Interview (Part 2): Kryzz Gautier

My interview with 2021 Black List writer for her script “Wheels Come Off.”

Kryzz Gautier wrote the screenplay “Wheels Come Off” which made the 2021 Black List. I had the opportunity to chat with Kryzz about her creative background, her script, the craft of screenwriting, and what making the annual Black List has meant to her.

Today in Part 2 of a 6-part series to run each day through Sunday, Kryzz discusses her varied professional background which includes writing for video games, adapting comic books, and directing theatrical plays.

Scott: Great. Video games. BioShock 4. Is that right? Were you involved in that?

Kryzz: Yeah. I’m currently writing and being a creative consultant on BioShock 4. That was very surprising. They approached me out of nowhere. I have never played a minute of video games in my life.

Scott: Wow.

Kryzz: Same reaction I had. I got an email one day saying, “You came highly recommended. We’ve heard you’re very good at world-building. Would you be interested in meeting with us?” Because that’s what I do. I’m a genre writer and I do world-building. That’s primarily what I focus on. I walked into the meeting and was very honest from the beginning. I said, “I haven’t touched a video game console in my life.”

They said, “It’s okay. We have more than enough people here who are video game nerds. We’re looking for someone who is good at world-building and who will bring this very particular perspective that we need.”

Scott: By world-building, are you talking about literally the nature of the environment, the story universe, or does that also involve character development?

Kryzz: It’s all things.

Scott: Okay. [laughs]

Kryzz: NDAs, man. [laughs]

Scott: No, I get it.

Kryzz: There are other jobs that I’ve met for with big franchises like comic book adaptations and superhero stuff, things that I also don’t participate in or partake in. I’ve been brutally honest from the beginning. I tell them, “I’m not a comic book nerd. I don’t follow these things.” The response has always been: “We’ve read your work and we’re big fans of what you’re doing. We’re just interested in your voice. We have people here who are the comic book encyclopedias or are this or that, so we’re interested in bringing this fresh perspective into our rooms.”

People have been approaching me because I’m a genre-driven creator, but I’m only attracted to a very particular type of genre. I’m not in the comic book, superhero, or video game space. I’m a sci-fi writer, but it’s also a specific kind of sci-fi. There are a lot of sub-genres within the giant umbrella. I’m the “Another Earth” flavor of sci-fi instead of “Battlestar Galactica”. I also do a lot of magical realism mixed with fantasy. But again, not all fantasy is cut from the same cloth. “Big Fish” and “Game Of Thrones” are on opposite ends of that scale. There, I’m “Beasts Of The Southern Wild” or “The Fall” type of fantasy, not “Lord Of The Rings”. My manager has said that a lot of my work is “Alex Garland meets Michael Gondry”. But somehow, I seem to be falling into worlds outside those fringes of sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism because of my particular set of skills.

Scott: I’m sure it must be an interesting experience for you. Maybe even stretching you a bit as a writer?

Kryzz: Yeah, for sure. It’s interesting when you start getting those calls where it’s like, “I don’t do this type of stuff.” And their response is, “Yeah, but we think you’d be very good at it.”

Scott: I find that encouraging. I teach at film school and have interfaced with writers for many years now. Of course, I tell them that, they want people with a unique voice, with a distinctive voice, with an interesting voice. What you’re saying suggests that that’s actually true. I’m not feeding them a lie.

Kryzz: I keep running into “voice trumps all”. At least to a certain extent. That is until you get to the buyer level, then the buyer won’t take a risk because you’re “unproven”. They turn around and go with the white male showrunner or writer who’s been doing it for thirty years because the white guy has the “experience”. That’s how minorities never get the opportunity to move up the ladder. They stay “unproven” because no one will take a chance on them. That leaves a lot of voices and perspectives behind. It’s a missed opportunity.

Scott: Hopefully, that’s changing. Carve more of a path for yourself and other folks who are not white guys. And I say that speaking as a white guy. You’ve also directed a theatrical play. Is that right?

Kryzz: I did. That was an interesting experience. That play won an audience award at the theater festival it was a part of. It was the first and only play I’ve ever directed. Again, I was approached to do it out of the blue. Seems like a pattern here. [laughs] I didn’t seek it out, but that opportunity was compelling to me because when you do TV and film, you work on that for years, and years, and years before it even sees the light of day IF it sees the light of day. There’s no immediate gratification whatsoever. Even when it airs, or you put it out there somehow, you don’t get to hear the audience’s live response unless you’re sitting in the room or the theater with them, but for the most part, you don’t. You’re never there unless it’s the premiere, for example. With this play, I was in the theater amongst the audience for the couple of shows we did. You get to hear them laugh or gasp when they’re supposed to. It was a bit intoxicating to witness real-time responses and get to talk to the audience after the shows. It was gratifying as a director to get to have that immediate feedback. It’s honestly kind of thrilling.

Scott: Was that in New York or LA or…?

Kryzz: It was in LA.

Scott: LA. That’s right because it isn’t unless you’re doing standup comedy here.

Kryzz: Right. As a writer and a director in the typical mediums, you never get that rewarding moment of hearing people’s feedback in real time.

Scott: I guess the closest thing on TV is when they do the writer staff, people get on Twitter and write.

Kryzz: Yeah, when you do live tweeting sessions or something along those lines.

Tomorrow in Part 3, Kryzz talks about the script “Wheels Come Off” is her life story “except in a different universe.”

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Kryzz is repped by CAA and Rain Management.

Twitter and Instagram: @KryzzGautier.

Website: www.KryzzG.com.

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