Bill Boyle.
Saskatchewan writer Bill Boyle has being teaching his craft for years. Now a Los Angeles resident and UCLA Extension instructor, Boyle -author of the Adam Beach/Mia Kirchner drama Now and Forever– will be reading and signing copies of his book The Visual Mindscape of the Screenplay this Saturday at Chapters (7 pm).
His technique, based on the principle of film as a fundamentally visual medium, invites the audience to discover elements of the story, as opposed to being told. “The reader is given the opportunity to participate in the unfolding of the story and that makes for a more visceral and luminous experience. One of the film clips I use in my UCLA class is the final scene in The Usual Suspects. This scene is all about visual discovery supported by dialogue. When I look at the students as they watch this scene most of them are smiling and giggling. They are participating in the discovery and that pleases them”, elaborates Boyle.
Besides the signing, Bill Boyle will be leading a five-day screenwriting course at the University of Regina. While the screenwriter appreciates the role living in the Prairies played in his professional development, he concedes the scenario the film industry faces in the province is not suitable for creative work: “Initially living in the Prairies allowed me an environment, a tapestry of sorts to hang my stories on. There is something about open spaces that opens the creative flow in a writer. I only wish that the social and political environment was more conducive in supporting those creative juices. Sadly that is not the case. The success I enjoy now with my writing, teaching and consulting could never have happened in Saskatchewan”, concludes Boyle.
