![]() Characters, scenes, plot points, little things and big things - so much is constantly in flux when you’re in the thick of such a project. For me, looking back, it’s thoroughly enjoyable to see how things evolved, and sometimes reverted and resurfaced. With most of them, what is known at the beginning greatly evolves on the way to a shooting script. Over the course of decades, I’ve written seemingly countless synopses, exposes, treatments and scripts. The reason is simple - I know that nothing is written in stone. I have no trouble choosing a character, a place, a plot element, and then running with it. The worst thing you can do is not choose - that leaves all options open and incapacitates you to the point of writer’s block. I love the final take, of course - it offered great conflict, insurmountable hurdles and drama to spare - as an audience, you couldn’t help but root for those two, with the odds so terrifically stacked against them.Īs a writer, I love making choices. The final version, however, very much focuses on the forbidden and impossible love that begins to grow between Miguel and his brother’s wife. This was something I then thoroughly explored with my first draft (so much fun!). You can see that would nicely complicate things and offer ample opportunity for exciting storytelling. While the initial proposal clearly centered around a forbidden love between a Jewish trader and a Dutch widow, it was next thought to be strongest as a love triangle where Miguel (the trader) fell for both the Dutch widow and his brother’s wife. ![]() What followed over the next few months were discussions and meetings and an updated version of the proposal, which then served as my actual starting point. The proposal was strong enough to beat out the competition and land me the gig. Below the proposal, exactly as delivered to the producer back then.Īs I re-read it now, I enjoy seeing just how much the story and the characters evolved from this proposal to the final draft. ” To read what happened before this moment, visit here. In August of 2005 I delivered the proposal I hoped would make me the screenwriter of choice for the feature film adaptation of David Liss’ historical novel “ The Coffee Trader.
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