Full Transcript for AN AFTER HOURS CHAT: Talking Horror with Screenwriter and Filmmaker Derek Stewart

write that. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:50.560 Um sure. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.879 Actually, it's it's not quite in production yet. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:02.240 Kira Elwelson is going to direct it as well, and she's uh currently finishing uh post-production on her current film, Gaunt, which should be awesome. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:07.919 Um but as soon as uh she's finished on that, that is her next project later this year. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:30.079 Um and uh essentially I can um as far as the story of uh Shadowplay, um the log line is essentially um uh past and present converge in a truly horrifying fashion when a woman suffering from terrifying sleep paralysis episodes returns home for her mother's funeral. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:05:07.759 And just the way that that kind of came about is uh Kira just kind of calling me up one night and you know, just saying she really wanted me to write something for her to direct, and we uh tossed around some ideas, um, a lot of them relating to experiences she's had, uh, primarily with um things like like uh sleep paralysis and uh things of that nature, and uh kind of took that and added some elements of of my own and uh created uh a short film script out of it. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.199 Yeah, oh awesome, very cool. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:30.240 And as far as um like writing it goes, uh do you have like a like a process for writing or are like do you outline or are you a more just organic writer as far as whatever comes out comes out, and then you go back and edit later? 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.519 Um personally, I'm a big outliner. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:45.040 Um it's kind of difficult for me to really write uh a story or a screenplay unless I can see the ending first. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:45.759 Right. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:56.319 Um so usually once I know how it ends, I can then go ahead and kind of outline uh you know going toward that. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:04.720 And I usually do like I'll open my screenwriting software and do just like kind of a sentence per scene kind of outline. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:13.600 Yeah um and then usually I will uh come back and you know flesh flesh those out yeah as I go. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:33.279 You know, the first of course the first version is going to be just very rough, just really like getting the uh getting everything you know down, like like um I feel like uh Jordan Peel said it really great um when he said that uh his his first draft is just kind of putting sand in your sandbox. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:33.600 Okay. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:41.759 That's kind of how I uh go about it as well. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:51.040 So but then once that first draft is done, then you just further refine it uh until it's as as close as possible to what I would like it to be. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.360 So that's I love it. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:07:02.319 Yeah, because even as a writer myself, I always it's always interesting to you know just hear other people's uh

writing process. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:06.000 So yeah, I tend to be a more organic writer. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:08.959 Um the plot usually surprises me. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:12.160 So and then the ending surprises me too. 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:20.160 So I'm that kind of a writer, and then of course go back and edit and all of that and check for any like inconsistencies and things like that. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:26.240 But um, but yeah, but I'm always fascinated to uh you know to hear what other people do. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:34.079 Because I because yeah, because there are some people that are just very organic writers like that, like I am, like that's what works for me, and that's what works for them. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:38.240 And then some people they need to outline and know what the ending is. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:53.199 And um, but one thing, like uh one thing that uh tool that I found very valuable uh when I was like first starting to write like my own stories and everything was um I don't know if you've ever read uh Stephen King's On Writing. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.120 Yeah, a long time ago, but I did read it. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:57.920 I thought it was really good. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:05.360 Yeah, yeah, but there's all kinds of really good, interesting just you know, morsels to take from. 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:20.959 And one thing that I took from him was to write, like write your story or your screenplay, and then lit just kind of leave it for maybe a week and then go back to it and look at it with fresh eyes. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:33.840 And for me, like that that really that that also helps me too with with writing as well, because sometimes when you're like in the thick of it, you're you're just you're really you're you're close to it. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:38.639 So sometimes you can't always see any flaws or inconsistencies. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:09:07.600 But then when you walk away from it for maybe a week, you know, week or two, like not too long, um, but just long enough for you to kind of recalibrate and then come back and you know, just take a look a look at it with new eyes, um, that's uh that can usually just where that's where you can be like, okay, I'm on to something good, or you know, maybe I should change courses with this a little bit here. