Part 1.

I knew I wanted to be screenwriter........

when, in Junior High School, an almost sudden onslaught of movies produced during the 90s by gifted filmmakers the likes of The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Ken Loach, Cameron Crowe, and Paul Thomas Anderson, introduced a vibrant cinema that sparked an obsession within me to go back and experience a whole history of cinema, which I've been enamored by ever since.

I know I've succeeded........ 

when I am able to witness a strong and nuanced emotional reaction from people experiencing my work as a writer and filmmaker.
 

My inspiration to write Good Ship.....

when, as an enthusiastic fan of professional football, I very recently started to notice an infusion of female football analysts and sports television journalists who are often called upon to possess an impeccable football acuity, to be a consummate professional onset, and to always be "on", all while -- in most cases -- serving essentially as eye candy for an entire landscape of rabid football fans. I saw the phenomenon for its immediate potential as an equally engaging and entertaining motion picture.

Part 2.

FilmMakers Magazine: What inspired you to write?

Romeo Brooks: I was inspired to write essentially from a lifelong love of movies and books.

FilmMakers Magazine: How did you prepare yourself to write your first script?

Romeo Brooks: I prepared myself to write my first script by simply musing on the subject about which I was writing. A lot of the process was merely giving a lot of thought, and a lot of emotional consideration with regards to the characters and their circumstances.

FilmMakers Magazine: Is this your first script and how long did it take you to complete?

Romeo Brooks: Good Ship' is definitely not my first script. It took me about a month to write.

FilmMakers Magazine: Do you have a set routine, place and time management for writing?

Romeo Brooks: I know a lot of writers have a set routine for working on their scripts but I've never had that. I simply spend a great deal of time thinking about the characters, and the writing seems to come when I reach a kind of critical mass. By then, the challenge is often to stop writing.

FilmMakers Magazine: Do you believe screenplay contests are important for aspiring screenwriters and why?

Romeo Brooks: I believe screenplay competitions are of the utmost importance to aspiring writers because they're -- in most cases -- the only entray writers have available to them when attempting to break into the industry, especially considering the sort of lockbox Hollywood culture that persists. In a lot of ways, screenwriting contests are a kind of practical means for pursuing something that is often considered impractical.

FilmMakers Magazine: What influenced you to enter the FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards / Screenplay Contest?

Romeo Brooks: To be blunt, what influenced me to enter the Filmmakers International Screenwriter Awards was the fact that it was always at the top of nearly every list I would come across while searching for a contest to enter. I new I wanted to enter the very best contest, and I'm convinced it is.

FilmMakers Magazine: What script would you urge aspiring writers to read and why?

Romeo Brooks:  If there's a single screenplay out there that I think every screenwriter can benefit from reading, it's The Godfather II. It, quite simply, has every element a screenplay needs to be great.

FilmMakers Magazine: Beside screenwriting what are you passionate about and why?

Romeo Brooks: I'm a desperate reader. Literature is nearly everything to me.

FilmMakers Magazine: Who is your favorite Screenwriter and Why?

Romeo Brooks: Like so many writers of my generation, Quentin Tarantino is a strong favorite, particularly his earlier work. There's an exuberance in his writing that always makes for an engaging movie-going experience, which could not be said for many a talented screenwriter.

FilmMakers Magazine: Name the director you would love to work with and why?

Romeo Brooks: As a writer, I'd like very much to work with Michael Patrick King, particularly for 'Good Ship' . I think he would know exactly what to do with this material, and I think, in collaboration, he and I would produce an entertaining and engaging movie.

FilmMakers Magazine: Name the actor you would love to work with and why?

Romeo Brooks: I think Jennifer Lawrence would be pure magic in the role of McKenzie Suttgartner, in the movie 'Good Ship'.

FilmMakers Magazine: Any tips and things learned along the way to pass on to others?

Romeo Brooks: I find that talking about writing, and also talking about movies in general, with other writers is a valuable and grossly underused tool for improving ones writing.

FilmMakers Magazine: What's next for you?

Romeo Brooks: I have my first featured directorial effort in post and, hopefully, 'Good Ship' will, very soon, be bandied about as a hot piece of creative material, amongst industry insiders.

FilmMakers Magazine: Where will you be five years from now?

Romeo Brooks: In five years, I see myself as a respected and commercially successfully writer-director in Hollywood.