From novel to screenplay

by Jason Lawson

I recently sold the movie rights of my novel, The Vision, to Canadian film producer Sam Grana (pr. The Boys of St. Vincent’s). Once Grana acquired the rights, he hired me to transform the novel into a screenplay. The experience turned into a highlight of my writing career, but was also a huge learning curve, as I’d never written a screenplay before.

Right at the start, Grana asked, “How many times have you ever heard the expression, ‘the book was better than the movie’?”

“Many,” I replied.

“You’re about to find out why.”

Grana has been in the business for forty years. He is immensely knowledgeable with a wealth of insights. He explained, “People have days, weeks or even months to enjoy your novel. We have to give them the same effect in 90 minutes or less.”

One of my first tasks to create a scene board. I wrote a description of every scene in the book (in order) on small index cards. We numbered and placed them on a large board. Then, before my eyes, Grana pulled off different scenes.

“This one’s got to go. And we don’t need this one,” and so on. It was painful. But necessary.

Then the writing began. For the first time in my life, I was working in a situation where the writing was a group effort. Here’s how it went. First, I wrote a portion of the screenplay and sent it to Grana and Brian Francis (Bear Paw Productions), an associate producer on the project. After they read the script, we met to discuss what worked and what didn’t. I took notes, headed home, and made the changes. Then we moved on to the next part. The process took months, with a lot of rewrites, which Grana assured me was the norm.

Working with Grana has been wonderful, because he is demanding yet fair. He wants the best product possible and won’t settle for less. That brings out the best in my writing abilities. Having people coddle you and say your work is excellent does little to improve it. You need a thick skin to hear that the piece you just laboured over for hours has to be trashed.

But his approach worked. When we submitted our first draft to Telefilm Canada, they accepted and approved our application for Phase 2: a second draft of the script. During this period, the script took on a life of its own. We added story elements that weren’t in the original novel to give the audience more emotional responses.

Then came Phase 3, which was mainly about assembling the cast. To my excitement and delight, we signed Adam Beach to play the lead role and to direct. Adam is the No. 1 aboriginal actor in North America, with roles in Flags of our Fathers, The Windtalkers, Law and Order; SVU and CBC’s Arctic Air, among others.

I got to hang out with Adam in his home town of Winnipeg and at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was amazing, and he’s a really nice, down-to-earth guy. All we need now is for Telefilm to approve funding for the actual movie shoot. I’m waiting on pins and needles….

This job not only paid me for my writing efforts, but also took me to New York, Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax and Cape Breton. I wrote a second screenplay for Grana in 2014, and we have many ideas on the burners. It has been a life-changing experience.

I’d like to add that many WFNB members helped me over the years when I was getting started. I would love to do the same. Please contact me if you have any questions about the process. If I can help, I will.