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.320 So what's a good piece of writing advice? 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:14.639 Like what that really you think helped you with your writing? 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:27.919 Um a good piece of writing advice. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:34.639 I mean, uh the one of the first thing that comes to me is dialogue, writing dialogue as part of the screenwriting. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:35.200 Yeah. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:53.279 And just it's uh so important to say your dialogue out loud uh as you're writing it, just to make sure it it sounds natural and um you know flows the way you'd like it to. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:54.159 Yeah. 00:09:54.720 -->

00:10:13.759 And and then another uh like just a screenwriting thing is just and this is the kind of a reason I like screenwriting, is just it's it's a very kind of uh sparse kind of form, like almost like poetry, in that you know, there's so much white space on the page. 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:22.879 So it's like if you catch yourself writing you know paragraphs and paragraphs of of dense text, you're you probably need to parrot back a bit. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:48.720 Um so yeah, just uh yeah, just less less is more, I feel as far as description and um definitely say your dialogue to uh make yeah, yeah. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:11:17.440 So I I think another thing I I thought of I'm sorry, another thing I just thought of is just the importance of conflict uh in your in your uh script, like if you catch yourself writing um scenes that are just like people agreeing with each other or just explaining things to the audience, uh you would probably want to take a different approach. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:34.559 I mean, even if you have a scene where two characters are agreeing with each other, and perhaps they are disagreeing over the same over the um like the method of getting what they want, um or the plan to go about like getting what they both want. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.960 It's just uh conflict is is just so important. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:46.960 Yeah, yeah, no, I I can totally agree with you on that, um, especially with dialogues. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:56.480 I know sometimes, I mean, unless you're writing Shakespeare or something, you know, you want to have like a natural flowing dialogue. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:08.000 And it's especially challenging when you're writing another time period, especially uh like a hundred plus years ago when people talked a bit differently than we do today. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:24.960 And you want and what I found for that, because I do write some historical fiction, is that you want to kind of do like a happy medium where it's where it's like, how can I say this in a way where it makes sense? 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:35.759 Where they're kind of talking like we do, but it's still, but you're still adding that tone of that antiquity to it as well. 00:12:35.919 --> 00:13:08.960 It's like you're adding a touch of that era to uh to a dialogue that people today would understand, but also, you know, yeah, maybe throwing in a slang word that they would have used at that time, you know, or you know, just making it to where, and just being careful to not use modern slang as well, unless, because a lot of slang is recycled, you know, unless it that is it is a slang that we use today that they also used at one time and got recycled. 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:16.720 So yeah, dialogue can be is kind of you know that that's that there's definitely an art to learning that. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:27.200 And um, yeah, no, but that's and also like conf writing conflict, you want that to be as believable and as true to your characters as possible. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:47.600 You don't want to write characters that are always agreeing with each other because then you know your your book and your story, your screenplay um loses all like all that like nice tension that you need, especially for a horror uh story or mystery or you know, even a romance. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:51.840 You know, you still want to have some of that that tense dialogue there. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:58.559 Um so who are some of your influences uh for writing and filmmaking? 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:05.759 Um I'm sorry, well I kind of cut off there. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:06.559 What was the question again? 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:07.120 Oh okay. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:13.200 So what are some of your what were some of your uh influences uh for writing and filmmaking? 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:44.720 So I really uh really film that really got me started uh like really writing my own screenplays is up to this point I was you know into like kind of short short um stories and and novels in my teens. 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:57.840 Um when I saw uh Pulp Fiction and uh as a as a teenager in 1994, um yeah, that really that really opened my mind to what movies could be. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:06.399 So I have to say Quentin Tarantino um really uh like his work, it kind of got me going. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:20.320 And also the thing with his work is that there's also he he references so much, so his work leads you to all of the other things that he's referencing in his work. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:27.840 So it kind of unlocked a whole new uh world for me as far as what films could be. