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3Q’s Special – Espen Aukan and the no good, very bad back!

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Over the course of the 3Q’s, I’ve managed to chat with many writers, an illustrator/writer with a massive following (looking at you, Trevor Henderson) and a number of cover designers. One type of writer I’ve not had yet is someone who focuses solely on Screenplays/Screen Writing.

One thing I’ve really loved about social media and its global reach, has been connecting with some really amazing people. Which brings us to today’s guest.

Espen Aukan and I connected a year or so ago on Twitter and IG. I think Espen is my first Norwegian guest in the 3Q’s series and if you’re reading that name and knowing you’ve seen it somewhere but can’t place it – Espen co-wrote the screenplay for one of the biggest movies of 2022 on Netflix – TROLL.

Espen has been beyond kind to both myself and my son, Auryn, answering our questions on the movie (a movie I’ve watched four or five times and Auryn over a dozen) and we’ve developed a great friendship through the wonders of social media. I am super happy that Espen was able to answer the 3Q’s!

Welcome Espen!

EAukan

Steve: What does your process look like once you finish your first draft? Do you immediately dive back into it, or do you take some time away?

Espen: Well, my writing process is a mess, so it’s hard to give a simple answer. I guess it all depends on the project and how soon my impostor syndrome kicks in. Many of my screenwriting heroes always says that a first draft should be written fast so that you don’t have time to let doubt creep in. But for me that doubt usually comes really quick and I struggle with it all the way through, so a first draft can take forever to complete because I do rewrite after rewrite after rewrite while writing the first draft. So my first draft is actually never a first draft really, it’s more like a freaky mess of different parts that may not even go together as a whole.

So, getting through the first draft is really rough, and then when I finally get to the end and have to deliver it, that’s always the moment when everything becomes clear and I realize how I should have written it and I see everything that I have screwed up. But then it’s too late of course, and I have to wait for notes from the director or producer(s) or whoever is reading it before starting the second draft.

By the time I get the notes, I will have forgotten everything and have to start struggling all over again, but this time with new doubt already waiting and with a shitload of notes on top making the second draft even worse. What can I say, writing is hard…

But in a perfect world I think I would prefer to let it rest for a while, maybe while working on something else, before going back to it again after some time away from it, maybe a couple of months so I would be able to see things more clearly and just let it evolve naturally. Alas the world is far from perfect and instead I live in this nightmare.

Steve: Do you believe cryptozoological creatures exist? If so, which one do you think has the best chance of being proven to exist?

Espen: After TROLL was released on Netflix last year, the director actually got messages from people who could prove that giant troll-like creatures did exist at one time. They claim to have evidence of this. Although the biologist I talked to when doing research for the movie is pretty damn sure that it would be impossible for such large creatures to even be able to walk, because gravity would make them so heavy that their legs would be crushed by the weight. The heart wouldn’t even be able to pump blood through to a body that large. It’s just physically impossible. So I guess trolls are off the list. Werewolves on the other hand…

Steve: Do you have a personal favorite script or piece that you’ve written? And if so why?

Espen: I hate everything I write. And I don’t say that to be funny. I just don’t think anything I write is any good. But the thing about writing movies is that there are a lot of other talented people involved in front of and behind the camera that can take my crappy script and make it look and sound good. And I’ve been really lucky with both TROLL and VIKING WOLF in that regard, and I can actually watch both movies without thinking “Dammit, I suck!” But as far as my writing go, I don’t like it much. The best I can hope for is that the other people involved like it enough to go make it and make it good.

Steve: Bonus Fun Question – You’re on a camping trip when suddenly a wild animal confronts you. You take off running and it follows. What animal are you confident in thinking you could outrun?

Espen: As everyone who follows me on social media knows, I’ve just been bedridden with horrible back pains. The first time I got these pains was last June when I went to a Scout tournament to do research for a movie. To get the whole Scouting experience I slept in a tent and my back went all to Hell because of it. So, if I go camping my back would probably do that again and I would be too crippled to even be able to walk. I would therefore be toast if any wild animal came after me. Hopefully it would be a sweet-natured animal and there would be cuddles instead of me getting eaten.

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