1. What’s your name? Where were you born? Where do you live? And what’s your hobby? 

My name is Raymond Warrillow. I was born in Birmingham, England. I now live in Solihull which is near Birmingham. My two main hobbies are writing stories and painting landscape pictures.  (I have attached some paintings to show you what I do) 

2. Where did you come up with the concept that just placed as Finalist in the screenplay contest? How long did it take you to develop it into the screenplay it is now? 

I am a born storyteller and stories come very easily to me. I do not begin any story until I know the beginning, the middle, the end, the characters involved and the sub-plots.  I began my storytelling nearly forty years ago. My first story was about how the human mind came into existence and how the first human being with a mind coped with living with mindless men, woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. Since then I have written 45 full-length stories and turned about 36 of them into novels. The other 8 were written as screenplays. I am not a great writer and I struggled with getting my stories published and so about 10 years ago I began to turn them into screenplays and to enter them into international screenplay competitions. I am a lousy screenplay writer and so I edited all 45 screenplays again. They were still rubbish and so I edited them all again. I have now edited them all about five times and they are now just about good enough, I think. Even though my screenplays were rubbish the stories are good and so I have been reasonably successful and these are my achievements in international screenplay competitions.   

1 novel was in the last 35.  

3 novels were in the last 10. 

1 novel was a finalist. (2 novels now) 

7 novels reached the quarter-finals. 

3 novels won 3 international screenplay competitions. 

I had hoped to be approached by agents and film directors, but alas this has not happened and so I am reaching out for help.  I need someone to help me turn my screenplays into films.    

3. From concept to finished draft, can you take us through your screenwriting process? 

When I have a new idea for a story that I believe will make a good film, I type a sort of synopsis of the story. Then I type the story. I then re-wites the story several times before I am satisfied with it. I then write the story as a screenplay. My last eight stories have been written just as screenplays and as I have told you, I had to edit them at least five times. 

4. When did you realize that you wanted to become a screenwriter? 

When I failed at getting my novels published and made into films. I was hoping that if I won an international screenplay competition it would open the door to my stories being made into films. I am still waiting. I am hoping that if I win this competition all my hard work will be worth it.  

5. Who are your biggest filmmaking/screenwriting influences? What about their style do you like or borrow? 

There must be many that have influenced me, although I have developed my own style. I write graphically and I like to stretch a person’s emotions in every direction.  

6. Have you ever been obsessed with a movie or TV show? If so, which one? Why? 

No.  

7. What’s your favorite moment in cinema history? Why? 

When I watched Bambi with my mother and my sisters. I was about eight and I remember my mother and sisters crying.   

8. Who’s your favorite character in cinema history? Why? 

I have many, such as Amybeth McNulty in Anne with an E.  

9. If you could talk to anyone from any era, who would it be and what would you ask them? 

Princess Diana. I wrote a screenplay, Di Lady Die, about how she was assassinated and I would like to ask her about her life.