Sam Sheridan is an artist, painter, martial artist, book writer… and film and TV writer. He spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about his latest outing, I Am The Night, on TNT. The noir TV show was co-created with his wife Patty Jenkins (who directed the mega hit movie Wonder Woman in 2017) and stars Chris Pine.

I Am The Night focuses on the disturbing story of Fauna Hodel, the daughter of the infamous George Hodel, who was linked to, but never charged with the Black Dahlia murder.

What was the inspiration behind I Am The Night?

Patty met the real Fauna Hodel about twelve years ago or so in a coffee shop. She came home to me and said “You have to hear this…” We were both always so struck by her incredible story, and the layers underneath. The cosmic tie-ins in Hollywood. The more you learn, the crazier it gets… I always say that “the craziest stuff is true.” Both Patty and I had been art majors in college (she went to Cooper Union), my mother taught Art History, and the Surrealist element was so fascinating to me; those men who cloaked themselves in that mantle of great intellect.

These men who were considered “geniuses” and taking another look at their work, this startlingly blatant misogyny I’d looked right past.

Chris Pine, Sam Sheridan & Patty Jenkins

What was so unique and special about this story?

​It’s the story that is based in something real, a young woman who sets out to find out who she is, and finds out some of the worst things are true… and yet she comes through at the end more powerful, loving and positive than anyone I’ve ever met.

There are so many unique things—Fauna’s origins, the link to the Surrealist art movement and the most famous murder in Hollywood. When I saw the rough cut of the TV pilot I thought to myself “I can’t believe we got to tell this story!”

How did you work with Fauna Hodel to develop the show?

We talked to Fauna all the time, we did formal and informal interviews, but I think Patty always knew, from their first conversation, what drew her to Fauna’s story; and Fauna loved that. Fauna read scripts and delighted in where we were going. She was a great partner.

Did you take any poetic license telling the story?

Of course, quite a bit. I insisted that the story be “inspired by” and not “based on” for that reason. I was interested in the metaphoric, bigger “truth” of Fauna’s story—she did confront George’s toxic legacy and win. Because she found and maintained her integrity when so many fell by the wayside, under his spell.

I think in most ways fiction is a more honest way of getting to the truth, because you can focus on the essential human truth more than the events. In non-fiction you get stuck in the weeds and there is so much you can’t talk about… but in  fiction you can get to the essence of a thing.

Also, we wanted to make an entertaining TV show that fulfilled the needs of genre and noir with the pop to reach a big audience. It’s definitely not a documentary.

Why did you choose a 6 episode limited series format for I Am The Night?

It was a manageable size, but truly, the story always fell somewhere between a feature and a limited series. There was too much story for a feature and the Black Dahlia would always take over something that short. And we were really more interested in Fauna’s journey.

What are you exploring thematically?

There are several themes, some I’ve already mentioned, but one in particular is “The price you pay to be great.” Many characters in the show are caught up in the vice of a price they’ve paid, or will pay, to be great. Jay wants to be a great writer, or the writer he thinks he always should have been, Jimmy Lee (in her mind) blew a shot at greatness, and of course George Hodel has become something monstrous in an attempt to be a great artist on par with Man Ray or his other illustrious friends. Even the Sowden House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Junior—a man trying to live up to his father’s greatness, forever in his father’s shadow.

Fauna Hodel

In the show, why didn’t Fauna kill George Hodel when she had the chance?

People wanted that.

But we felt it was too far from the real story (where George escaped from justice) and also it wasn’t the essential truth for Fauna. She’s not an avenging angel. She wrote her book all about this abusive relationship she had with Jimmy Lee, but in the grand scheme of things, she realized that Jimmy Lee loved her and that love and identity were so much more powerful than the terrible toxicity of Tamar (her birth Mother) and George. Jimmy Lee, abusive as she was, saved Fauna.

Fauna knows who she is—that is her triumph, and to me, it’s a greater triumph because she refuses to be impressed with George. She sees through him, the way he dresses up his base urges as high art. She sees through his bullshit which no one ever has in his lifetime. I wanted Fauna, first and foremost, to destroy George as an art critic. That’s the worst thing that could happen to him. For his constructed persona, his vanity and his conceits to be undone by this thing he feels is beneath him, this pitiful, unimportant creature.

Maybe that was too ambitious a goal as a screenwriter to try for; but that’s what I thought was the most compelling version… you can fault me for execution, but not for lack of ambition.

I Am The Night has a distinct noir feel. How did you navigate the common tropes of this genre so they were fresh?

​I think we wanted to live up to the genre; the fact that this is in many ways the true story behind Chinatown. But we were drawn to the specific; to finding a real person in the trope. Finding the real man in the dirty cop, or the outcast journalist or the drunken, abusive mother. That’s just storytelling. One has to dig deeper and do that work. Find the details that make a character come to life and then the characters start to have their own agenda.
​Chris Pine was essential in molding and finding Jay, so he had a lot of creative input. But it’s the struggle with noir and genre—to execute something perfectly is sometimes more important than “a new wrinkle on x”. Ideally, you do both in ways that satisfy.

Were there any story suprises that arose during the development process that weren’t in Fauna’s memoir?

Yes there were a lot. Fauna’s memoir was more of a leaping-off point. We would return back to touch on it; for instance, there is a real version of Tamar and Fauna’s meeting on a beach in Hawaii. But there is a lot of noir/thriller beats that are fictional. And a lot of things that Fauna never knew until much, much later.

Was there a reason I Am The Night was produced after Fauna passed?

No. We always thought Fauna would be with us. But as we were making the deal she passed away quite suddenly. She would have enjoyed all this very, very much. As a screenwriter I was very much looking forward to having her around to talk to.

Do you have a personal brand in terms of the types of stories you’re attracted to?

I think because I come from writing non-fiction books, I am interested in authenticity and research. I like a deep dive. But for all that I like a good time—a car chase, a fight, a murder. This was an ideal project in many ways because the “big story” stuff like the Black Dahlia or Fauna’s crazy history was SO big that we could play around in small story and still have pace; this girl’s struggle with herself, this reporter’s struggle with his morality.

How do you categorize the state of the film and TV industry right now?

No idea. I think it’s quantum physics with the observer effect or something—the minute you think you know what it is, it’s already changed. Or it’s like warfare, where generals are always fighting the last war. But there is an incredible demand for story. Ten years ago the average viewer watched 10 hours of story a week. Now its more like 70 or 80? So many places and outlets and cord-cutting means so-and-so… but you know all that.

Where do you see the opportunities for writers looking to break in?

Keep writing and thinking and pushing. Keep reading. Unless you’re the best writer in the world, keep learning with new books or classes.

Is there a quote that defines you as a screenwriter?

“The world is made of fire.”
-Mark Helprin,  A Soldier in the Great War.