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:34.000 Um another one is uh probably just just uh John Carpenter. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:34.960 Okay. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:51.200 Uh just his uh he just has an amazing filmography and just I admire it's very you know it it's it's stylized, but not too much. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:16:19.600 It's very kind of like functional, um, but still you know it has a great like aesthetic to it, and uh and uh definitely identify afraid separate films to seeing going on in the world, which yeah, I I you know I don't do it too much, but you know, whenever I can, I I I do like like that opportunity. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:53.840 Um and probably another one might be um like he's uh you know a visual artist like myself written just amazing novels and short stories, and you know, my in my opinion, he's like three for three as far as just making three really great horror films uh as far as a director. 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:56.080 So yeah. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:57.919 Yeah, very cool. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:03.039 Love it, and yeah, definitely love uh John Carpenter. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:04.880 So yeah, absolutely. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.519 Are you a fan of the Halloween films? 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.519 Um yeah, I I am. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:17.599 Maybe not, maybe not as much as some people, but uh yeah, I

definitely I definitely love the the first one. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:20.640 Um and I I like Halloween 2. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:26.079 Uh the the most recent trilogy, I thought there was a lot to like about it. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:37.200 Uh there's you know I it was not purpose, but uh yeah, I and I and Michael Myers, he's he's a very uh uh scary horror villain. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:43.599 He's definitely one of the scariest ones when I was a kid and growing up on horror films. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:45.759 Yeah, yeah. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.200 Have you ever seen um In the Mouth of Madness? 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:57.839 Oh yeah, that's actually it really might be my personal favorite of John Carpenter's movie. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:05.599 Yeah and it's like it's not perhaps not his best movie, but just it's it's just so right up my alley. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:24.480 Like it's just um it has this like there was another one in like night in 1994-95, like I saw so many of movies that really influenced my like my taste and really like opened me up to what was possible with with genre cinema cinema, and that was definitely one of them. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:34.240 Yeah, I just love how it has this like kind of 90s pulpiness to it, and it's and it's it's funny, like Sam Neil's character is just hilarious. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.640 Oh, I love yeah, Sam Neil's character. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.160 Love Sam Neil and love his character in that, yeah. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.160 Yeah, yeah. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:45.359 Yeah, I know. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.160 Um, yeah, he did great with that role. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:53.039 Um and uh just I love how meta it kind of is. 00:18:53.359 --> 00:19:10.720 Yeah, and yeah, and it's just the kind of story that that really appeals to me, like um one of the best kind stories to me is where a character that they think they know everything, they're kind of cynical, they they know everything, and then you know the movie like kind of kicks their hands and tells them, you know, they don't know. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:16.799 Yeah, and that's basically the mouth of madness for you, absolutely. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.960 Yeah, no, but I I feel the same way about that as you do. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:43.599 It's like it's not necessarily his best film, uh, but it really I think kind of pushes the envelope a little bit, especially for the time period that it was made in, because you have this combination of like it's like cosmic horror, which I I I love that sub-genre of horror. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:56.319 That cosmic horror, there's also, of course, they integrated HP Lovecraft into it, who also he's you know, obviously there he does, I guess you could say he's a lot of like cosmic horror as well. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.240 Uh, but yeah, but they integrated HP Lovecraft into that. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:05.759 And even just the whole premise, I just think is so cool. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:13.279 Like it has, it's like it's a little bit of Twilight Zone, a little bit of like your standard like 80s, 90s horror. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.480 And it really, it's like it's its own thing. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:16.960 Brill. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:46.799 And I actually I think, you know, on the one hand, yeah, like you said, it's not his best, like John Carpenter's best movie, but I also think it's brilliant in the sense that it really kind of experimental in a way that is really to me, just it's really fascinating how he took different themes like that and just really integrated it into one film. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:53.119 And kind of like, you know, like you said, like Sam Neil's character, he acts as like he's like, Oh, yeah, I know what's going on. 