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With Hollywood chasing down IP after IP, why toil over a 110-page original spec script when you can write and sell a 20-page short story instead?
That’s what Javier Gullón did recently with his sci-fi short story, N. There was so much buzz, in fact, that Gullón even had the option between feature film and television series offers.
“Meeting brilliant producers and brilliant people... It was a great process and a difficult decision to make,” he acknowledges, still sounding a bit in awe of it all. “I was having a lot of fun. It’s an amazing situation to be in.” Gullón opted for a feature film deal in the end, which he will also write.
It’s not really that simple, of course. Gullón already has an extensive track record in Hollywood and abroad. He wrote Enemy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Aftermath with Arnold Scwharzenegger, as well as the indie film Treading Water, about a boy who smells like fish.
“That movie was the beginning of my trip to America,” says the Spanish writer. A Canadian producer fell in love with Gullón’s script and ended up making Treading Water. He was so impressed with Gullón, that he introduced him to acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve who was looking for someone to adapt José Saramago’s novel, The Double, at the time. Gullón’s adaptation, which became the film Enemy, jump-started the American branch of Gullón’s career. He relocated to Los Angeles soon after.
Although Gullón had the idea that he might want to adapt N at some point, he did not write it with the specific intention of selling it to a production company. “I wrote it for pure pleasure,” he admits. And isn’t that where the best material can come from, sometimes?
The story follows a female journalist on a remote island who, confronted with a potentially devastating experiment in DNA, must save herself and the future of the human race.
N blends realistic ideas that are very much grounded in the here and now, with science fiction. More than a decade ago, Gullón pursued a strong interest in anthropology; specifically, ancient cave dwelling sites, many of which have been discovered in Spain. At the time, he had no idea that his passion for the subject would eventually lead to a short story and a feature film deal.
Like many who work in genre, Gullón does not consider himself a science fiction writer. “I love fiction in general. Any kind of fiction.” He’s particularly drawn to characters and the humanity within stories. But he does appreciate the framework science fiction provides for talking about the things he’d like to explore. “Sci-fi gives me a landscape. I think it’s great to add that cinematic atmosphere.”
It was during college while pursuing a radio-television-film-journalism degree that Gullón started writing short stories of all genres. That lead to co-writing a feature screenplay that was sold, but never made. He wrote for Spanish television in the early stages of his career, but remained focused on film, including the features El rey de la montaña (King of the Hill), Hierro, and Invasor (Invader) — so maybe it’s no surprise after all that N will grace the big screen.
The most obvious difference Gullón sees between the film industries in Hollywood and Spain: size. “Here, there is an industry. And it’s huge. In, Spain, we can’t even call it an industry. We have a very small market and very few people. But in that small group is a lot of talent; brilliant filmmakers and brilliant writers working there, and brilliant producers.”
Another difference is the lack of agents and lawyers for writers. “People trying to get the rights to a short story – that would not happen in Spain the way it happened in this case.” The absence of the writer during production is similar, however. Screenwriters in Spain aren’t usually requested to be on set while filming features, either.
So thus the move to American has been good to Gullón, as has science fiction. Between N, a feature for Warner and Sue Kroll based on another of his original short stories titled First, and yet another short story, Satellite, that he’s developing for Legendary TV, plus a sci-fi pilot called Glare for Bad Robot; his plate is full. But, he declares, “I never write two things at the same time.”
Gullón is quick to clarify: “When I’m in different stages of the process, I can do certain things at the same time.” Thankfully, it’s unusual for multiple projects to be in exactly the same stage of production. That way if he’s creating a treatment for one project, Gullón might be mapping out characters or a bible for another.
“But if I have to write two treatments or especially two drafts at the same time? That’s hard and I don’t do it. I avoid it.” Of course, when juggling numerous projects, there is always “wait time” while someone reads the current draft or prepares notes for the writer. “That is great, because you can work on other things!”
And there’s no shortage of things for him to do. With a wife, a toddler, and a new baby at home, Gullón works hard to balance family and work life, too. “Oh, it’s not easy, but you try your best,” he laughs. “We recently had our second child, and that’s when we realized that, oh my God, we need to put the older [child] somewhere, right?”
But the family priorities are forcing him to really capitalize on his work time. “Before I had kids, I was sitting at my desk for seven hours a day. Now, I’m sitting at my desk for maybe five. But those five are more valuable. I think I use them better. It’s the pressure of doing it. And you know that after 4:30 or 5:00 p.m., you are going to be with your kids.”
Would that be pertinent advice to aspiring screenwriters; use your time wisely? Gullón offers far more valuable words, straight from his heart.
“The happiest moments of my career were when I was writing alone, with nobody asking me to do it. Also, to be honest, with nobody paying me to do it. And those moments were not only the happiest, but they were the moments that I got the best results later. Write whatever is inside of you,” he continues. “Don’t wait for anybody to ask you to write it. And then, show it to the world. And fingers crossed.”
Incidentally, both of his hits, Enemy and Treading Water were spec scripts of Gullón’s as well. So, writers, perhaps the lesson isn’t necessarily to go short, but rather, don’t give up on your original screenplays just yet. IP may be king, but the power of an original is undeniable.