KIP PEARSON
 KIP PEARSON
How did you discover The Palm Springs International Screenplay Awards and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others?
I found Palm Springs International Screenplay Awards on Film Freeway. Where do you live (City, State, or Country)? I live in San Rafael CA (Near San Francisco). Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel? What inspires your overall journey into screenwriting? I’ve written several short and feature length screenplays and produced three of them into short films. I am a visual person so movie scripts mean I get to bring those visual ideas to my storytelling. North Beach is actually the pilot version of The Falcon, a feature screenplay and Mona’s North Beach Noir, a short film I produced in 2024. If you have produced a Pitch Deck, Sizzle Reel, or Trailer, what was that process like for you? Did you have professional help or has it been a DIY task? How long did it take to produce? I have created a pitchdeck and series bible for North Beach and The Falcon that are available upon request. How do you decide which stories to tell, and what draws you to these particular themes? My stories are all character driven, and LGBTQ/female focused. I’m also a big fan of historical settings and period noirs. San Francisco is my adopted home and I am truly in love with the place. The North Beach/Falcon story world takes place in that historic neighborhood during the post war, beat and jazz era. What is your typical writing routine? How do you structure your workday to stay productive? I don’t have a ‘write everyday’ discipline and only dive into something when a character or storyline or location speaks to me about some significant theme. Then I work like crazy to fill in all the spaces. I need to feel a beginning-middle-end pretty clearly before I start. How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN? I generally outline and have specific locations and story beats in mind before I start. I also spend a lot of time fleshing out the characters before diving into the actual story. The North Beach/Falcon world presented itself to me several years ago and I’ve been developing and expanding it for at least six years. Every rewrite or feedback I get enhances it even more. The feedback I got from the Palm Spring Int’l Screenplay competition for both North Beach and in 2025 for The Falcon has been the best and most constructive of any competition my scripts have won laurels in. How do you handle writer's block or moments of doubt (we all have them) during your creative process? I will move to helping other filmmakers with their productions until I’m inspired for a new project of my own. I’ve crewed on some 30 short, feature and pilot projects in various roles. It helps my writing to be on set to understand the best way to construct a story to film. What tools or software do you find essential to your workflow as a screenwriter? Final Draft, Premier Pro, Shot Deck, etc. How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests? Which contests have you entered...and how has your work been received overall? Have those contests been helpful to you in your writing? I submit only to competitions that offer feedback that I can afford and some are better than others. Palm Springs Int’l Screenplay Awards is the best yet. I’ve won laurels for several projects in San Francisco Int’l Screenplay Awards, Blue Cat, Final Draft, Los Angeles Screenplay Awards, Cinequest, oronto LGBTQ Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, Burbank Film Festival, Pasadena Film Festival, and a number of others. Can you share a specific challenge you've faced in your screenwriting and how you overcame it? Writing comes easy, it’s getting it out to producers and agents for full production that’s the hard part. While I’ve made low budget short films and love the production part, I really want my work to be backed by more resources than I can bring to them. If you are balancing your “writing time” with a “day job”...how are you managing that? I’m retired so I can indulge my time any way I please. It frees up the imagination for more stories and I’m grateful that I am able to get back to filmmaking at this point in my life. I put it off for a long time. It’s a good thing I waited because I understand the world so much better than I did in my earlier life. Where do you see yourself in five years as a screenwriter? Witnessing one of my stories made into a blockbuster film or TV series. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? Witnessing one of my stories made into a blockbuster film or TV series. The film and television industry is constantly evolving. How do you see the role of screenwriters changing, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence? Have you used A.I. in your writing; if so, how have you used it? I have only used AI to summarize research material. Storytelling will always be storytelling, although it’s hard to image machine learning could ‘write’ anything as emotionally nuanced as a tortured artist human being. There will always be a platform for good human stories in my opinion. Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? Jane Campion and Chloe Jhao even though their best work has been adaptations. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? Way too many to list. What advice do you have for aspiring screenwriters or filmmakers? Don’t give up on your dreams. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? (links to your projects?) I have feature comedy script I am polishing called Goddess Bakery about an retired ex-military matron who finds herself trying to keep three kids from going into foster care even though she knows nothing about kids herself. I have a short script called Emmet & Joey that is about two queer country kids in the sixties who discover rock & roll through a transistor radio. It has won many, many laurels and I am expanding it into a feature film. lso, I’m starting a new feature under the working title of RiverDale about a woman researcher trapped in a mental institution in the 70s. I’m also thinking about the North Beach series as a graphic novel or animated film. There’s more about my work and a link to my short films on my website: http://crashingpictures.com Where can the world find you online? (Social media links, etc.) I’m on Facebook as Kip Pearson but best to contact me through my website http://crashingpitcures.com or 415 686 4785 |
