Interview (Part 1): Stefan Jaworski

My interview with 2021 Black List writer for his script Mercury.

Stefan Jaworski wrote the original screenplay “Mercury” which landed on the 2021 Black List. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Stefan about his creative background, his script, the craft of screenwriting, and what making the annual Black List has meant to him.

Today in Part 1 of a 6-part series to run each day through Sunday, Stefan talks about his background writing television in his home country of Denmark.

Scott Myers: How did you develop an interest in writing for film and TV?

Stefan Jaworski: I think the same way people all over the world get interested, by watching it. All depending on what age you are when you venture into this world, you have these childhood-titles that are defining for you. I’m in my 40s, so mine were naturally the “Indiana Jones”-movies, the “Star Wars”-movies, “E.T.”, “Superman”, these grand adventures that are pure cinema. Until “Silence of The Lambs” came along, which — to me — is still the best movie ever made.

Then. I studied film and media at the University of Copenhagen. I was constantly gravitating towards writing, but simultaneously had a student job as an assistant tv-buyer for Denmark’s big public service network, DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation).

A turning point for me there were these two shows in 1999, which my boss and I acquired for Danish TV, and I remember having a great debate with him about whether anyone in Denmark would watch them, since they were both so fundamentally American. One of them was a little political show called “The West Wing,” and the other one was a little gangster show called “The Sopranos.”

I remember those two titles blowing me away, and totally changing everything I knew and understood about what television could be.

They’ve both been pivotal too, in each their way, in helping me identify the kind of tone, stories and genres that I love. The first being this amazingly brilliant, emotional, musical experience that only Sorkin creates. And then this psychologically intense, morally dualistic epiphany of a character study, that The Sopranos was. They were major inspirations, both of them. To me, the first two seasons of The West Wing is still the best television ever made.

Scott: What about screenwriting? Did you learn that at the university when you were going there?

Stefan: Yes and no. There is a strong screenwriter line on the Copenhagen film school, but I never went or even applied. We’re a good deal of Danish screenwriters who come from different backgrounds. Some are novelists, others journalists, and some of us come with a background in academia.

I studied as much screenwriting as I could, but it was 20 years ago, and the art form was not yet professionalized in the way that it is now. We were still a business building on an auteur-ish culture, where craft and art to some degree were seen as mutually exclusive, where I’ve always felt they’re intricately connected. One leads to the other.

Scott: Particularly, if you’re talking about shows like West Wing or The Sopranos, which combine them so beautifully.

Stefan: Yeah.

Scott: You’ve had a lengthy and successful career of doing a lot of TV primarily. Quite a few series seem to be in that crime‑drama space.

Stefan: Yes.

Scott: Was that something you fell into, or was that something you sought out?

Stefan: I think it’s a combination. The crime‑thriller, definitely, is a genre that I love. I love the character‑based, elevated thrillers, and organically drift towards those. So, for natural reasons, that’s also why the American side of my work life has very much been inside that box, because there is a strong tendency — and for natural reasons — to sharpen your profile in terms of genre and stories when you operate in the US.

Because Denmark is a much smaller community and business, most of us move more seamlessly between different genres and platforms. Which I really appreciate, since this whole notion that you write differently for television and film is honestly ridiculous. It’s all about shaping story, and then choosing in what form, length and format that story most organically unfolds.

So, yeah. I’ve been writing mostly crime and thrillers, but I love grounded sci-fi as well, and would love to write more of those. And I still dream of doing a big, high concept comedy. The next thing I have coming out in Denmark is this grand, musical romance.

Scott: When I first broke into the business in LA in 1987, it was TV or film, that was it. Now, with the explosive growth of television programming and the streaming services, there’s a lot of crossover.

Stefan: I understand why we all get pigeon-holed. Especially when you have a community as big and competitive as yours. It’s the world-league of moviemaking, the global heart of the entertainment business, and it’s only natural that you try to isolate and bring forward the optimal strength of every individual, and try to make the best of that special skill. It makes good sense. But there is that risk, of course, that we end up never making it past the genre that we broke through with.

Scott: For people who may not know, how does Danish TV work? Is it a collaboration between private and public funding? Is it mostly government funding?

Stefan: It is rapidly changing these years. For many years, since Denmark is such a small country with an equally limited audience, producing drama has essentially been the privilege of only the two major networks. The big public service network, Danish Broadcasting Corporation, who made most of the high-end Danish series you might know. “Borgen”, “The Killing” etc. And then the commercial TV2, who are more ABC’ish in profile, and focus on broad, family-oriented viewing, and have a very strong audience reach. Until recently, the profiles and audiences of those two networks essentially shaped what types of stories and genres we’ve been able to do in Denmark. And those of us, who maybe aspired or hoped to explore stories and genres outside those boxes, have had to do so outside of Scandinavia. That’s one of the reasons I’ve sought to write in the US. It has allowed me to write different stories than what I’ve been able to here at home. Luckily, however, other players are now emerging, especially the major streamers, of course, who are rapidly changing the whole business over here, as they have in the US.

To me, definitely to the better, since new platforms allow for a broader palette of storytelling. Ultimately, to the benefit of the audiences. I recently wrote a Danish adventure-horror series called ELVES, which was essentially a “Jurassic Park”-ish take on Elven folklore. That was great fun, and could never have existed without Netflix.

Tomorrow in Part 2, Stefan discusses the inspiration for his Black List script Mercury.

Stefan is repped by Lit Entertainment Group.

For my interviews with dozens of other Black List writers, go here.