Interview - Screenwriter Adam Karlson
Adam Karlson wrote the Action competition winning screenplay, EIGHT LIMBS, that tells the story of
8 imprisoned Thai boxers who get the chance to fight for their freedom after an offshore oil rig is attacked by deep sea creatures that can only be killed in hand-to-hand combat.
After the competition win, we spoke with Adam about the story and the journey to this win.
How did you first become interested in a career in screenwriting?
I first realized I wanted to be a screenwriter when I had a panic attack before directing my first short film in high school, after realizing I love storytelling, just not the filmmaking part. My dad also used to tell me FANTASTIC bedtime stories (that ended up just being modified versions of the R-rated movies I wasn’t allowed to watch yet).
One day, I hope to be as good a storyteller as that guy.
Who or what inspired you to write this particular story?
A couple of years ago, I realized that I only wrote if I was hopped up on energy drinks or a couple beers deep. But if my dream job was to be a writer, then why did I have to rely on outside substances to write? So I gave up those unhealthy habits and wrote COACH, one of the best kickboxers on the planet… but if he wasn’t drunk, he wouldn’t even step into the ring. This story was essentially how I learned to write, no matter how I was feeling, which was usually fear.
As for the premise, there was a scene in Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan, where he squares off with an amateur boxer. A monster with supernatural powers versus martial arts? Yeah, that rules, 15 billion tickets please. With that being said, the boxer got off 5 jabs before Jason punched his head off. And for the rest of the movie, I was just daydreaming about Monsters vs Martial Arts.
What movies or filmmakers would you consider your greatest influences as a screenwriter?
Jackie Chan is probably my greatest influence these days. Like my script 8 Limbs, Legend of the Drunken Master is also about a protagonist who runs away from fear and failure through alcohol.
I also believe that comedy and action are two of the most underutilized narrative tools in modern media, and Jackie Chan was constantly using both to develop his characters. Comedy helps us root for a character and the action scenes can show us what the character has learned over their journey.
How much planning and outlining went into your process of writing this script?
If there’s one thing that scares me, it’s the BLANK PAGE. I don’t like it. It’s not pretty. And it’s just a reminder of how little I’ve accomplished. To fight this scary blank page, I spend most of my time outlining the overall story, then the 3 acts, then the scenes, and finally the dialogue in those scenes.
Eventually, I’ve written so much in my outline that it’s practically copy and pasting (while always having room for minor changes in dialogue/description).
What advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters who are working their first script?
Write at the library. It’s like steroids but for mental motivation. It’s very easy to get distracted or lose motivation at home, and I always felt that writing was like going to the gym. The toughest part about going to the gym is actually GOING to the gym. And once you spend 20 minutes getting to the library, are you really going to just write for 5 minutes before driving back home?
After that, I’d say get as many notes as possible from as many people as possible. If they weighed a lot more, notes would be worth their weight in gold. It’s very difficult to see something objectively if you’ve been working on it for months, so outside perspectives help you get out of your head and help put you in the mindset of your audience.