The dream for every screenwriter is to see their work on the big screen. But movies are huge financial investments, and it’s just not very easy to get one made. In Hollywood, you have to get a studio to option and develop your script – and then start praying you get a greenlight. In Canada, you pitch to independent producers who then must secure enough funding dollars to get the movie to production. The path to getting a feature script produced into a film can be a long one.

But sometimes the stars align, and all the talent, hard work, and networking pays off – as it has for Writing for Film & Television graduate Adam Zang.

Adam spent a year in the VFS Writing program learning how to write, rewrite, and market his screenplays… and now his feature script – the first feature he wrote at VFS, Cole - is in production. It’s being directed by Carl Bessai (whose previous films include Normal, with Carrie-Anne Moss, and Emile, with Sir Ian McKellen) and stars Richard de Klerk, Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Sonja Bennett (Godiva’s).

We wanted to know how one goes from student to pro in less than two years, and a few weeks ago — right while he was deep in final rewrites — Adam was kind enough to answer our questions.

What is Cole about?

This is the logline on the official one-sheet my producers have been using: “When young man gets the chance to escape from his small hometown, he must choose between helping his desperate family and the promising future that lies for him beyond.” My producers like to call it a “slice of life” story.

How did you connect with your producers?

After I graduated VFS in August ’06, I went back home to Michigan. I was still working with VFS instructor extraordinaire Neil Every on a script I wrote called Northbridge - he liked it and wanted to see if he could direct it. In his search for a buyer for the script, he gave it to Dylan Thomas Collingwood, who was his literary/talent manager and head of Collingwood Management in Vancouver.

Dylan read the script and called me, asking if I had any other scripts he could read. At the time, I had two things I was really comfortable with, Cole, the first feature I wrote at VFS, and a Nip/Tuck spec. I sent him Cole, and was under the assumption that he might want to represent me. Two days later, he called back and asked me if I would option Northbridge and Cole to his and Kimani Smith’s production company, Titlecard Pictures. The catch with Northbridge was that they didn’t think they would be able to raise money for it with Neil being a first-time director, so with that in mind, I worked out an option with them for Cole with the hopes Neil and I could find someone else to take Northbridge.

How did the script development phase on Cole go?

The rewrites have been a great process. I’m currently working on the third complete draft of the script. All of the notes have been insightful and constructive. One of the things I’ve grown to love about this process is that each time someone new reads the script, they’re able to offer fresh insight and add something I never would’ve been able to see. We just had a table read a couple of weeks ago with a lot of the actors and Carl Bessai, the director, and hearing everyone’s insight – Carl, the actors, even casting directors – was inspiring.

And what about the business side of the process?

The business side of things was pretty nervewracking. The hardest thing was that I was stuck in Michigan and the people who wanted to option the script were all the way in Vancouver. After I received the official option offer, I really didn’t know if I had any leverage or how I should reply to it.

A VFS instructor was a huge help to me and called in a favour to have an American agent read Cole, with the hopes they’d help out with the deal. Unfortunately, the agent had an assistant read the script, and the assistant’s report was basically that the script was “too small” and would not make any money. Without reading the script, the agent passed. In the end, I had a lawyer review the contract to make sure the language was legit and then I basically asked for everything I could besides money. Like a flight to the premiere, DVD commentary, stuff like that. And everything worked out all right.

What has been surprising to you in this process?

I remember very early on in the feature page writing stages at VFS, an instructor mentioned that if we’re ever lucky enough to get a movie made, more likely than not, not one word from our original draft will make it into the final draft.

It’s true.

How is it different working on your script with producers and your director as opposed to workshopping with other writers?

I loved workshopping with writers at VFS – I loved working on other people’s scripts as well as my own. There’s something about being in a room with 12-13 brains all working on a creative solution that’s pretty exhilarating. I really miss doing that.

This may be a unique situation, but my producers’ livelihoods are working as talent agents. During the WGA strike, they were basically out of work and had no money coming in. Instead of giving up on Cole because they were running out of money, they pursued it even harder. That process completely made it seem grounded in real life. These people were willing to sacrifice to get this movie made, which means a lot to me.

While the rewrites get a little lonely sometimes, it definitely seems more real than it did in film school.

Another script you wrote at VFS, a short, has also been produced. Tell us about that.

The short, Sleepless, was actually the first script I wrote, period, at VFS. Mike McLaughlin, a Film Production grad, graduated from his program that same time I did. He went to Edmonton to find funding and I did a rewrite to fit the locations he wanted to use. A couple of months later, the movie was made. So far, it has played at the Edmonton and Calgary International Film Festivals.

I would like to take credit for it, but in reality, Mike busted his ass and has done an awesome job with everything. He’s currently working to raise money for a feature I wrote last summer – hopefully we can get it made some time soon, because Mike is awesome.

And what about your second optioned feature screenplay?

I started writing Northbridge, a murder mystery set in a small town on Lake Michigan, while I was at VFS. I was really struggling with it, and the smartest thing I ever did at VFS was request to work with Neil Every. I knew Neil was a wicked — and ruthless — story editor, and he helped make the script better than I ever imagined. As I mentioned earlier, he gave me additional notes after school was over, and I did a couple of rewrites while he shopped it around Vancouver. I really wanted to have Neil direct… even turning down an offer by Titlecard because Neil wouldn’t be attached… but after waiting for close to a year, we still couldn’t find a deal for the script. I made the decision to option it to Titlecard because I felt like they would be able to get it made, and fairly quickly.

I’m stoked that it has a chance to get made; Neil will get a credit if it does.

In what ways did the Writing program at VFS help prepare you for life as a professional screenwriter?

Obviously, I wouldn’t be answering these questions if it weren’t for Neil Every, so VFS was a great source of creative guidance as well as networking. The great thing about VFS was that I was able to write for a year straight. I never would’ve been able to do that if I’d gotten a regular job straight out of college. Writing well takes a lot of practice, and that’s where VFS helps.

How do you feel in terms of your career at this point?

I feel excited. I feel lucky that Canadians have embraced my writing. It’s an awesome process to actually be involved from the start to the near conclusion of a script I’ve been working on for more than two years. Americans would never have given me that opportunity, eh?

I’m also excited to know that once the movie is made, I won’t be asked to do any more rewrites!

What are you working on now?

I’m finishing up my rewrite for Cole, and when I have time on the side, I’ve been working on a treatment for a feature about time travel.

What would be your advice to a writer struggling to get read, optioned, and produced in this industry?

Write a movie that you want to see. We got a lot of advice in school to write high concept scripts – but I’m just not that big a fan of huge blockbuster movies, and that’s not really what interests me about writing. Cole and Northbridge are stories that that I enjoyed creating – and it was fortuitous that I found Dylan and Kimani who were looking for low-budget features. Basically, write what you love. If you heart zombies, you will find a producer who hearts zombies as much as you do.

Also, this is advice that Kat Montagu always gives, but I want to reiterate it: read. Read everything, especially big, thick books. It always baffles me when I meet a “writer” who doesn’t like to read. It’s true that screenwriting in the end is a visual medium, but you have to know how to write, and the best way to do that is to read and learn from the greats.

Thanks, Adam — enjoy your success! Readers can follow the production of Cole on Adam’s screenwriting blog, or on the film’s official site.