Becky Scott
Photograph courtesy of Becky Scott.
Becky Scott is a writer and a filmmaker whose debut feature film, Asking For It, is now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Becky wrote the screenplay in 2 and a half weeks after she left her job covering pop culture at a digital media site and co-directed it next to the film’s director, Amanda Lundquist. The film stars Stephanie Hsu (you might recognize her from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or from Broadway’s Be More Chill) and features Janeane Garofalo (casual, right?), Irene Morales, and many other wonderful actors (read the full cast list here).
Much like Asking For It, Becky Scott is unapologetically funny, honest, and current. Read and listen to Becky’s story, what she’s learned, how her script made it into the right hands, and what she wishes she told her younger self.
Then watch Asking For It as soon as possible.
How do you identify yourself as a creative?
I identify myself as a writer and filmmaker.
Why did you start? And why do you like what you do?
I actually went to journalism school. I graduated from Columbia Journalism School in 2017. And I, up until that point, had been working at Columbia as an administrative, basically as an enrollment officer for a program there. And I knew I wanted to write and I knew I had the skills, but I don't have any one in the film industry in my family. I think for people who don't have people in their family who do it, it just seems sort of like a pipe dream.
So, I applied to journalism school. Got through it. A week after, ended up working at a digital media site and I worked there for about 9 months covering pop culture, and my experience was sort of very similar to Jenny's (the main character in Asking For It). Obviously, that's, you know, a satirical depiction, but like, they were just completely obsessed with clicks there. Anyway, I got laid off from that job in March of 2018. And I literally woke up the next day, and I was like, I want to make a movie.
When things like that happen in your life, you get real clarity, you know what I mean? Especially at that time, I was freshly laid off, in a pretty decent financial position, and was 28 years old. And there are certain moments in your life where you have to admit to yourself that if you're not going to go for something now, you'll never go for it, because there will literally never be a better time.
And so up until that point, I had sort of been screenwriting, but a very much as a hobby. Or at least that's what I told myself, because I do think that it feels very, you know, vulnerable to tell people I want to be a screenwriter. Especially as a woman. But I had taken classes at Gotham Writers Workshop, it's not like I came out of nowhere and wrote Asking For It— I don't want anyone to think that because that would be crazy.
Right. You didn’t just wake up, roll out of bed and write this the next day—
Exactly, I very much had been screenwriting and building those skills. It's so important to do that because you don't learn how to screenwrite in school, the way that you might learn how to write fiction there or whatever. You have to learn it.
And then I basically wrote the script in two weeks. Which has never happened since, and will never happen again.
Wow!
Oftentimes I think that the first thing that somebody does in their career, and Asking For It was my first feature, I think that it tends to come out in two and a half weeks. You see this actually a lot with artists, where their first thing will come out really quickly. And that's because, unconsciously, they've been writing it in their head for a while.
Yeah, it’s been building in them for a while. I get that, I see that too. On your part, I see now where the journalism aspects of the film come from, but where did the inspiration for the darker elements of Asking For It come from?
So I had the idea for the script for about a year and a half, and it initially came to me as Gamergate— do you remember that?
I have to admit that I’ve never heard of it. . .
Can you get into the gritty details of the process of getting your film made, how you cast it, how it got all the way to Amazon? All that jazz.
You also co-directed Asking For It— what was most important to you from a director’s viewpoint while you were shooting the film?
So I had never directed anything, not even a short. And I was extremely conflicted about whether or not to direct. But ultimately, I knew that if I was going to make a movie— even though I first and foremost identify as a writer, I would probably never direct anything I didn't write, I don't have the interest— my interest lies in helping to shape the final product and to make sure that my vision is honored. I am also not arrogant enough to be like, I can do this all by myself, when I literally have no experience. So yeah, that's why I approached Amanda Lundquist, whose official role is director and mine being her co-directer. And she, I mean, she literally quit her job in post-production at NBC— and this is the thing, so many people took leaps of faith to make to get this movie done.
Did you know Amanda before making the movie?
Oh yeah, she was in my unofficial screenwriting group. I’d met her through a friend from college, and from the very beginning we worked very well together and our visions were incredibly in line. From her reactions to the script I knew that she got the script, you know?
Yeah.
But Amanda could have been resentful because I didn’t really give her a choice. I wasn’t like “Do you want me as a co-director?” I was like “Will you direct this? I am going to co-direct it.” And to her credit, she treated me like an equal the whole way through. Not once was my opinion not equally considered. We just worked really well together, it was very easy to shoot it with her.
