Interview (Part 5): Kevin Sheridan

My interview with 2022 Black List writer for his script Colors of Authority.

Kevin Sheridan wrote the screenplay Colors of Authority which landed on the 2022 Black List. I had the opportunity to chat with Kevin about his creative background, writing a Black List script, and the craft of screenwriting.

Today in Part 5 of a 6-part series to run each day through Sunday, Kevin shares what it was like to learn his script had made the 2022 Black List.

Scott: Let me ask you a question. Having written this script, has it affected your perspective of law enforcement at all?

Kevin: I spent a lot of time researching this thing. A lot. I lived and breathed it. I think it’s pretty clear a lot of work needs to be done.

Scott: I just remember that when I read that thing about the 3,000 Boys, they have various gangs sheriff’s departments, a number of them. I was like, “Really?”

Kevin: It’s imperative we shine a light on what’s happening, and make changes for the better.

Scott: Let’s talk about something more fun. Second Monday of December, 2022, you said you had been reading Black List scripts. It’s one way of learning the craft and inspiring it. You’re familiar with the annual Black List. Were you tracking it at all on Twitter or anything?

Kevin: It was funny because I was taking meetings from it, and the feedback was different. This one was landing pretty hard with people. I didn’t think that I would get as many votes as I did, definitely not. Not in a million years. I thought maybe there was a small chance I could make it.

Scott: Now, of course, the whole long break and Sundance is finally over. I would assume that you’re starting to take more meetings and whatnot. Is that impacting you at all do you think, making the Black List or has it been a source of pride and inspiration?

Kevin: Yeah. I think it’s a feather in your cap and I think it means something. There’s a lot of great scripts that have come from the Black List. It’s done a wonderful job of highlighting screenwriters’ works that maybe wouldn’t have had the same weight or exposure beforehand.

When I would get my hands on the Black List scripts, I would tear through them. It would teach me so much about what I could do as a writer. How I could put more of my soul into the page, which to me… that means everything.

Scott: That’s a great insight because so much of the language that’s out there in this nebulous screenwriting universe don’t do this and you can’t do that, shouldn’t do this, and this needs to land on that page. Then you read these scripts in the Black List and more often than not, they’re just, “Fuck the rules.”

Kevin: Fuck the bullshit. You want to make someone feel something. Hopefully, someone feels something.

Scott: Both of those things are spot on. You said make them turn the page, make them feel something. If you can do that, you’re in pretty good shape.

Kevin: You’re in pretty good shape. It’s like, I’m trying to convey the thing that’s moving me in whatever scene I’m seeing in my head… and how can I make them feel the same way?

Scott: What’s the status of the project now?

Kevin: We have the great Andrew Heckler attached to direct and he’s amazing. Then we have Tye Sheridan attached to play James, and he’s incredible. I’m over the moon to be working with both of them. We got a couple more pieces to put together, but fingers crossed because this is one of those stories that can hit people hard. Not only that, but it can open up a discussion later on for how things can change for the better. And for anyone else in a similar circumstance to what James was in — any possible whistleblowers — it’s so important to remind people that you can and should do the right thing. You’ve got to have the courage to stand up and say something. And that’s exactly what James Sexton did.

Scott: Good luck with all that! To round out our chat, I’d like to ask a few craft questions. How do you come up with story ideas?

Kevin: How I come up with ideas? God, I stare at a wall and then I flagellate myself. [laughs] Just for ideas, I look at new sources, books, materials, anything to get yourself inspired. Then when it comes to the actual physics writing of it, I’m a big outliner because I really, really try to craft out my scenes.

I feel like the better I have the framework of the scene, of the entire screenplay, the less time I’m wasting. Because the thing that pains me the most is when you spend all this time crafting this beautiful scene and then you got to cut it. It’s like, the less I can do that, the better. Also, before I start writing something, it’s always a state of fear. You’re terrified… Shit, can I do this??? The more ammo, the more prepared you are as you go into the unknown, the better. When I was writing Colors Of Authority, I had one document that was line ideas, another document that was visual ideas… Another document that was metaphors that I could play with.. Then I have my outline that’s the framework for it all. It just makes it easier for me to do this really scary thing. And it’s something I recommend for other writers to do, too.

Tomorrow in Part 6, Kevin gives some advice for aspiring screenwriters.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

For Part 2, here.

For Part 3, here.

For Part 4, here.

Kevin is repped by Bellevue Productions.

Twitter: @Sheridankevin

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