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Tom Vaughan: Storyteller in residence
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Tom Vaughan is an honest guy. He’s an open book, ask him anything. He is a successful playwright, screenwriter, producer and director. It's his disarming and poignant honesty that comes through in Vaughan's writing. Vaughan studied at University of Houston under the tutelage of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee and renowned, Broadway, director and producer, Jose Quintero.
After college, Tom Vaughan spent over 7 years working in LA. Back in Texas, Tom Vaughan is working to build a production presence here in Houston. He has also reacquainted himself with Houston's theater community. He's acted in several productions as well as written plays that have been produced in both Houston and LA. Much sought after for his expertise as a storyteller; Vaughan is also a successful instructor of a hard core screenwriters course called “Story and Plot”. Tom Vaughan has written over 25 screenplays including “Unstoppable” with Wesley Snipes and “Critical Assembly” with Kathryn Heigl of “Grey's Anatomy” fame. Having made money on at least 15 of those, Vaughan has a good idea what he’s on about when he says the key to a good story is great structure.
Tom's most recent project is “Bronwyn & Clyde”, a script he co-wrote with Kristy Dobkin. UV Pictures, Vaughan's production company along with his partner, Chris Uettwiller, is producing the feature. Before heading off to LA for a mini working vacay, Vaughan took some time out to talk about his career in film.
Thanks for taking time out to speak with me today, I appreciate it very much. It's my pleasure. Thanks for your interest in my work.
Your feature “Bronwyn and Clyde” is slated to start shooting soon. Tell me about the process of bringing it to the screen. “Bronwyn and Clyde didn’t sell originally. It was originally called “Mr. and Mrs. Pierce”. Our script went out on spec about the same time as “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” was released. A lot of studio execs compared it to “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” although they are quite different. It was simply the title that was similar. Then a couple of years later, my producing partner checked to see if there was any interest in the property. There was, and Barry Sonnenfeld jumped on board to direct. That jump started some momentum for the project and for us. While Barry is no longer attached to the film, we’re looking to have a new director on board by the end of October. Production is scheduled for early next year.
You moved back to Texas a few years back. Was that a big deal for you? It was huge for me. I was living in LA and things were pretty good in terms of work. It wasn't an easy decision. Personally, thoug, I wasn’t very happy. I didn't like the way LA made me feel about myself. I have friends who love it, but it played into far too many insecurities of mine. It’s not a good fit for me.
Having worked in Hollywood, you have an idea of what is expected and some understanding of how the game is played. What would you like to see happen in Houston? Ideally, I would like to see more home-grown content. More productions that are originated by Houston talent and not so much emphasis on competing with other cities and states to bring in outside productions.
What do you see on the horizon for Houston in the next couple of years in terms of filmmaking? I think that in the next year or so we'll have a better sense of which direction Houston will be moving. [What about the new Moving Picture Incentive Act that Governor Perry signed into law?] It’s great. There’s no downside to it. It does nothing but help. That being said, I don't think bringing in outside dollars is as important as creating our own content and raising our own capital.
What are some drawbacks on the movie making scene in Houston? It seemed like for awhile that everyone wanted to be in charge and just do their own thing. But the current pie is small and there will have to be more collaboration to get that pie bigger. And I have seen a lot of collaboration recently so I am very optimistic. If things keep moving in that direction everyone will feed off each other’s success.
I have a question for my own edification. I’ve seen as many good films as bad. Don’t the directors/producers know when a film is bad? *Chuckle* Sometimes you can’t stop the machine once it’s rolling. This is why understanding story structure is so important. That’s where most stories collapse. People get distracted. Directors, executives, they can fall in love with things outside the actual story. It happens all the time. We have a great idea but we forget to turn it into an actual story. It remains just a concept, even as it’s being filmed. And it doesn’t work. And that’s not even counting the thousand other things that can go wrong in a production. Sometime those things can effect what the editor has to work with, and the story structure collapses then. But it’s almost always the story structure that doesn’t work.
Why did you decide to teach your class, “Story and Plot”? I first taught a 10 week course and discovered that I actually had something to say and that I was pretty good at it. From that I created the “Story and Plot” courses. I think it is important for writers starting out to have a genuine mentor. Of course, you can read books and take online courses and seminars. But you can’t expect to absorb that information and just start writing effectively. You need that loop of feedback.
