Inspirational Words: Interview with Director and Writer Tim Ferguson!
Hey guys,
The past few weeks have been INSANELY BUSY!
I recently started a new job at the State Theatre in Sydney, which i love! I've also been finishing off a few book projects and preparing a little something i recently came up with.
The idea for this new blog series came to me back in June at Supanova and it was inspired by the very man i am featuring in this post - the very funny, the very charismatic Tim Ferguson.
For those of you who don't know who Tim is, he is the writer and director of new Aussie comedy Spin Out. I recently saw the film and it was fantastic! Such a fun movie.
Anyway, i met Tim at Supanova and it turns out we have quiet a few friends in common. I had quite a few questions for him about writing and about his life, so i organised to have a chat with him over the phone, and he agreed! This is a rough transcript from the interview. (There were other shenanigans that went down, but i can't include everything.) Anyway, i hope you enjoy my interview with Tim Ferguson.
LL: Growing up, did you always want to
be a writer?
TF: No, I really liked talking. I thought talking was where it was at.
Comedian. Actor.
When I got diagnosed with MS, I thought there was one thing I could do. And that was write comedy
LL: Did you always want to write for
film? Or other mediums as well?
It’s great fun writing and shooting film but my first love is live TV.
LL: How did you get into screenwriting?
LL: Is it difficult to make films in
Australia?
LL: Do you have any advice for budding
filmmakers and aspiring screenwriters who’d like to make it in the industry one
day?
Writers become too precious about their work.
And nobody is that good.
Don’t ever say 'dumbing down' again! What you mean to say is 'simplify' and
every script needs that. Simple demands that you are smarter. Stop being opaque
and ambiguous. It makes you look like a fool.
LL: How important is cultural diversity
in modern writing and film?
Not at all. Cultural diversity must always follow the ideas at hand. It’s good to be mindful of diversity in terms of casting, where appropriate. And it’s important to include people with disability in creative projects, on screen and off, including accurately portraying people with mental or intellectual disabilities.
But the story always comes first. What and who is the story about? Diversity on the page for its own sake can seem token and forced.
TF: What we need to do is get writers excited about disabled characters.
There are many obstacles they need to get over first before fighting the
bad guy and getting the girl.
A disability is only one thing.
There is nothing a disabled person can’t overcome because they’ve spent
their whole lives overcoming obstacles. Screen NSW are the first company to put
money behind disability.
LL: How did you get to where you are
today?
Now, for some fun! Here’s a few questions
I like to ask all writers.
LL: What’s your day look like? Give us a glimpse into the life of Tim
Ferguson.
TF: I start at 5am, write
til midday, breakfast, then I work the phones for 2 hours, and then I write til
my lovely Canadian wife comes home.
LL: Coffee or tea?
TF: Coffee. Who doesn't drink coffee?!
LL: Yeah, what is wrong with them?
LL: Who/ what inspires you?
TF: I like listening to Mahler. Quentin Kernihan.
LL: If you had the chance to have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
TF: Donald Trump. So, I could put masking tape around his head
and explain a few things to him.
LL: Who are your favourite writers?
TF: John Le Carre, Stephen King, Ursula
Laguin. (The wizard of Earth sea is recommended)
It was immensely fun talking to Tim.
His film Spin Out, is out now in Aussie cinemas!
His film Spin Out, is out now in Aussie cinemas!
Coming soon on the blog:
Look out for the next instalment in my new blog series: Inspirational Words - Interview with Director and writer Luke Sparke, and Author Dzintra Sullivan!
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