Part 1.

I knew I wanted to be screenwriter........

when I met Sebastian Junger, who had just optioned his book, The Perfect Storm. I asked him if he would write the screenplay, and he said he would have nothing to do with it. At the time, I was putting my heart and soul into a novel, and thought I would want to have some creative input to its screenplay adaptation -- so I took a couple of screenwriting courses.

I know I've succeeded........ 

when my characters start making me laugh.
 

My inspiration to write A Vision of Angels.....

was what I witnessed living in Jerusalem 1994-1997.

Part 2.

FilmMakers Magazine: What inspired you to write?

Timothy Jay Smith: Reading. As a kid, I was always reading. Not like a bookworm, but I always had a novel going. I also managed to read every stage play the local bookstore sold. I actually wrote my first play in fourth grade and started a novel not long after that.

FilmMakers Magazine: How did you prepare yourself to write your first script?

Timothy Jay Smith: A couple of intensive courses at the Maine Media Workshops.

FilmMakers Magazine: Is this your first script and how long did it take you to complete?

Timothy Jay Smith: I have written a total of five scripts. A Vision of Angels is an adaptation of my novel of the same name, which won the Paris Prize for Fiction. It's hard to say how long it took me to write it because every time I edited the novel, I also went back to the screenplay.

FilmMakers Magazine: Do you have a set routine, place and time management for writing?

Timothy Jay Smith: For sure. I take care of the "business" of writing during the day, like answering Q&As, entering competitions, basic marketing, and editing what I wrote the day before. By four in the afternoon, I put all that aside, and work on new writing until about midnight. In the morning, I swim for a half hour in the sea, and then start all over again.

FilmMakers Magazine: Do you believe screenplay contests are important for aspiring screenwriters and why?

Timothy Jay Smith: Absolutely. They are important for exposure, building your resume, and building your confidence.

FilmMakers Magazine: What influenced you to enter the FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards / Screenplay Contest?

Timothy Jay Smith: It is a well-regarded and -followed contest, and I like the fact that the Radmin Company reads the top fifty scripts. If my script came in through their door, that probably would never have happened

FilmMakers Magazine: What script would you urge aspiring writers to read and why?

Timothy Jay Smith: Children of Men. It's one of those rare times when the movie is better than the book. It's a highly original and believable story, great build-up in tension, very memorable visuals. I get goose bumps when I recall a baby crying in it. All that comes across in the screenplay.

FilmMakers Magazine: Beside screenwriting what are you passionate about and why?

Timothy Jay Smith: The theater. I have always loved the theater. I love that it is being performed in real time and usually in intimate spaces. I have written a half dozen stage plays, and would still be doing that if still I lived in an English-speaking country. As it is, I stay connected with the American theater scene through the Smith Prize for Political Theater, which I created about ten years ago.

FilmMakers Magazine: Who is your favorite Screenwriter and Why?

Timothy Jay Smith: Alan Ball because American Beauty was a masterpiece.

FilmMakers Magazine: Name the director you would love to work with and why?

Timothy Jay Smith: For A Vision of Angels and other scripts based in Israel, I would have to say Eran Riklis or Eytan Fox because of the sensitivity they bring to difficult conflicts; but for other scripts, it's Steven Soderbergh for his ability to successfully make political drama thriller-ish.

FilmMakers Magazine: Name the actor you would love to work with and why?

Timothy Jay Smith: Bradley Cooper because he would be so perfect for some of my leading men, who are rugged and sensitive at the same time, and he can pull that off.

FilmMakers Magazine: Any tips and things learned along the way to pass on to others?

Timothy Jay Smith: There is no such thing as writer's block. There is always something to be working on, whether it's your beat sheet, synopsis, a line of dialogue that isn't working, or fine tuning your plot.

FilmMakers Magazine: What's next for you?

Timothy Jay Smith: Finishing a new novel set in Greece and then adapting it to a screenplay.

FilmMakers Magazine: Where will you be five years from now?

Timothy Jay Smith: I hope on stage in Hollywood accepting my Oscar for best screenplay!