Do you think someone who just attends your seminar is prepared to work in the business? Honestly no. Not unless they’ve done some other work previously. No one can come into my seminar and expect that they'll be ready. [Vaughan offers a seminar as an intro to his 'Story and Plot' course.] You can’t train any profession with just a few seminars. It takes a mentor or years and years of trial and error. You’re better off with a mentor.
Are you a hardass as an instructor? Yes. I have a reputation among my students. You need a thick skin in this business. We get brutal. There are other places in town for hobbyists. We are no holds barred. My course is about teaching professionals. Not everyone remains in the class. Not everyone is ready, which is fine. Not everyone is meant to tell stories. I mean, my mom can't tell a story, and I love her more than anyone in the world. There is nothing wrong with not being a natural storyteller. Just having the dream isn't enough; you also need to have the goods. The whole point of the course is to develop material you can sell. These are professional level development sessions.
So what new things are you working on? Well “Bronwyn and Clyde” is slated to start next year. In the interim, the production team will be doing a low budget feature. In a way, it's an experiment to see how low we can go. It should start shooting in the fall. In addition, I have some things with potential that we are shopping right now. I have a writing partner in LA. I'll be heading out to LA in mid-September.
Do you feel that you need to be in Hollywood to be successful as a filmmaker? That all depends on what you want. If you want to work in television, then yes. If you want to work on assignments then absolutely. No way around it, you have to be there. If you want to sell spec scripts, which is nearly impossible these days, then you don't necessarily have to be there, but you need to be in a position to travel out there often. I’m very fortunate. My writing partner lives out in LA and so does my producing partner.
Do you consider yourself a writer or a storyteller? A storyteller. It’s what we emphasize in the classes. Consider yourself a storyteller first. It is the telling of the story that matters. It’s subtle, but it’s important. When you see yourself as a screenwriter or even a writer, there is a natural focus on yourself. You’re putting your own ego up front. I do it all the time and the writing suffers because of it. The writing is always best when you get yourself out of the way and focus on the story. Stop trying to show off what a great writer you are, how smart and clever you are, and just tell the story. It’s not about you. As a writer, there is an insecurity that can set in. As a storyteller, you're putting your focus on telling the story.
Are you what is termed a high concept filmmaker? I'm not a high concept guy. It doesn’t come naturally to me, even though I have commercial tastes. I'm more interested in story. I like working in the “Independent” area right now. Distribution is changing. It’s an immensely exciting time. So much of the studio game is different now. I'm focused on different things.
What do you see as problematic within the Hollywood studio system? Not enough actual training on the executive side. Not enough development people really know how to develop material. There are not enough people skilled in the craft of helping writers make their scripts genuinely better. It’s very tough to do, of course, but that is their job, isn’t? Some are very good at it, of course, but not enough. I’ve been lucky to work with a few people who were very good at it and you always want to keep working with them.
Follow the link to find out more about “Story and Plot”.
Where do you think a lot of scriptwriters slip up? They don't understand structure. When you get better at understanding structure then the framework is there for you. You make those initial choices and it liberates you to create for the audience. It’s always about structure. Even stories like “Memento” may look innovative from the outside, but look beneath the surface and the structure is there. There is a structural framework for every good story. I'm always a little frightened when I hear someone say they don't worry about structure. When there's a problem with a story it is almost always a structural issue. This is especially true at the professional level, where they tons of production value, they’re fine writers, fine shooters and fine actors. What’s left to screw up? The story, of course.
What advice would you give those looking to get started or transition into this business? My suggestion is to begin to watch movies from a variety of POV’s. Start to really study structure. Both story structure, and scene structure. See what works and see what doesn’t for you. Write, write, write and then write some more. Learn to say as much as you can in as few words as possible. Don’t try to make everything so artistically ambitious. Just tell a story. Telling a good story is ambitious enough! Shoot for something commercial as possible, but if not, at least keep the budget down. Help yourself out, Make it easier on yourself that way. It’s important to keep your ego out of the process, though that’s mind-bogglingly difficult to do. Just because I can say it, doesn’t mean I can do it. But you have to try and you’ll do your best work in those moments when you succeed.
How do you define success? I want to tell the best stories I can. I’m lucky though, because my tastes are pretty commercial.
Any last bit of advice. Just do it?
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