What do you hope people who watch Asking For It will take away from it?
You know, I think that it’s very trendy right now to make “feminist” movies, “#MeToo” movies, and just in general social justice movies. It’s trendy.
And I think very often, you have these big rooms of old white men who don’t really understand the nuances, or they don’t understand how something can be funny in the way our movie is funny while also addressing a very serious thing.
And I think that what I want people to take away from our movie is: that in fact, that can be done. Our movie is not afraid to make rated X jokes. One of the reasons we started the movie with the line, [content warning: explicit language] “I want to disembowel you and fuck you as you’re dying” . . .is because we just wanted to open with a clear way to be like: so this is the tone, because it was also a Dad grilling while he said it.
Oh yeah, it was so suburban.
(Becky laughs). Yes so we were like this is the tone. . .and it’s unapologetic. And you see so many movies — and I will not name them because I am respectful of all artists— but, you see in so many movies and television shows right now this super cringey and milquetoast way of dealing with #MeToo humor and comedy. Do you know what I mean?
Yes. And you articulated it perfectly, that’s something that I have been feeling. And I also constantly feel like I am being marketed to and I am being sold trendy girl power moments in the media. I don’t feel like I’m getting it in a real, nuanced way.
Yeah and so much of it is incredibly patronizing and condescending.
And the thing about movies is that, no matter what, every movie has a point of view. When the point of view is from a female perspective or from a person of color’s point of view, then we’re like, oh, it’s a social justice movie. And sometimes it feels like the social justice movies are exempt from the rules of art. For example: you need to show not tell, you need nuance, you need three dimensions. And with social justice movies, people are so scared of fucking it up— and when I say people, I don't mean, the woman writing it. I mean the people generally who are producing it. They're so scared of fucking it up that they feel like they have to tell. Because they're like, no, this is a social justice movie so we need to make it super obvious that this character likes women or that this man is bad and hates women, you know? And it's like, no, no, the rules of art still stand. So you can do that, but then it's going to be bad art. And I don't think there's a reason why we can't make good art that’s also “feminist”.
Those are some facts right there. Do you have any advice, anything you’ve learned from screenwriting that you want to share with anyone out there who is out there writing their first script, or wants to start screenwriting?
On a practical note, it was really helpful for me to take a class. You don’t have to, mine was pretty affordable at the Gotham Writer’s Workshop and it was my money’s worth and more. What was cool about taking a class like that in New York City was that I was the youngest person there. I took it when I was around 23 or 24, because I never went to film school, but it’s not that hard to teach someone how to write a screenplay. And there were 4o to 50-year-olds in my class and it was a diverse age group which was so helpful.
And you just have to write. I wrote for 4 or 5 years before any of this ever happened. I just wrote. And nothing came of it, and I think anyone would tell you that you have to do what you’re gonna do so you’re ready when you do get that opportunity.
And find a crew! These days people take a lot of pride in talking about how they’re introverts and haven’t changed their pants in 12 days, and it’s like okay good for you, but if you want to do anything with your life, you have to put the effort in. As painful as it seems to be, you have to put the effort in to get a drink with those people in your class. Put the energy into seeking out your people and building those communities. Because then when you are in a position like I was two years ago to make a movie, you already know exactly the first people who you’re emailing.
Totally. We don’t talk enough about how to make networking feel less scary and more casual.
If you feel comfortable talking about it— are there going to be any new financial gains for you and the people involved with Asking For It now that it’s on Amazon? Was getting the movie there a big deal because as you were saying, it started as a movie on a very small budget.
What’s inspiring you right now?
I’m actually on my second draft on a new script right now about a self-help author who goes crazy and descends into madness as her life falls apart. I have been very inspired over the past few years by late capitalism. Just late capitalism man. There’s a lot of absurdism to work with there.
It’s time for speed round questions: what was the last thing you watched on your screen?
Love Island. I also did watch Waking Life recently.
What was the last book you read?
I read like a lunatic. I’m currently reading The Institute by Stephen King, which is his most recent book. The last book I finished though was The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, I love her.
If you could tell a younger version of yourself one thing, what would it be?
Invest in Zoom.
Well said. That’s a wrap! Thank you Becky for sharing your story with us.
Watch Asking For It here on Amazon Prime Video.
