Daniel Dercksen shares a few thought with RUSSEL SAVADIER, who co-wrote the screenplay of FINDING LENNY and also plays the role of Lenny's gambling buddy and savvy manager.

Russel has worked extensively as an actor and writer - in film, theatre and television. As an actor, his many television roles include his award winning portrayal of a mentally disabled water diviner in Thicker than Water, and leading roles in Heroes, The Big Time, Louis Motors, Big Okes, and Fishy Feshuns. He writes for and has a recurring role on the popular "Madam and Eve". He's currently to be seen in Hallmark's Mini Series "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Snitch" on M-Net. He's recently completed "Coup" for the BBC, and "Jozi-H" for Canadian Television.
His film work includes Bravo Two Zero for BBC Films, Inside Out, Jock of the Bushveld, Danger Zone, Zulu on my Stoep, Dead Easy, and most recently "Avenger" for Warner Bros, and "Lullabye" for Darryl James Roodt.
Among his many stage roles, he has been seen in Lanford Wilson's Burn This, for which he received a Best supporting actor award, Another Country, Midsummer Night's Dream, Boys Next Door, Lisbon Traviata, Oleanna, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Popcorn, Crashing the Night, Waiting for Godot, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, and David Mamet's play "Romance" for which he received a 2007 Naledi nomination as best supporting actor. His most recent role was playing Dudley Moore in the World Premiere of "Good Evening"

Tell me about FINDING LENNY. How did you get involved as a writer?
I'd worked a lot with director Neal Sundstrom, over the years, both as an actor and a writer, and this story had been floating around in various guises for quite some time. When Barry Hilton approached Neal with an idea for a feature film, he called me in. We quickly realised that the story Barry wanted to tell and the idea we'd had for all these years converged perfectly. The actual writing process went to 5 drafts and took 4 months to complete.

You are also starring in the film. How does it feel bringing to life a character you wrote?
Writing for yourself is great fun - having to be really careful not to give yourself ALL the good stuff to say. During the writing process you live with the character in your head all the time - you know exactly how he sounds, what he looks like, how he behaves. When the camera finally rolls you're all over it! That's when the Director steps in and and says, "What the hell are you doing? That's all wrong!" It can be an interesting challenge.

Do you think it helps the process of writing a screenplay if you are in the acting profession? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
It helps enormously being an actor when writing a screenplay - certainly in terms of creating dialogue. I found I was able to act out the scenes in my head, which helped gauge whether there was a decent, believable flow to the scene. As an actor you're often given scripts which are extremely difficult to make 'your own' - 'Writing' actors have an advantage, I think, in being able to hear dialogue off the page.

Is it difficult for you working as a team when writing a screenplay or do you prefer isolation?
I've always been happier working with someone on a writing project - It should obviously be someone you trust completely, if not always agree with. Writing is such a lonely, tough process, it helps to constantly bounce ideas and dialogue off a partner. At the end of the day however, you still have to lock yourself in a room and write the damn thing.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? Where does your desire to write stem from?
I came into writing quite late in my career - I've been an actor for 30 years now - and it's only over the last few years that I've taken writing more seriously. It doesn't come easily to me though. I know writers that wake up every morning and WRITE. That's what they do. I'm not  that guy. I sit with an idea for a long, long time and then finally begin to scratch away at it. Finally, it's like giving birth. The relief at finishing a project is enormous!

And acting? How did this happen?
I graduated from UCT in 1979 and have been acting ever since then - it's really the only thing I know HOW to do. I've managed to pay the rent and raise a family on it so I must have done something right.

Do you have a particular process of writing a screenplay?
I can't start working on a  script until I've mapped out the  entire story. I do a general story outline from beginning to end - and when I'm happy with the basic structure I begin to break it down into scenes and then into specific beats. I'm not able to write a screenplay without knowing exactly where it's going. I can't tell you how many of  my scripts have ended on page 43 ...

What excites you about the writing process?
The cheque! No seriously - The sense of achievement when it's finally done. To create something from nothing - the old cliché about making something live from a blank page is absolutely true.

How does it feel seeing your words turned into action?
Watching actors perform your dialogue - seeing the crew set up for a scene you wrote - is just the biggest thrill in the world. You live with script in your head or on the page for such a long time and then suddenly, you're on set watching hundreds of people running around bringing it all to life. It's massive!

Your views on the South African film industry?
There is so much potential in this country for making wonderful films - I think over the last few years it really has started to happen. I've met and worked with so many young talented directors and actors who blow me away - We are developing a very strong culture of movie makers - able to compete with any product anywhere in the world. We don't have the BUDGETS they have anywhere in the world, though, and therein lies the challenge. We also need to develop writers that tell OUR stories - without the writers ... There are a whole lot of talented people looking for something to do.

How difficult is it to get your screenplay turned into a film in South Africa?
It's massively difficult to get a screenplay made into a film here. Raising money can be just about impossible. It took 3 years to raise the money for ""Lenny" and we were fortunate we had such  a  talented producer - Terry Vallet - who was like a dog with a bone - she just refused to give up. I once worked with the Australian Film Director Bruce Beresford who said there should be a separate category at the Oscars for EVERY Producer who had a film made that year. I know many talented writers who've spent years trying to get their movies made without success - I feel very blessed.

Any tips for newcomers?
My tips for newcomers is JUST WRITE!! Keep at it - write the story you want to tell. Keep working at your craft - and WATCH all the movies you can - the bad ones as well - see what you think works and doesn't work. Concentrate on the script structure particularly. Very important.

READ MORE ABOUT FINDING LENNY

READ INTERVIEW WITH NEAL SUNDSTROM

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