Cluj-Napoca, Romania – Adrian Manea

BlueCat: Why did you start writing screenplays?

Adrian Manea: Really felt I had stories to tell. Maybe some sense of inadequacy as well?

BlueCat: What is your highest screenwriting goal for yourself?

AM: To have the reader craving to experience that world, not just witness it.

BlueCat: What aspects of the writing process do you struggle with the most?

AM: Following the well accepted and established rules. They’re not making guns. Safety should not come first.

BlueCat: What movies do you watch to remind yourself that you love screenwriting?

AM: The bad ones. It’s easy to keep optimistic on good movies.

BlueCat: What do you feel you do well as a screenwriter?

AM: I deliver a hell of a premise.

BlueCat: Do you feel that screenwriting is different in your country than it is in Hollywood? If so, how?

AM: Different, yes. One can see the extremely low budget mentality starting with the script and moving on throughout all production steps. Stories are mostly limited to a scene-by-scene enthusiasm and less on the big picture. There’s less emphasis on the characters’ arc and depth and too much on the social/action aspect and verbal mannerisms. Even most of the internationally awarded Romanian films (at Cannes etc) fall short of character-based storytelling and rely more on the social portraying and the dystopian snippets.

BlueCat: What screenplay have you written which you feel most proud of and why?

AM: Yes, We Cry – proud of creating a world where expressing emotions is a standard, a place where only those who hold in are weird.