„The monster is a beautiful creature. That's the heart of the story, a beautiful monster."

Angelo Lacuesta began writing at a young age, publishing his first poem at age 15 and his first short story in Philippine Graphic in 1995. He has won National Book Awards for his work in Screenwriting, Short Story Writing and Poetry. 

We met Angelo for an interview at 20th edition of the Books at Berlinale Pitching Event. Every year, 10 international books with potential for literary adaptations take centre stage at Books at Berlinale - when Agents and Publishers pitch the stories. 

Welcome to Berlin, Angelo. It's great meeting you! How did you experience the Books at Berlinale event?

Thank you. Well, this is my first Books at Berlinale event and my first Berlinale in fact. And it's exciting. I didn't expect the room to be so full of people who were interested in what they were watching. It's great that it's a self-selective event. And it's great that there's so much interest in the idea of leaping from literature to film or to a series. It's fresh and it feels like there is a lot of hope for books.

And what was it like to have someone else pitch your book?

That's funny because I always had a different idea of what the book might be. But you know, once you finish your book, it's not your book anymore. I have complete trust in my publisher, of course, and in my editors. And i in the general public, so people that read the book. There's a kind of bond of trust. So I always enjoy it when people have a different take on the book or have a parallel take on the book. It always leads to a richer sort of community.

We just heard little bits about the book during the pitch - there is a monster, there's folklore and a bit of horror? How would you describe the story in your own words?

I would describe it as a sort of political Body Horror (Genre), where the politics are both gender politics, as well as traditional small town politics, you know strong man politics, where all of those are in conflict with each other and manifest themselves in a very physical and metaphysical way. So, yeah, it takes a whole book to explain that - so I wrote the book.

So far, you've written screenplays, short stories and novels. How did this work and experience influence your book?

I try to separate whenever I write a screenplay, I write it out as a novel first or a short story. Because I'm afraid to lose out on literary elements. At the end of the day, I don't want to end up writing something that just entertains or follows a kind of formula. Because it's very easy to fall into that when you're writing a screenplay format? I force myself to think of it as a book, as a novel. Then you're forced to deal with complexities. You're forced to deal with paradoxes.

All these things that you don't expect and all these things that are more human, and less sort of made for entertainment or made to please an invisible audience. At the end of the day, I need to please myself first and sort of please my characters, make sure that they follow their own road.

And writing it out as a short story or a novel helps me exercise that. It also helps me gain discipline. And making a story grow on its own. Instead of like, oh, let's do this. I got to finish this because I have a deadline for a sequence treatment. So the process is kind of different.

And how long did it take you to create the whole story of the book? What was the starting point?

I think the starting point was, you know, the stories are written easily because they come together in your head? So you write a story in a day or two. And then when you sit down to write it out, that's when everything changes. Sometimes you end up with something completely different. But the initial idea, that spark, that core story that was in your head the first time, if it remains in the long, written out novel, then it gives me a little bit of confidence. It shows me that i was right.

But also, I'm always scared of realizing that it doesn't work. It doesn't work when it's long. It works like a short story, but it doesn't work when you write it out, there is always that risk. But at end of the day, it's worth it because you come up with something you like. You're not coming up with something just because you “have to” come up with something.

Do you already have pictures in mind of the monster, the women and the main protagonist of your book?

Yes, I did actually start with pictures in mind. I made it a point to go see particular artworks for it. Instead of having a very gruesome sort of western-type monster, like a werewolf, I got my inspiration from artists like Constantin Brâncuși, very smooth, very pale, and from artists like Louise Bourgeois, very feminist, and very angry artworks. Visual art really influenced it a lot, to make it different and unique.

So, could you say that the monster has a beautiful side to it too?  

Yes, indeed. The monster is a beautiful creature. That's the heart of the story, a beautiful monster. Even though it's horribly disfigured, it's a hybrid between a man and a beast. But when faced with the lead character, who is a beautiful woman, they're both mirroring each other. They're both women. And so they're both beautiful in their own way.

Do you have specific actors in mind?

I never start with actors in mind, I have to train myself as a novelist, where you just create the ideal sort of full image of a woman in mind. I find that once you start with an actor in mind, then you start changing your character to fit that actor's particular style or particular look. And it really hampers the creativity and the creative process. I'm going to let the producers handle everything else after that.

What are possible challenges for the film? Because you said you started to really think about it as a book and as a novel. Do you think there are parts that could be challenging for a movie?

The heart of the movie is very horrible, disgusting and a horrific act. I think that's challenging because I want it to be horrible and disgusting and horrific. But I also want it to be treated with a kind of tenderness, with a kind of understanding that humanity can be terrible. As a film producer, I generally don't like the use of computer graphics. That is one step short from AI, right? I want to use practical effects. I want to use visuals like David Cronenberg. Real effects and real makeup. It makes it more real. And there's such a big difference when you see an actual realness, or you see it as a film shot.  

So, the monster itself would probably not be generated with computer graphics, but would instead be an Actor Actress?  

Yes, in my mind and in my dream, it's a real animatronic. Or perhaps a character that doesn't look real with a real actor inside. The Monster must be able to show complicated feelings, you know, human feelings. Imagine a dog turning into a person – that kind of transformation is so difficult and so human, that only an actor could do it.

Thank you so much for all these insights, Angelo! We are very much looking forward to the book and hope you have a great time in Berlin!  

Interview by Lea Nordmann, PR Trainee at Frankfurter Buchmesse.