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:57.680 And then it's like, then you find out, no, he really doesn't. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:06.000 And he definitely very much sees that no, he really does not know what's going on. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:10.400 And I think half the time watching it, the audience doesn't really even know what's going on. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.440 But but in a way, that's what keeps you watching. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:23.519 It is it's just kind of like that whole open-ended guessing that you do at the end, like, okay, what really happened there? 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:29.279 Was he just a product of the story, or like what's going on? 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:31.599 You know, yeah. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:32.480 Yeah. 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:36.319 Yeah, I love a horror movie that can make us ask those kind of questions. 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.839 Absolutely. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:52.960 And speaking of horror movies, we are going into spooky season, and a lot of your work does center around different types of supernatural characters like zombies, vampires, and witches. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:56.160 So, what is your favorite monster? 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:59.599 Zombie, vampire, witch, or any other. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.720 type of any other type of spooky creature. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:09.119 Probably zombies. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:15.440 Which gives me uh a chance to shout out George Romero. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:16.400 Yes. 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:20.240 As well another one of my influences. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:28:12.000 I just uh again loves how he he deals with uh political themes and just kind of his his observations on the state of the world through his uh his zombie and that's why do we use all kinds of things you know with them as a as a genre element so yeah I'd have to say zombies nice oh very cool and but if you had to be stuck in a room with one of those creatures uh would you prefer to be stuck in a room with a vampire a zombie or a witch so I um uh thinking about it I think I feel like a witch might be too unpredictable because you know I don't know exactly what they want to do to me um or turn or turn me into or what um whereas whereas with a

uh with a vampire or zombie most likely likely you will be turned into something it's and it's like do you want to be a a mindless zombie or perhaps a a vampire so neither of them are great vampire I feel like cool and have you ever had any uh paranormal experiences speaking of paranormal creatures not really no uh well I guess there was just one time um you know it's just the strangest uh thing I I guess there's you know never any explanation for it or anything but I just I awoken to see a slowly uh disappearing head oh just uh kind of just floating and then just kind of gradually disappearing and that was it I have that was it no uh idea why that happened but yeah just a slowly disappearing head a very a very serious looking man oh wow slowly disappearing oh man maybe it was an ancestor or I I don't think so he didn't look like me oh gosh yeah but what are your thoughts on uh the paranormal uh do you believe or are you like a like an optimistic skeptic or an all-around skeptic and if you do believe like do you think it's more residual energy or human spirits or something more malevolent um what are your thoughts um yeah I'm I'm I'm super uh super interested in the paranormal as not you know I'm not sure how much I believe in it but uh as you know as far as ghosts uh definitely I I feel like the theory that makes most sense is just of uh past you know of people who have passed um so so yeah I feel like uh I'm more of the in the residual uh camp as far as uh as ghosts uh yeah I'm kind of you know iffy on things like uh Sasquatch and aliens um you know I'm I'm open to things but I I don't I don't really have a definite yeah yeah I mean I I think it's personally a little bit of all of the above like I definitely think there's definitely the whole residual energy especially in a place like uh Gettysburg or some place where a that that what where a lot of trauma happened there might be some energy that's still trapped within that area and I also do think that there are still some human spirits that stay behind um and then of course you have your malevolent entities that you don't really want to run into but um but if you were to run into say a Sasquatch or Mothman or anything like that how do you think you'd react I just feel like they're they're just oh for one thing I don't I think I would be very still I I wouldn't want to attract its attention um yeah I think I just think above all there would just be the quiet realization like yep that that exists I have that question answered yeah and just hope it uh leaves me alone doesn't look at you and like hmm yeah yeah but um yeah I I don't I don't think I'm gonna try to interview it or anything like that. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:32:53.519 I just like okay you you exist no I've been curious about it now you can you know go now you can just go back to wherever dimension you came from you know oh gosh yeah go back to that yeah yeah I that that's another uh fascinating thing too is just thinking about how there

