so that’s where I also came up with the production company name Swamp Tales Films. 

To some of your tools. What writing platform do you use? In that same vein, when filming, what are some of your favorite tools as well?

I use Final Draft when I write. I’m used to it, so it’s mostly out of familiarity. I only use it for formatting. I don’t use any of the other features. In other words, as long as you know the correct alignments and fonts, you don’t really need any particular software. It’s story and everything that goes into that that matters. That’s the hard part.

Camera, lighting, post production software? I’ve always used Final Cut Pro, but I don’t do much of that anymore. Things have changed so much and so fast, I haven’t been able to keep up. 

Is it better to own the equipment in your opinion, or rent?

When I first set out to film my own stuff, I bought the hottest camera at the time. I was ready to get going. It didn’t take long however, before technology made that camera obsolete. Now we’re even farther into the technology and a lot of people are shooting in 4k. That means the cameras are very sophisticated now and not cheap either. Add to that that most people watch movies at home on big screen HD TVs. Not to mention how some TV shows look like epic productions nowadays. People expect films to not just have a good story, but look slick as well. There’s no way an amateur like me can keep up with the technology and learn how to use it too. I prefer to hire professional DPs that have their own gear. Multiple lenses, lights and know how to utilize it all. If you can’t get a professional cinematographer, see if you can find one who has his own gear and is willing to do the work for credits. It will make things look better and you don’t have to work on just setting up the equipment for the scene, you can concentrate on working with the actors.

Has it been worth it? Writing, filming, producing? Does it still excite you? What part is most gratifying?

Yes, I enjoy it, even if a bit disappointing at times. It’s a very rough rollercoaster ride, but I’m not trying to do this for a living, so I can shrug it off when I hit the lows in that ride. 

One of the most gratifying parts for me was a real surprise. When the actors tell you you’re a good director and want to come and work with you again. I never expected that.

What’s the worst part of filming your own material?   

When someone in the cast or crew stares at the script and says, who wrote this?

If you could sum up your experience as a writer, director and producer in one sentence, what would it be?

You only learn by doing, so, just do it.

And lastly, what piece of advice would you give a newbie writer out there just starting out?

A good idea is not enough. There’s a lot more to writing a great script than it first seems. I’ve been doing this for awhile, and I realize I still have a long way to go. If you want to make a career of this, you really really need to study and write write write. 

I used to be really into horses and I always loved to watch world class riders, especially dressage riders. They can make the horses look like majestic magical animals performing movements that look impossible while they seemingly just sit there in the saddle. That’s because they are pros. They’ve practiced for years and years. We can’t see all the cues they give the horses because they are too subtle. That’s what great writers do too. Wether I’m reading a script or a book, you know your reading the work of a pro when you only see the story and don’t notice the writing itself.