Fade In: Interview With The 4400 Writer, Creator Scott Peters
HILIGHT CREDITS: Writer of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Highlander, The Outer Limits, Goosebumps, Ghost Stories
CURRENT PROJECT: Co-executive producer and writer of The 4400, an up and coming sci-fi series for USA Network
Back on December 5, 2003, we reported on the recent trade announcement that USA Network picked up and ordered six episodes of the upcoming sci-fi series The 4400, created by former Outer Limits producer, director and writer, Scott Peters. As we also reported, the series will... "follow the lives of 4,400 alien abductees upon their return to Earth by unknown forces." What can small-screen fans expect from this new venture into the unknown? If you're picturing what you've already come to know and expect from past alien oriented shows, you may want to wipe the imagination slate clean for this one. Working in conjunction with co-executive producer Francis Ford Coppola, Peters and The 4400 team are aiming for a higher standard; one that explores the deeper facets of our human condition and the resulting impact of one profound, distressing event.
With our ears to the ground, keen to learn more about both the show and the writer, we recently caught up with Scott Peters, who shared his thoughts on everything from how he got his start in the business, to the changing opportunity for television writers today, his professional experiences working on past shows, what fans can expect from The 4400, and how aspiring television writers can break into the industry.
Here now is the our latest interview, this time with The 4400 co-executive producer, creator, and writer of USA's The 4400...
SCREENWRITER'S VOICE: Can you tell us a bit about how you got started in the business?
SCOTT PETERS: I started out directing, actually. I made a half hour film that got a lot of attention and was signed to an agency the night it screened. From there I was pitched around to various shows -- and to one show in particular, Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Nickelodeon. At the time, they had all their directing slots filled and they asked if I wanted to pitch some stories. I did and they liked one, so I wrote it. The next season I both wrote and directed another episode. From there the writing work grew very quickly which unfortunately edged out any time for me to direct. Half a dozen Are You Afraid of the Dark's led to half a dozen Goosebumps episodes, which led to Highlander scripts and so on.
SV: How has opportunity evolved for television writers since you broke in?
SP: There have been monumental changes since I started, which is really not all that long ago. No one said this was a stable industry. How have things changed for the better? Three words: cable, cable and more cable. Ten years ago places like Sci Fi Channel, USA, TNT, FX (was that even around 10 years ago?) almost never produced any original programming. Cut to today, they are spending millions, garnering big ratings as well as Emmys. More networks mean more buyers looking for content. Since cable networks typically spend less on their shows than broadcast, they're more likely to take a chance with someone new to the game.
On the down side of things, the traditional writing staff has taken a huge hit. Shows used to fully staff with five or six or more writers all at different levels. Now many shows have cut out the middle class, opting for show runners and story editors only. With so many experienced writers out of work, those entry level jobs are harder to get because many of those writers from the middle class will step in and fill the lower role even if it means a cut in pay.
SV: You've written for such shows as Highlander and The Outer Limits, how have those projects made you a better writer?
SP: Highlander was fun because it was my first one hour and I was kind of a "go to" guy for a while. They would throw a script at me when they were too backed up to get them all done and for the most part they let me do my own thing. They also usually had some very well beat out stories by the time I'd come in, so they deserve a lot of the credit for those episodes. I was just glad to be working and contributing. But from those outlines I learned, by osmosis, how to build a theme through an episode and how to structure it so the characters are put through their paces in a way that makes us root for them and leaves us wanting more. Outer Limits was a different situation because I was actually on staff there. I worked with a great bunch of guys, all more seasoned than I was. I got my first experience in a room, round-tabling ideas and breaking stories. I was always being challenged to take something that felt familiar and put a fresh spin on it -- something we did a lot of since we were approaching 100 episodes at the time. I also really got into the spirit of collaboration on that show. It's wonderful when everyone is trying to elevate your idea and are selflessly throwing some of their best stuff at it even though they're not going to get a writing credit. It makes you want to return the favor when you start working on their story.
SV: Having directed Are You Afraid of the Dark?, in addition to episodes of The Outer Limits, from a directorial standpoint, how do you approach material on a weekly basis to ensure you're getting the best you can out of the script?
