Interview (Part 3): Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio
My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.
My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.
Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio are a husband-wife screenwriting duo who cover a lot of territory of interest to Go Into The Story readers. They write everything from studio features to TV movies and now novels with the release of The Summer of Christmas. They also teach screenwriting: Juliet at SUNY Oswego and Keith at Syracuse University.
Recently, I had an entertaining and informative interview with the pair. Today in Part 3 of a 6-part series to run each day through Sunday, Juliet and Keith talk about the plot of The Summer of Christmas and why they chose to feature the filmmaking business as a central part of the story.
Scott: Let’s get into the plot of The Summer of Christmas:
“Ivy Green’s autobiographical script is ready to be filmed. After five years of struggling to make her mark as a screenwriter, Ivy finally gets her chance. Imagine her shock when the producer announces that the movie’s going to be filmed in her hometown.”
The first several chapters take place in Los Angeles, and it’s very inside the business of screenwriting, movies, and TV. What made you think like, “Oh, screenwriting, you know what? That’s going to be a marketable dynamic.”
Juliet: Well, they say write what you know.
Scott: Right.
Keith: Struggling screenwriter, we can relate to that.
Juliet: It’s an aspect of the film business that’s not always written about. A lot of times we hear all about the actors and stars. Of course, they are major characters in the book as well, the lead actor and actress, but we just thought it was an interesting way into our story.
Also, the idea that someone’s writing an autobiographical tale which ends up being filmed in her hometown where her parents end up being extras in the movie about her life — all seemed like fun to us.
Keith: And the actress starts acting like her. It’s very Pirandello, which I always love in terms of comedies and farces. It just seemed like there was something there. It felt uniquely familiar to us.
Scott: The script she writes is called “When Joseph Met Mary.” It’s like When Harry Met Sally. We’re in that terrain. I think it eventually becomes “A Christmas Couple.”
Juliet: That’s good. You’re the first person to catch that. Kudos to you, Scott. No one else caught that.
Scott: There’s obviously a comedic angle to this too. You knew all along this is going to have some humor to it.
Juliet: Oh, yeah. We wanted it to be funny. There’s a lot of humor in making of these movies.
Keith: Luckily, there are a lot of good wineries up at Finger Lakes that we spent time in for research.
[laughter]
Scott: How would you describe your protagonist, Ivy? A lot of this stuff is driving off of your own life experience. Is some of you in Ivy? Is some of Ivy in you? How would you describe her?
Juliet: That’s a good question. There’s definitely a lot of us in Ivy. It’s someone who comes from outside the world of film making but breaks in, who’s not connected, and who’s willing to do anything she can to break in.
Keith: We’ve always had the pull, even when we were living in LA and working and living in a nice area, we just always had the pull of being back East. The seasons and stuff, these are things we miss. We missed our families back here.
We think Ivy was always, even though she won’t say it, it’s lingering underneath her in her spine. She’s not sure if LA and the coast are still the best place for her.
Juliet: I think that she loves the film business. She loves movies, but there’s a part of her that misses the East Coast.
Scott: When I was reading it, I’m going, “OK. This completely aligns with my theory.” I have this thing. I call it the narrative imperative. The Protagonist has to deal with something. Often, it’s something from their past.
For Ivy, the journey she takes is the journey she needs to take. She needs to go back home. She’s got to deal with that stuff. Primarily, she’s got to deal with this ex‑boyfriend, Nick. Once she has some success in LA, he’s like, “Nah, I got to go back in the family winery.” They split up.
Does that resonate with you, that she’s got to go back? This is the story that she has to go through.
Keith: Like you said in your book, “The Protagonist’s Journey” covers that very well. I think I remember, as we’re doing the next book, I’m stealing stuff from your book.
[laughter]
Scott: Please do.
Keith: You’re absolutely right. It’s the journey she needs to take. Unless she goes back…
Scott: She can’t move forward.
Juliet: She needs to get some closure, too, on that breakup with the ex‑boyfriend. She hasn’t really been able to move forward.
Tomorrow in Part 4, Juliet and Keith reveal how they pitched The Summer of Christmas as a novel and landed a two-book deal.
For Part 1 of the interview, go here.
Part 2, here.
Juliet and Keith are repped by WME.
The Story of Christmas: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Good Reads.