INTERVIEW: Jeff Howard
Screenwriter of Prize Fighter

Jeff Howard teamed up with Director Mark Mason recently to write, shoot and release the movie PRIZE FIGHTER on DVD. Then, as part of the process of building his career, Jeff spent a week on the phone promoting the movie in interviews on over 25 radio stations and a series of sports TV shows.

I know Jeff because he has taken many of the ScriptForSale screenwriting classes over the last few years. So he was kind enough to join us for a quick interview.

HAL: Jeff, you're the co-writer of an Indie movie that starred Gary Busey, Tonya Harding, and Leon Spinks, right? That was quite a trio to have together. What was it like working with them?

JEFF: Well, they all had their own unique personalities. Of the three, everyone loved Leon. He's laid back, easy going guy who is really a lot of fun. Gary Busey lived up to his reputation of being somewhat challenging to work with and unpredictable. On a spectrum, Leon was on one end, Gary on the other and Tanya in the middle. But all of them did a really good job.

HAL: You've written a couple of movies with Mark Mason, the director of Prize Fighter, is that right?

JEFF: Actually, Mark and I have written a half a dozen screenplays.

HAL: So you hooked up with him before he had some level of success as a director?

JEFF: He made a movie in the early 90's called Party Crasher. It was a typical teen slasher movie. I'd never done any acting, but I'd done some fiction writing. I actually went to the auditions with the intent of being a special effects make-up guy because I love special effects.

So I showed up at a Shoney's restaurant where they were planning it. We met once a week for six months. He had written a script he had written that was basically a rough draft. He handed it out and we did auditions. When I did my audition, I changed my lines...because his lines were really awful. He'll say that is true. Every one else was reading his crappy lines. I was reading my lines and I blew him away. Right there in the room. He said "Everybody see what this guy did? I want you to do that. Take my bad lines and make them your own."

From that point on, I became part of his inner circle. That night I did that audition, I literally had to force my hand up in the air when he asked for someone to do the part. I was so scared. But it was a turning point in my life. I'm so glad I did it.

HAL: Talk with me about the writing process you went through with him on Prize Fighter.

JEFF: This is a movie he actually lived as a fight promoter. He wrote a rough draft of the first act and an outline of the rest of the script. So I rewrote the first act and then continued on to write the rest of the script. Then I gave it to him and he made changes. From that point on, we went back and forth, improving the movie. He would take a pass through it, then I would. We'd add and change things as we went.

HAL: From a previous conversation, I know that there were parts in the script that you wanted changed, but since this is Mark's story, he's directing, and he's producing, you had to write it his way. In that situation, how to you make sure you feel okay about yourself as a writer?

JEFF: Well...the things I was concerned about were relatively minor to the story. We have a good relationship. When I'd stand up and present another viewpoint, he'd listen. He wouldn't always say "yes." But we both have the same goal -- to make the best movie we can.

I've now become a confidant for him. When I showed up at Party Crasher, I was just another guy in the crowd. But today, I'm the guy he talks to daily about the most intimate details of the movie.

HAL: Do you guys have another movie on the way?

JEFF: Yes, we do. It is about a small town where the school lost funds for sports. So they closed down the football team, but the players decided to keep practicing. After a while, the town rallied behind them and they ended up playing a modified season and made it to the State playoffs.

HAL: Really, is it a true story?

JEFF: It is. And so far, we have Willy Nelson committed. We're working on getting Gary Busey, Tanya Harding, and Leon Spinks back for it. Since we're in Oklahoma, we may get Barry Switzer who coached at OU and took the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl one year. Mark is working on some other public names for the movie. And then, my challenge will be to keep the movie focused on the real story and somehow get all these names in it.

HAL: Interesting challenge. Now, you've been out promoting this. Have you been promoting as the writer or as an actor? I know you played a part in the movie.

JEFF: Yeah, as the writer. It is a little frustrating because I had a larger role in the movie than Gary, Tanya, or Leon. Certainly, the radio stations and newspapers, even the distribution companies are going to mention those names, because those names are the ones that cause people to pick up this movie. Even Rob Boyd, who plays the fighter isn't getting mentioned. No one is going to rent this movie because Jeff Howard is in it.

HAL: Hey, I'll rent it because Jeff Howard is in it. And I'll encourage everyone on my newsletter to rent it. Let's give a writer a fighting chance!

JEFF: Well, thank you. I believe that God has put me in this position and this is what I'm meant to do. So I'm going to make movies here and learn as much as I can about writing until I find the one story that offers all of the stuff I want in my first movie, then I'm going to direct it.

HAL: That is a smart strategy, to make sure that whatever you direct for the first time is so well written that it makes you shine.

JEFF: Yeah, great writing can make up for deficiencies in other departments -- acting, technical, wherever.

HAL: You took some of my classes. What did you think of them?

JEFF: They were awesome. You provide excellent resources for people to become great writers. But they get out of it what they put into it. I'm a notoriously slow writer and the first time I ever had a breakthrough on that was in your classes. Because I usually struggle over every word. I finally learned to write without editing for the first draft. It is that thing that "you don't write a great script, you rewrite a great script."

HAL: Exactly. What are your plans for the future?

JEFF: Keep writing, keep acting, keep promoting. We're talking about a sequel to Party Crasher. I'm also working on setting up my work so I have more time to spend with my family plus writing and making movies.

HAL: Any last words for screenwriters/directors?

JEFF: I heard this from a guy who works in the entertainment business. The one key to success is perseverance. I tell everyone "This is not a business that you can fail at. This is a only a business where you can quit trying. I'm either going to achieve this goal of mine or I'm going to die. It is one or the other."

You can read more about Jeff Howards movie at http://www.prizefighterthemovie.com/. You can rent the movie at NetFlix.com or buy it at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.