Interview (Part 4): 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 4 of a 6-part series to run each day through Sunday, Kevin discusses the challenges of writing an historical adaptation.

Scott: I do want to maybe at least tip people off. Again, I don’t want to get into the whole plotting of it, because I don’t want to give it away. People should read it and then watch the movie when it comes out.

There is a bit where James and Tony get some information from someone, and they follow a couple of LASD deputies who appear to be in bed with the Aryan Brotherhood…

Kevin: James and Tony write up a report about it, and they submit it to their superior. What happens is, this superior shows the same report to the deputies accused… and none of the names are redacted. The accused deputies see who’s pointing the finger along with the informant who led them to point the finger. Everyone’s life is in peril after that.

You don’t just make a mistake like that. After they write this up the report, everything snowballs. It’s James and Tony vs. The LASD.

Scott: When you were looking at this story, it does lay out pretty nicely for three acts or four acts you could say if you want to break up Act Two. The first act sets up the story, then boom, now it hits the fan. Act 2A there’s the rat, the house, the Tony’s mom’s house gets messed with.

We’ve even talked about Keeley’s wife who gets stopped for no reason, is frisked twice, and basically molested. There’s one thing after another until they finally start to work with the authorities.

Kevin: The FBI had been fighting with the LASD for a long time, and they’d been looking for a reason to nail the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. When James was all out of moves, he knew that he could go to the FBI. In James’s mind, he was thinking that the FBI could provide safe harbor, and also be a means to correct some wrongs.

Scott: If you as a screenwriter, how early on did you look at this and go, “That’s pretty good.” It lays out pretty nicely as far as story structure goes.

Kevin: It’s funny because the script was about to go out with a different first act, and then the pandemic hit. The producers were in production on King Richard, trying to figure out how to make a movie in a pandemic so I had some time to review it. I made a lot of changes throughout the writing of it. From a macro point of view, when I started working on this story… I had thousands and thousands of pages of documents to go over. I wanted to be an expert in this story, to the best of my ability. In an initial draft, I started off with James just beginning his career in the Sheriff’s department. I wanted to see him develop and grow. We ended up cutting that. And there was some really good stuff there.

Scott: That, I think, is one of the challenges that’s most persistent for people who are doing adaptations, that’s what this essentially is, an historical adaptation: What you choose to omit is almost more important as what you choose to include?

Kevin: I think it’s one of those things where everyone’s processes is different. There’s a thing I heard about how people artistically operate in three different zones — the head, the heart, the gut. When I write, my head’s probably the least involved. I’m operating entirely from heart and gut.. There are some writers that are so brilliantly intellectual. And they can talk and talk…. And I’m like, “God, this guy’s really brilliant. These metaphors he’s coming up with. The ideas…” For me, it’s all about feel. I’m going, “Does it feel like I got it? Does it feel like I got it? And it just felt like I hadn’t quite hit the first act, so I tried again on my own…”

Scott: How did you determine not to begin the script with him starting out at the sheriff’s department?

Kevin: It was one of those things where I had a couple of weeks to work on it. I said, “Well, what if I screwed around at the beginning? Trevor said, “Go for it.” And it just worked better. It felt better. I just had to try…

Scott: It’s great because it’s a classic, “Let’s start with an action thing,” get people all pumped up by it. Beyond that, it shows that he’s the really capable law enforcement guy.

You start off with a bull. Let’s talk about that. You say, “Well, I’m not very intellectual or whatnot,” but there’s a very savvy thing you do here with this bull. Could you talk to me about that motif that goes through here?”

Kevin: James, in a previous life, used to ride bulls. I don’t want to give away too much, but something happened with one of these bulls. I was sitting with Trevor one day, and we were just in the very early stages of brainstorming. I had some little epiphany, where I turned to him and go, “Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop, clip clop…” We both looked at each other, and started riffing. I get goose bumps thinking about that moment cause there was a lot of creative synergy there. You can interpret the bull in the movie anyway you want, but to me, it’s a symbol of power without conscience.

The sheriff’s department had all this power and wasn’t operating with a conscience. But I’ll let the reader interpret it how they wanted to interpret it.

Scott: That’s along the lines I was thinking, too. It’s this big thing that could kick your ass, a threat, but it was really great. I thought you did a terrific job with his wife’s character. Do you want to talk a bit about that? There are some key points where she just really steps up to the plate.

Kevin: Keeley, in real life, was side by side with him on this. I can’t imagine how terrible that was to not only see someone that you care about and love be in this awful position, but to also be scared for your own life. She knew who James was, and she stood by his side the entire time.

Scott: You’re part of Bellevue. I’ve talked to John [Zaozirny] about this. I think they’ve got this ad hoc, in‑house development thing, where writers will read each other’s material.

Kevin: Yeah. It’s for projects that they’re developing on their own, on spec. This was a project that I was doing with another company. It didn’t go to the circle of trust, so to speak.

Scott: Ian read some of it, right? We were talking about it?

Kevin: Yeah. I definitely sent a draft to Ian, and he gave me incredible notes. Peter Gamble gave me amazing notes… I grew up in this business to a certain extent but I don’t know that many writers. It’s been a real blessing to meet writers who can give you those notes that you’re not seeing.

It’s an important thing to build a community. I’m still working on it, and I’m still trying. It makes all the difference, I think, because for me at least, I get so lost in the weeds. I get so deep into these stories that outside perspective can just make all the difference.

Tomorrow in Part 5, Kevin shares what it was like to learn his script had made the 2022 Black List.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

For Part 2, here.

For Part 3, here.

Kevin is repped by Bellevue Productions.

Twitter: @Sheridankevin

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