Konyves’ Version
Montreal Screenwriter’s Experience With Barney’s Version
“I can write bad shit and get paid for it.”
That was screenwriter Michael Konyves’ motivation for getting into the film industry.
The Montreal native was pursuing a second degree when he fell into film. He started as a production assistant, but it wasn’t until he was working as a director’s assistant that he figured out where the money was.
“I got to read the scripts that were up for consideration. I realized that there are plenty of bad scripts that people are paying a lot for,” said Konyves. “I decided, if people are buying them, I could certainly write bad scripts.”
Writing movies came easily, but finding an agent was a more difficult task. It took a year of banging on doors for Konyves to find someone to sign with.
Now nominated for his first Genie Award for the feature full-length Barney’s Version, starring Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, no one would call the screenwriter’s work “bad shit.”
After writing a string of made-for-TV, sci-fi/action flicks, Konyves picked up an old book he’d once enjoyed called Barney’s Version.
Rereading the beloved Mordecai Richler classic, he wondered who owned the film rights to it. He found out that Robert Lantos, one of Canada’s most noted producers, was working on developing it.
“I knew someone who knew him, so I asked, ‘Can you get me a meeting?’ I wrote a 30-page treatment on how to make it into a movie and he hired me based off that,” explained Konyves.
When production started, Konyves spent every day on set, watching, learning and rubbing elbows with the cast. The film boasts some big Hollywood names, and watching the entire filmmaking process has Konyves leaning towards directing and producing. Fortunately, as a writer, he has a leg up.
“It’s about getting your hands on material people want,” he says. “If you’ve written something original and you choose to work with a producer instead of selling it, you have ownership.”
Konyves has already lined up his next project, although he admitted that “it’s all a very long journey.”
But with 11 Genie nominations for his first film, it might not be long at all before offers start pouring in.
This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 24, published March 7, 2011.
