SHORT BIO
Roxane Dupont is a French producer and writer with a background in both European and American film industries. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literature from La Sorbonne, a Master’s degree in Film Production from EICAR, and a Certificate in Film and TV Development from UCLA. She began her career producing several short films in France and worked as a production assistant at Petite Maison Production, where she contributed to the post-production of The Wild One, a feature documentary narrated by Willem Dafoe and honored at the Tribeca Film Festival. Now based between Paris and Los Angeles, she has written and developed a number of short-form projects, including her original series Couples Therapy, which was her directing debut and is currently in post-production. In addition to writing, she works as a behind-the-scenes photographer and collaborates with a prominent French YouTuber as a creative writer. She is currently developing multiple projects, including her debut feature film.
FILMOGRAPHY
Overflow (dir. Jeanne Rethore), Enticed (dir. Junda Wu, co-written with Azy Intara)
1. What is the first story you ever wrote?
Before ever writing one story from beginning to end, I used to write bits of stories here and there. I would have an idea and write down a page or two, either describing a character, or an entire scene at random. Whatever would come to mind, without ever finishing anything. I think the first story I ever wrote from A to Z was Don’t Fear the Reaper, which I did about two years ago. It’s a feature musical, and it still needs a lot of work, but it’s there.
2. Growing up, what movies or stories inspired your creative passion?
As far as I can remember, movies, TV shows and books have always been part of my life. I know TV shows always held a special place. I’ve always wanted to be able to build an audience, to have people follow my characters’ journey, the same way I followed – for instance – Buffy (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I’ve also always been deeply moved by musicals. I don’t think anything can give me motivation and inspire me to create than musicals (Tik, Tik… Boom was a wakeup call for me). Maybe that’s why the first feature I wrote was a musical as well.
3. For an unknown writer, what is the best way to get their screenplay seen?
If someone has the answer to that, I’d like to know too! More seriously, I think the best way for you – as a screenwriter – to show people what you can do is to write as much as you can and produce some of your screenplays (short films with tiny budget). People will always be more willing to watch a five minute short than to read six pages of a script. Get people to know you, and then, when you have a screenplay you’re really proud of and you want to shoot seriously, send it to festivals, to fellowships, and to friends who know people in the industry. And if no one wants it, don’t take no for an answer, make your movie anyway (by filming a proof of concept for instance). It’s so hard to make it here, that I don’t think there’s a best way to get your screenplay seen. There are ways that may or may not work, but the most important part is to not give up.
4. What experiences from your life influence your characters?
For now, I think the fact that I moved away to a foreign country, far from my family, friends and everything I know. It’s an experience that many of us share, yet we all feel very alone living it. So it would have something to do with starting over, feeling out of place and lost.
5. Can you explain your character development process?
I like to think that my characters “develop themselves”. I try to think of some details, some things they love and hate, what music they listen too, what’s the one major thing that happened in their life and that made them who they are… And before I realize it, they have their own voice. Most of the time, I don’t have to think too hard, it feels like they all live by themselves, they know what they want to say, they know what they feel. I just write whatever they “tell” me to do. It’s a weird feeling, but when a character is strong (clear backstory, motivation, goal), then their action and dialogue will go smoothly.
6. Do you write bios before you start writing?
I try to. When writing, I can use a short bio, like what does the character like or doesn’t, what’s their biggest quality and flaw, but I don’t write details. I usually have them in mind. When working with actors, though, it’s different. You want them to know the characters as much as you do, so I do write bios then, or at least an origin story, without having all the answers necessarily.
7. How emotionally involved are you with the characters you create?
I think I’m very emotionally involved with all of them. I – without always realizing it – put some parts of myself in each of them. Sometimes, I’ll get inspiration from someone I used to know. It makes everything very personal, and it feels like it’s a little part of me that lives through whatever story I’m creating.
8. What are your thoughts on structure?
I feel like it’s always good to know how structure works, what to use where and why, what works and what doesn’t. But I think we should always be able to get away from it and create something that breaks all the rules. To me, a writer who can break the rules of structure (or any writing rule) and still create something that makes sense and that I relate to, is what I would call a great, talented, writer. I’m obviously not there yet.
9. Do you outline before you start writing?
I always outline. That’s how I learned the craft. And it works for me. I use outline as a first draft more than anything. I write every single detail I want to put into my script. I write down the descriptions, and most importantly the dialogues. Anything that comes to my mind. The outline is kind of that blank page on which I unload everything that pops into my mind. It can look messy, and I sometimes have too much, but then I cut things off, I put order, I clean it up as I write my “official” first draft.
10. What is the most important aspect of building a great character?
I want to say backstory and motivation. That’s what guides a character through their journey, that’s what makes the audience root for them… or not. And you want the audience to root for them. They need to feel real, vulnerable but not annoying, strong but not invincible. We need to understand why they do what they do.