could be portals to other dimensions and other realms and that because especially if the people do have sightings um it's it and it does beg the question of okay well if there's sightings and they exist where are they coming from so that's another um and and that's a thing too like only a small percentage of our forests and oceans have been have been explored and so it's just like we don't really know what's there and uh some have even suggested that even some prehistoric creatures might even be deep in the ocean and stuff and some have c claim to have heard like mermaid calls at late at night and it's just it's really like when you when you listen to some of these people you know these people in their accounts it's just like you know yeah oh my gosh like I mean it sounds scary so um but do you have like um a favorite yeah yeah interesting and and but do you have like a favorite urban legend or anything that fascinates you um you know that I feel like the the Mothman is pretty uh pretty interesting uh particularly how he seems to um um be the herald of like like disasters that that follow his appearance uh pretty interesting um yeah yeah yeah well I I know when I was growing up I loved the scary stories to tell in the dark books and those actually yeah those fueled my love for horror and my fascination with the paranormal and the supernatural um yeah so those so those act also influenced you as well yeah those definitely um got me though they helped helped get me further into horror um and yeah particularly like the uh you know the artwork and those books was so uh so creepy and Stephen Gamble's artwork um so I feel like it's kind of influenced me as an artist as well yeah yeah oh yeah if you if you remember um what was your fate what what do you have a favorite story from that from that one of those books so there's they're hard but I mean I never read them since I was a kid uh so it's hard to recall them I remember there was one you know it was the classic thing where uh they I think these these people were at a cabin and there was some kind of creature out there and you know one of their friends was outside and they heard something scratching at the door does that sound familiar but uh and then when they when in the morning you know when they look at the door you know spoiler alert for really old books but uh yes there's the bloody fingerprint of his uh of his friend's hand that I was trying to get in that just really really got to me yeah there's another one that uh it was I don't I just remember I just remember the endings to these um and I guess it was about a guy who who everyone they they didn't like him but they never really said anything. 00:32:54.640 --> 00:33:19.279 Uh and I just remember I feel like what it ended with him you know having died but then I think a character sees him through the peephole like as he he's like knocks on the door and it's it's him and he just looks through this peephole and just from the look on his face he

can tell that you can tell that this ghost knows everything that they uh that they really thought about him as he was alive. 00:33:19.519 --> 00:35:39.840 Yeah and it's that was just such a haunting idea uh to me and um the third the third one and I don't even think this was a scary story to tell in the dark but just the classic green ribbon around the neck thing the woman green ribbon around her neck that yeah yeah you don't yeah and he um and he tells she tells her lover that she can never take it off and yeah I'm I'm not gonna spoil that one but I'm sure everyone knows about we probably know where it's going you know or we've heard that story yeah yeah I actually I got the three books off eBay recently and um I also got well and I had like the the hardback version that had like all three volumes in it too so I have like a couple different copies of the scary stories trilogy and I was like yeah I think I'm going to maybe you know just read them for fun over spooky season and yeah so are you like reading any books or anything for over spooky season like any cool horror books um not not really unfortunately um I do I I need to need to improve my reading habits um yeah I'm not haven't been much of a reader lately unfortunately yeah I I go through spurts myself and well because I do I also do book reviews on the YouTube channel for this podcast and um I'm going through a spurt where I'm doing book reviews and accepting like submissions from authors and stuff but then I also do go through a spurt where I just don't have time to do that and I I you know and I don't ask for like ARC copies because I don't want to you know be like oh yeah I'll review your book and then you know and then it's like I then I don't so yeah I don't want to be that so I I you know I just try to make sure like I'm aware of okay this is a reading season for me and I can do book reviews and okay this is kind of not a reading season because I'm super busy and so I'm not gonna do book reviews at least for this time being but I'll let people know when I open back that that back up. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:59.039 But yeah but um but I do try to um especially at this time of year like in the when it's starting to get colder because just for me I'm just like you know I just like you know curling up with a nice spooky story and especially when it's like a cold autumn night and everything. 00:35:59.280 --> 00:41:20.639 So yeah but as far as uh your own writing goes um what advice would you have for any aspiring writers or filmmakers for that matter um it's really I think it's really uh uh good and important to uh try to uh network uh within your your film community uh you know that's the there's there's like filmmaking groups in you know my city of Columbus Ohio that are are really good um there you know definitely one thing I found useful is like there are different film competitions like the uh 48 hour film project where teams of people try to make a short film in 48 hours and that's

