Interview (Part 1): Alysha Chan and David Zarif

My interview with the 2024 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winners.

Alysha Chan and David Zarif wrote the original screenplay “Miss Chinatown” which won a 2024 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with the couple about their creative background, their award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl has meant to them.

Today in Part 1 of a 6-part series to run each day through Saturday, Alysha and David reflect on their writing backgrounds and their “meet cute” story.

Scott Myers: Welcome. Congratulations on winning the 2024 Nicholl.

Alysha Chan: Thank you so much.

Scott: Let’s start with Alysha. How did you find your way into writing as an interest and then eventually screenwriting?

Alysha: Writing has always been a part of my life in some form. In college, I wrote a couple of novel-length works, and I’ve written short stories for fun from time to time. However, Miss Chinatown was my first foray into screenwriting. I was in search of a creative outlet and David suggested we give it a try. In preparation, I read “Save the Cat” as well as a ton of Blacklist scripts to get a feel for the craft.

Scott: Where’d you go to college?

Alysha: I first went to Scripps, one of the Claremont Colleges, then studied environmental engineering at Columbia University.

Scott: I’ve talked to a few screenwriters who have an engineering background. Is there some applicability there for you in terms of how you think about writing?

Alysha: I think so. I’m very analytical and detail-oriented, and that’s helped keep our writing grounded and structured.

David Zarif: She’ll wake up in the dead of the night and be like, “It doesn’t make sense that Sally went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for lentil soup and then made the soup that same night when lentils need 2–4 hours to soak.” And I’m like, “Look, if that’s the biggest problem in our script, we have the most airtight narrative in the history of modern cinema.” Kidding aside, her critical analysis has really saved us in some tricky moments. It’s all about spotting those little inconsistencies that might slip through the cracks.

Scott: David, how about you? How did you get into screenwriting?

David: I took a screenwriting class in college, and we were supposed to write a script over the course of the semester, which is really ambitious now that I think of it. Anyway, I ended up turning in like 20 pages. I remember my professor sitting across from me at his desk, holding my very light script in his hands. And the only words out of his mouth were, “What is this?” Which is not the sort of inspirational feedback you wanna hear from your first attempt at screenwriting. I was like, “Sir, this writing thing… it’s not as easy as I thought.” He started laughing. I think he ended up giving me a B. After moving out to LA, I thought, “Hey, I’m gonna give screenwriting another shot.” And so I started writing again, this time with the goal of getting past page 20.

Scott: Where’d you go to college?

David: University of Michigan.

Scott: Oh, yeah, they have a strong screenwriting program. I know Jim Bernstein who heads it up.

David: Yeah, big screenwriting program. I never took a class with him, unfortunately. Like I said, I was 20 pages-and-out. But I think Adam Hertz wrote American Pie while he was at Michigan, for a class with Jim.

Scott: The original title of the script was “Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million” or something like that.

Alysha: Ooo catchy.

Scott: That was the original title that they went out with, yes. Sold in a bidding war, as I recall. Ah, the 90s spec script market.

[laughter]

Scott: Okay, back to you two. How did you meet?

Alysha: First off, we are a married couple. We actually got married the day before Nicholl Week started, which was crazy.

David: We were married in Big Sur on a Sunday, packed up all our things that night, and left early the next morning. We made a pit stop at a library along the way to hop on the first two Nicholl Zoom meetings that kicked off the week, then kept driving home to LA.

Alysha: Then the next night was the Nicholl ceremony.

David: On the drive home, we worked on our acceptance speech.

Scott: So the Nicholl week was like your honeymoon.

David: Yeah, it was like a trip to Hawaii, but instead of leis we got to meet Destin Daniel Cretton… who is from Hawaii, now that I think about it. Hmm.

Scott: Fun story.

Alysha: To answer your question, we met as background extras on the set of a TV show. I had recently signed up with a casting company, and the day I met David was the only day I ever worked as an extra.

David: We were in a wedding scene, we were paired together.

Alysha: As a bridesmaid and a groomsman.

Scott: Oh, my God. That’s totally like a ‘meet-cute’ for a rom-com.

Alysha: Oh, I know. It’s like 20% of the reason I married him — for the story.

David: We’re trying to incorporate it into our next idea. So, yeah, a seemingly scripted encounter.

Scott: That’s an amazing story. You don’t necessarily know when it’s happening that it’s like fate is involved. Alysha, the only day you’re an extra on set, and you’re both in a wedding party …

Alysha: I called in sick from my day job to do it, too. My mom was excited for me. She thought I’d be “discovered.” She was like, “Miss work, just do this.”

David: I’m sure she was second guessing her enthusiasm after I showed up.

Tomorrow in Part 2, David and Alysha talk about the real-life inspiration for their Nicholl-winning screenplay “Miss Chinatown.”

For my interviews with every Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner since 2012, go here.