SP: Both shows were anthologies so there wasn't really an issue of trying to get something new out of the next episode. They were like little movies onto themselves. On Are You Afraid of the Dark? there really was only one goal -- make it scary. Outer Limits was more about the characters for me. These were brand new original characters you were only ever going to get to see in one 1 hour episode, so my goal was always to make them as fully formed as possible. The Outer Limits premise would usually take care of itself, so long as you made the characters grounded and you found yourself rooting for them.
SV: Currently, you're creator and writer of The 4400, a new sci-fi series for USA, which begins production in February. From what we've read so far, it sounds very intriguing. Can you elaborate on the story for us?
SP: This show has been a long time coming and I'm really excited about the story so I don't want to give too much away. Although I will say when I started this project little did I know that 4400 would refer to the number of drafts we'd be doing. Crappy jokes aside, the good news is that the original premise, the story and most of the characters survived development hell and it's something that I'm really proud of. I've always wanted to do an ensemble character piece, the tough part is having enough story to go around. This show has the exact opposite problem, there's so much story you have decide which is the most compelling and which elements you can live without. A great problem to have but also an excruciating one. Especially when this was only going to be a 1 hour pilot. Now that USA has expanded it to 2 one hours (Part I and Part II), it gives us a lot more breathing room to deliver all the elements we think should be part of the opener. And the one thing we've heard over and over again from multiple high level executives at four different networks is -- "My god, the opening!" Whatever you do don't miss the first 15 minutes of the pilot. It's designed to reach through the screen, grab the viewer and pull them in -- and barring any script changes between now and when we shoot it (we're currently in prep as we speak), I think it's going to rock! Hopefully when it comes time to advertise, the marketing people will be judicious in their campaign and not give away all the good stuff.
SV: How will it be different from what television fans have come to expect from the "alien abduction" phenomenon?
SP: Who said anything about aliens? [*he said with a smirk*]
SV: What's been your approach to the research? Have you spoken with any well known Ufologists, or even people who claim they've been abducted?
SP: No. The show is less about that phenomenon than it is about what happens when people's lives are interrupted in an extraordinary way. How do they go about putting themselves back together? How do they deal with now suddenly being part of a new minority? How will (some of them) reconcile the fact that almost everyone they knew has lived their lives and are now gone, but they haven't aged a day. What if you were Rip Van Winkle? And of course there will be other strange phenomenon the 4400 are going to have to deal with. They've been changed in some way while they were gone and these changes will slowly being to manifest themselves -- much to the surprise of both our heroes and the 4400 themselves.
SV: How, and in what capacity, did Francis Ford Coppola get involved?
SP: I took the idea around to three or four production companies and all of them were interested. Maira Suro, who was the president of American Zoetrope Television, Francis Ford Coppola's company, was the one I decided to go with. From there, she and her staff and myself developed the story. We went out with it on a Friday morning (a year ago September) and pitched it to FOX who ended up buying it in the room. Fox eventually passed. From there it grabbed the attention of several other networks until we landed at USA.
SV: Writing wise, what's your overall vision for series?
SP: You know the ad, It's not TV, it's HBO; that's what I want to help do over at USA. I aspire make those kinds of shows that you can't find on broadcast TV. Ones that allow you to soak in the characters and really become invested in what's happening with them, all while moving them through this strange new world they find themselves in. We keep saying in our story meetings how we wouldn't want to go with a certain moment because it's "too TV". And we're approaching every aspect of the show that way from casting, to visual effects, to locations, to music. It may sound a little pretentious, but I just have no interest in adding to the large quantity of dreck that's already out there. Come on people, where'd all the good TV go?!
SV: What's the best advice or helpful tip you'd give to aspiring television writers trying to break in?
SP: Write, write and write. Pick a show you love and write a spec script for it. Then do it again and then again. Find a way to get one or more of those scripts to someone somewhere connected to an agent. And just don't give up. 95% of us who are working in the industry for what ever reason didn't let the normally enormous amount of rejection scare us away -- whether that's a sign of intelligence or stupidity is up for grabs -- but that's really one of the biggest parts of this whole game. Who can hang on the longest. And the one really great thing about writing a TV spec is that there is so much already established for you. So much of the world and the characters and the dynamics are already there that you get to concentrate on the shading of these elements. And the best part, if you know the show really well, the dialogue practically writes itself. You know how certain characters speak, their rhythm, their phrasing, the vernacular. I was amazed when I wrote a Star Trek: The Next Generation spec in college how Picard's words just flowed out of me. Make it so!
Main || News