Write Characters With Room For Actors: Wayne Roberts and Christopher Abbott on 'Katie Says Goodbye'

Katie Says Goodbye is screenwriter/director Wayne Roberts' first feature. Unlike most first features, however, it had its world premiere earlier this year in front of a packed house in the middle of one of the world's biggest film events: Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, Olivia Cooke throws her name into the best actress ring starring as the titular Katie, an ever optimistic diner waitress who doesn't let the harsh realities of her Arizona homestead break her down. Instead, she focuses on earning enough money to finally break out of her trailer park and make a move to San Francisco. Her preferred method in fundraising? Prostitution. Needless to say, this leads to some challenges in her life, especially when she starts dating Bruno, stoically portrayed by Christopher Abbott, a mechanic with a history of grand theft auto. No Film School’s Jon Fusco sat down with Abbott and Roberts to discuss how a writer's work is best achieved by getting rid of any hesitations and letting their characters speak through them.

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