Will two chimps type Shakespeare? A pot smoking visionary enlists a struggling book shop owner in a screw-loose plan to jumpstart Evolution. Against long odds and a couple of Mob loan sharks, the rewards are higher consciousness, human speech, and a Nobel Prize for Literature.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Geoff Mays
Mushroom: Hannah Ehman
Mitchell: Steve Rizzo
Abbey: Val Cole
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
It's a comedy about a hare-brained plan to jump-start Evolution. I began with that old probability teaser, How long would it take one hundred monkeys to type Shakespeare? The answer? Exactly two chimpanzees, in a surprisingly short time! Heaven has a vested interest here in correcting our course of planetary and self-destruction, too. A crazy, maybe dark, premise. But the comedy comes from the characters involved: a hapless bookseller and a pot-smoking visionary, their more stable, sensible wives, two Mob loan sharks, and two chimpanzees, Dick and TOOP.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Comedy, maybe even sci-fi. And throw in some hard-boiled Chandler-esque crime fiction.for flavor.
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because Speak Monkey Speak both entertains and challenges the audience, a rare two-fer, I think. Through some hilarious and outragous scenarios it tackles heavier themes: Our place and purpose on this Planet; Progress, Inspiration, Race. By the end you look back and say, Holy shit we covered some ground! And, laughed all the way, I hope.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Jump-starting Evolution. Two and a half words?
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Probably a toss-up between Doctor Strangelove, Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, and Pineapple Express. Many times the movie ends and you hit Play, again.
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
The earliest version was a novel I wrote about ten years ago. It was painful to fill 225 blank pages. But then I saw a friend's screenplay and I thought, Hell, I can carve out the best parts and ideas and paste them together! That editing job was the best education I ever had.. I love great literature, but when I write my goal is fast, smart and funny.
7. How many stories have you written?
I've got a scrap pile of stories I've started and discarded the last few years, along with comedy sketches and standup. It even includes a bi-racial romance about a man and a woman finding solace and each other, called The Bubble. Of course it gets popped. But I kept coming back to Speak Monkey Speak. I realized I had something here, and I could learn just as much from reworking this one as starting a new one. It's gone through many versions and character and plot changes. It was originally called Man Seeking Monkey. In that version it won the comedy genre at the first LA Film and Script Festival in 2016. They sent me an award certificate that read Man Seeking Money. I wrote back, asked for a corrected certificate. They said, Sure, no problem. They sent me another: Man Seeking Money. I keep them both on my wall, side by side.
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
Probably the Ramones' She's the One.
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Mostly self-inflicted ones, like getting lazy and thinking, Okay, it's done. It never really is. I read somewhere that the same work would be different at different points in your life, because you are different. Sounds about right.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
The environment. I lived for years in dramatic, remote, radically beautiful places in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. You experience Nature in an intense, very personal way: a snowstorm, a Spring shower, sunrise and sunset on the horizon, the stars at night, an owl hooting, elk herds and bears, a mountain lion's paw prints on the creek bank, a neon green meteor flashing and landing nearby. But mostly, that incredible Silence.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
It works! I'm always searching for a useful festival. I found this Toronto festival, and years ago the festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. They gave me strong advice: Your story doesn't really have an ending. They were right. It didn't. It does now!
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
The biggest draw for me was the coverage, being able to choose a professional. I was very pleased with the help Leon Masters gave me. His focus was, What do YOU need from this? The table read was gravy!! I have a friend who is a big fan of audiobooks, and she was delighted by it. She said, It sounds just like a comedy! That was a relief. You live in your head and on paper. It was totally worth it to hear other interpretations. And I swear the actress riffed on something and improved it! I added it immediately. And I felt, THAT'S what filming must feel like, a team effort. So it was nice to get a taste of that.
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