you know just those are uh a really good like exercise uh and also just a really good networking opportunity just to you get to work with so many you know people yeah um and all you know trying to do this pretty difficult thing is make making a film in a very short time um so yeah and also just uh you know try and get your work out there you know submit to uh film festivals um you know to uh also find writers like make befriend writers and you know get feedback from them and just um you know just uh can give their feedback and honest consideration yeah and always always come in it with you know there's always more that you can learn always more that you can do better and always trying to improve yeah yeah and don't be afraid to suck at something first because everybody has to start somewhere and that's how you get better that's how you get your foot in the door that's how you improve and everything so yeah absolutely and um what's coming up uh next for you uh well I um seems to get to go on the festival uh circuit with uh with Shadowplay uh so uh this next weekend is um genre blast film festival cool where uh shadow play is uh it's a finalist for um for best screenplay best short screenplay so I'll be uh going to uh to to uh winchester um virginia for that and uh I was there uh last year where I was you know so happy that uh my script unsafe to occupy you know uh won the uh best short screenplay award there and that was it's just a huge honor for me and it was also it was just a huge festival um I believe you you interviewed Nathan Ludwig who who runs the festival yeah um and then after the weekend after that is uh Horror Hounds in Cincinnati which um I will also be there with uh with Shadowplay and this is my first time at that festival so super excited uh for that yeah and that's I'm also a finalist for uh finalist in a in a a bunch of different categories and so so honored and uh including best screenplay and uh judge it screenplay yeah oh that's awesome yeah and definitely keep me posted on when uh Shadowplay is ready to be uh seen by audiences because yeah we definitely would love to yeah maybe have you back on and talk a little bit more about it because obviously you'll be able to talk more about the talk more about Shadow Play once it's ready to uh be released out unleashed out to the world so yeah but um yeah absolutely but is there like do you ever get like I don't know if emotional is the right word but I know sometimes it's like when a project is done and it's unleashed out to the world it's almost like unleashing one of your own kids out to the world in a way like do you feel like that about um any work that you do and release um I guess like to be to be honest uh I sometimes am just a kind of exhausted but by by like the little work of doing it when it's so when it's out I don't even really want to think about it or look at look at it anymore. 00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:52.320 So so yeah you know and you you mentioned earlier the advice

of uh letting things sit for a while and then going back to it and that that is advice I always mean to follow but just when I'm working I'm just it's almost like in just an obsession like just you know kind of eating sleeping breathing this one project until it is absolutely done. 00:41:52.480 --> 00:42:10.400 Yeah and then you know sometimes it gets to the point where I'm you know I'm a visual artist too but I can sometimes barely bring myself to draw like a poster or illustration for something I've written because I'm just so over it. 00:42:10.719 --> 00:42:11.039 Yeah. 00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:16.800 So maybe if I did take a break and come back to it I wouldn't get so exhausted with things. 00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:21.280 So yeah that's just how how I am yeah creatively. 00:42:21.840 --> 00:42:22.320 Yeah. 00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:39.119 Is there like a projected goal date on when you guys want to have shadow play done or is it still a little too early to determine I think by just by the end of next year definitely. 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:40.639 Yeah. 00:42:40.960 --> 00:43:24.480 Oh awesome so where can people uh find you and find out more about your work um they can uh find me primarily on Instagram uh I am uh Derek Stewart44 on there and yeah I I post a lot about uh festivals and stuff I'm working on and you know occasionally uh some art that I'm doing and yeah I have uh I do have a a YouTube channel as well where I do have some of my short films that I've directed cool up for people to see. 00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:49.280 Yeah I'll have to find your YouTube channel if I'm not subscribed yet I will definitely subscribe so yes awesome what's the name of your YouTube channel great yeah what's the name of your YouTube channel it's it's it's it's not customized it's just it's Derek Stewart and then there's a series of numbers okay uh after it I'm not exactly sure so if that's one of those. 00:43:49.519 --> 00:44:24.800 Yeah I'll just we'll send me the link like when we're done here absolutely and I'll post the link in the description when this um episode goes live but um but yeah definitely absolutely just congratulations on everything that you've got going on and just yeah absolutely keep going with it because obviously I think you're on to something with the amount of times your scripts have been final finalists and you know winning and all that I mean it's just been I sounds like you're just on to something really good and yeah we're excited to see what you know what can come in the future. 00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:38.239 So well thank you so much Derek for coming on here it was really a pleasure talking with you yeah likewise thank thank you so much for having me really appreciate it. 00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:39.199 Thank you so much. 00:44:39.760 --> 00:44:58.320 Yeah and definitely we'll have to keep updated on what you're working on on shadow play and um and yeah again you know I I think you're definitely on to something really good here because it just seems to all be kind of going in your favor, which is always good and always great to see. 00:44:58.559 --> 00:45:14.239 So yeah like look forward to seeing shadow play but um but once again uh thank you so much for uh coming on and thank you to everybody that's been tuning in and uh listening and and I I just I appreciate it so much. 00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:59.360 I appreciate how this podcast has been growing since its inception uh last Halloween because I did all I wanted the uh I wanted the anniversary to always be on Halloween and yeah I am thinking of something kind of special for the Halloween uh show so but again Derek thank you so much and thank you uh again everybody I do drop an episode every Friday except for on how Halloween not Halloween weekends except for on holiday weekends and with the exception of Halloween because there will be a special episode but as always wherever you are until the next episode stay safe stay fierce and stay spooky