Why We Write: Kim Rapoport

Edmund and Arielle try and re-capture the chemistry they had in England, but it fails. However, they agree to pretend they got back together so Arielle’s parents will stop trying to set her up with Josh. Only problem? Arielle is developing feelings for Edmund’s bandmate, Kip, and her new romance will threaten her fake one with Edmund. Several re-writes later, the setting now takes place in Lake Tahoe during an anniversary party for Arielle’s parents. In the current version of the script, Arielle is a former member of Uncle Homer who reunites with the band when both acts are asked to come to Tahoe to perform at the anniversary party. The fake dating scheme is still there, the romance with Kip is still there, and Arielle’s through-line of learning how to put herself first and stand up for herself is still there. The “Tahoe Edit” of EDMUND, MY MAN netted me Best Romantic Comedy/Drama Script at Indie Vegas, a Best Feature Script nomination at the Canadian Independent Film Festival, and got me a semi-finalist position in ISA’s Diversity Initiative.

When writing, nobody sees the tears, the heartbreak of having your script passed over in screenwriting competitions, or the feeling of disappointment when you get feedback that isn’t serviceable and doesn’t seem to come from a constructive eye. Everyone wants to see the finished product instead, something they can watch at Alamo Drafthouse or buy at Barnes and Noble, hoping they picked up the Blu-Ray that has additional commentary from the director (and maybe a bonus commentary track from the screenwriter). My mother, my biggest supporter, frequently tells me that people in film “Hurry up and wait.”

You hurry to set up the next shot, write the next draft, submit the rough cut to the studio, then you wait. Sometimes it’s quick; other times, it’s a slow process where the cinematographer and grips need to set up a dolly track, you get writer’s block, or the studio takes its time to review the rough cut. Writing a script is the biggest “Hurry up and wait” act in the business. You’re eager to get your work into the world, but you have to wait a long time for people to take notice. Writing the original draft of EDMUND, MY MAN in four days seemed like a frenzied hurry because I could worry about weak scenes and dialogue later. Revisions were a long wait, slowly drawing out the Lake Tahoe version of the story based on a throwaway line Arielle says about Josh being so intwined with her family that he came with Arielle to a family reunion in Tahoe. Once I established a rough draft of the Tahoe edit, it became a further wait until the script’s best self could get out into the world, which included tinkering with over ten drafts of the screenplay and meeting with professional script readers who saw potential in my work.

Despite its beauty, Lake Tahoe is rarely seen in films aside from SMOKIN’ ACES, THE BODYGUARD, THE GODFATHER PT. II and BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, which was actually filmed in British Columbia. It’s an important destination in my journey as a screenwriter, as I’ve been going there every summer since I was a baby. When I decided I wanted to be a screenwriter, writing a film set in Lake Tahoe was a requirement for me. For years, a potential storyline for a Tahoe-based script eluded me. The best I could come up with was a story about rich vampires that was possibly a satirical riff on TWILIGHT. Then, the throwaway line about Arielle’s family reunions in Tahoe called out to me — “What if you moved the setting of EDMUND, MY MAN from LA to Tahoe?” Once that throwaway line became my siren’s call, everything fell into place. There was a family cabin just like the one my family used to rent, shout-outs to Heavenly Village and the casinos at Stateline, and the climax of the script is set at Lakeside Beach, my favorite beach in the Reno-Tahoe area. It was imperative to submit this script to a couple of film festivals in the Reno-Tahoe area, my love letter to Lake Tahoe to filmmakers eager to tell stories about Reno and Tahoe. Now, we hurry up and wait to see if the filmmakers in Reno bite on this project.

They say that good things happen to those who wait. The “good” slowly trickles in in the form of awards, nominations, and placements in screenwriting fellowships. Now, I wait for everything to fall into place regarding EDMUND, MY MAN: A cast that can bring the characters to life, a crew just as eager to make the film as I am, and a finished product that everyone will love and revisit. But first, I still have work to do regarding this script and the myriad of other projects I have waiting in the wings, including two other scripts set in Tahoe.