While it’s certainly a high-five moment when your TV pilot wins a prize in a screenwriting program, it doesn’t mean you’ve written your way to a network contract.
It just means you have more to write. A lot more.
That’s what Chris McKinney and Walter Dods III discovered in the year since their drama, "The ‘Aina," was named a finalist in the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Creative Lab. The Creative Lab started working with its second crop of screenwriters last week, so it’s probably good for them to know what to expect — and McKinney and Dods say it’s all good.
"It was one of the most educational years I have ever had," McKinney said.
The two writers received 12 months of mentoring as well as meetings with key players in the TV industry during a free trip to Los Angeles. And they met a seasoned producer who is now pitching "The ‘Aina" to a dozen outlets, including Showtime and Netflix.
But then it was back to work. They were told to come up with other projects, so they wrote two more pilots — one of them a supernatural thriller, the other a post-apocalyptic drama — as well as a sample script based on NBC’s "The Blacklist." After that they started researching a third pilot set amid the 1960s counterculture of Southern California.
"To me the most intimidating part of this whole process isn’t necessarily the competition," said McKinney, a novelist known for his unsparing depictions of contemporary life in Hawaii.
"To me it’s that one idea isn’t good enough," he said. "We can’t go all in on ‘The ‘Aina’ and sit around and wait and think if it happens, great, and if it doesn’t, we give up. We need backup ideas."
Of all their projects, only "The ‘Aina" has a Hawaii connection. It’s a crime drama full of mystery, corruption and intrigue that the writers set in Hilo and the surrounding Puna area, which they believe offers the perfect blend of poverty and crime. (And in a case of art imitating life, they also envision plenty of natural disasters.)
The writers are working with Dennis Leoni, who is best known as the executive producer of Showtime’s "Resurrection Blvd." series. When Leoni said he wanted to pitch "The ‘Aina" to Netflix, McKinney and Dods were ecstatic. They like the way Netflix releases an entire series at once so viewers can spread out the episodes or binge.
"And they are giving smaller filmmakers more control over the script," Dods said. "They are not spending as much money as the networks, but they are giving filmmakers more control over their stories. I think that is what makes Netflix work."
McKinney and Dods were also told that a resume built entirely of Hawaii stories would pigeonhole them.
"You have to prove that you can write about anything," said Dods, whose company, Saturation Point, produces narratives, documentaries and commercials. His short film "Kahea," which stars John Diehl, is in HIFF this year.
"We made a conscious effort to not write anything about Hawaii," Dods said. "We have to write things that have an appeal to a broad audience."
The writing, of course, is the hard part — specifically, finding good ideas. That’s the part that vexes McKinney, who can write fast when required.
"If you give me something to write about, I can do it," McKinney said. "But to come up with not just one, but four original ideas is hard."
The pace was less demanding when he wrote his novels.
"I was never in a rush," McKinney said. "The idea would come, and I would write about it and wait for the next one. But now this is a whole different ballgame. I have to sit there and generate ideas."
AND that’s a wrap …
Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
