STEVE GARVY

2003 WINNER

I WRITE
By Steve Garvy

I'm an Irishman. I love to tell a good story. Usually over a pint or two. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay much to tell stories in bars, so I tell them in Final Draft. To this point, that hasn't paid much either, but I knew going in that I probably wasn't going to make a killing writing screenplays - I don't think anyone in their right mind pursues a career in screenwriting as a means of achieving financial security.

Basically, I write because I think I'd die if I didn't, or perhaps my wife would kill me, because I'd be such an insufferable prig to be around. Writing's my outlet. My release. My escape. My perfect world. I'm the kind of guy who thinks of the snappy answer or cutting rebuttal a few hours later, usually while lying in bed. But when I'm writing a script, it doesn't matter how long it takes for the perfect dialogue to come to me, as long as it arrives before we go into production. I really love that aspect to writing; eventually, through many, many rewrites, I can tell exactly the story I want to tell, pint or no pint!

STEPHEN GARVEY'S award-winning short film "Boy-Next-Door" was produced by Cale Boyter ("Elf," "Wedding Crashers") and has been praised by such industry icons as Harold Ramis and Peter Farrelly. "Boy-Next-Door" is currently available on iTunes, where it premiered on the Short Films Top Ten list. His screenplay "9/11 Kevin" was recently optioned by Feverpitch Pictures, with Jace Alexander ("Rescue Me,") attached to direct and Tom Cavanagh ("Ed") to star. His theatrical plays "Cut Me Down" and "Dead Fathers" have enjoyed performances in several NY and DC theatres. Stephen lives in New York and is represented by The Gersh Agency.

"Boy-Next-Door" came about as a result of The One-In-Ten Contest and its partnership with Inktip. The eventual director/producer of the short had contacted me after seeing the press release on Inktip about "Outrage" winning. He read the script, which was posted on Inktip (part of the contest win), and while he couldn't afford to produce "Outrage," he commissioned me to write a 10-minute short. Six months later, I was a produced writer, hob-nobbing with celebrities at the 2005 HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. So, thanks again, One In Ten!!