Interview (Part 3): Cameron Fay

My interview with the 2024 Black List writer for his script Until You.

Cameron Fay wrote the screenplay Until You which landed on the 2024 Black List. Recently, I had the opportunity to do a deep dive with Cameron into his filmmaking background, writing his Black List script, and his approach to the craft of screenwriting.

Today in Part 3 of a 6-part series to run each day this week, Cameron discusses some of the primary characters in his Black List script Until You.

Scott: Let’s talk about these primary characters in the story, beginning with Mallory. Here’s how you introduce her. “Mallory Woodson, 34, shuffles out of the place with her date, Paul, shorter, balding, ‘George from Seinfeld vibe going on.’ Mallory’s put together in a way that’s confident and calculated. Makeup subtly accentuating her natural features, hair done up for a big date, dressed in fashion that feels modern yet borrowed from Annie Hall.”

How would you describe her situation or psychological state of being at the beginning of the story?

Cameron: I think she’s trying hard, but is exhausted. She’s been trying to find a partner for her life. She’s doing what she thinks she’s supposed to do. She’s supposed to look good and present well, but she’s getting rejected a lot. We’ll find out why, obviously, in a bit. But it’s exhausting. That’s why I think just a few lines later, she bucks up, pushes the pain down, and goes on.

I think there’s a lot going on in her brain that we don’t know, we don’t understand yet in this simple first scene of, “Why is this guy who is not a really beautiful guy rejecting this woman who is really done up and presents so well?” That’s the hope, at least.

Scott: I guess, if I’m not mistaken, it was her fifth time they’ve been out together or something. Is that right?

Cameron: Yeah. It’s the date that she reveals this secret she has.

Scott: The secret, the revelation. That makes sense. You drop us into the middle of that, which is an interesting choice. There’s something going on. You’re teasing the reader, which I always tell my students that’s the best thing you can do is just tease them, get them curious so you want to keep them reading. You do that with Mallory’s introduction there.

Tired, that’s an interesting observation there. She has to summon up that energy to forge ahead in life. She has two friends who help her. First, there’s Chloe. Here’s how you introduce her.

“Chloe’s in her tiny living room in sweats watching Netflix’s murder‑themed programming du jour with a bottle of Jack wedged between her legs.”

What about Chloe’s personality? How did that emerge, and what’s her narrative function in the story?

Cameron: Chloe is a perpetually single, young at heart, irresponsible person. I think you remember later, Mallory comes in where Chloe’s babysitting and the kitchen is partially on fire. She’s not an adult. That is the primary function, really, is that she’s a cool friend when you want to go have a drink, and she knows the best bars. But she’s not mature or responsible.

She can either be your wing woman or reject all the guys for you. You only have her babysit in a true pinch.

Scott: She’s more the someone to get Mallory out of her preconditioned stable life or funks and go out and have some fun. Whereas you do have another friend, Damon, who’s a neighbor, 20s.

“He’s a sweet gay teddy bear, lounging on the couch, also watching another one of Netflix’s robust selection of murder docs.”

That character can effectively babysit. Talk about Damon a bit.

Cameron: He’s more responsible. He’s there, and he can keep the kid alive and do all the things you need to do, but he’s really not interested in that kind of life beyond helping a neighbor and a friend. He has zero interest in having kids one day and values his minimal eight hours of sleep.

Scott: Then there’s the boy: Zachary Woodson. “He’s nine years old, small for his age. Looks like Janet from Three’s Company,” [laughs] which I thought was an interesting description because I remember Janet. “Beyond that, there’s not much to go on because he’s tucked into his bed under a Pokemon comforter.”

Let’s talk about Zachary. How did that character emerge, and what is that kid’s personality like?

Cameron: Zach is a little bit of me when I was a kid, and how I would perceive the people that my mom dated after she got divorced from my dad. He’s a little bit of the kid I was a nanny for back before I got into writing full‑time. He’s OK with it just being himself and his mom, just the two of them. He’s OK with that.

Obviously, he gets picked on. I think he secretly wants a male friendship of some kind, but he’s not going to put himself out there for it. He’s a bit guarded. He’s a bit of a loner, but I…

Scott: He’s got this interesting thing where he spells out words.

Cameron: Yeah, he’s like…

Scott: Where did that come from? Was that something you’ve observed in other kids, or did it just emerge from your subconscious writing process or whatever?

Cameron: It came from… I do spelling homework with my older daughter who’s in second grade, and it came from constantly doing spelling with her. I never thought much about spelling before I had a kid who has a spelling test every week. Literally, every Friday, she has a spelling test. We have a new group of words every week. She’s trying to memorize them. Sometimes, she’s spelling them out loud to herself. I just thought like, “Oh, that’s funny. The idea of a kid that spells out words all the time.” I don’t know. I just found it to be interesting.

Scott: It created a couple of subplots, which we’re going to talk about in just a bit. Then the really big information about Mallory is revealed when she goes to visit a doctor. I think it’s toward the middle maybe of act one, but she’s got a degenerative medical condition. I’ve never heard of it. It’s called Friedreich’s Ataxia.

You mentioned this person, a friend of yours, had a condition. This is different?

Cameron: Yeah. She didn’t have that. Just in doing research about what this character could have, I wanted it to be something that I hadn’t seen before on film. I learned a lot about the FA community. It felt like it was the type of thing that would just serve the story well.

We’ve seen a lot of cancer movies and shows. I just didn’t want it to be that. I think this is a little more visual and physical. I think it’s a very rare disease, but it was something that I thought we could go on the roller coaster with her as she tries to see if she going to be OK or not through the course of the film.

Tomorrow in Part 4, Cameron explores how the central relationship in the script emerged and evolved through the story-crafting process.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Cameron is repped by Paradigm and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.

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