"The idea for CHALLENGERS came to me through this moment when I was watching the U.S. Open and it was this very controversial match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka," says Justin.

"It was controversial because there was a call by the ref where he accused Serena Williams of receiving coaching from the sidelines and up until that point, I hadn't been a massive tennis fan or anything. I just happened to watch the U.S. Open. So I didn't know about that rule but immediately that struck me as this intensely cinematic situation. That you're all alone on the court, it's this incredibly high-stakes match. There's thousands of people watching you, and there's one other person who cares as much about what happens to you out there as you do, and you can't talk to them."

"I started thinking what would you do if you really had to talk with them about something, and what if it was something beyond tennis? What if it was something that was about you guys or about your life, and what if somehow it involved this person across the net? And that was the initial seed and where it got planted."

In this interview, we talk about the inspiration behind CHALLENGERS, the process of developing and introducing characters, the importance of wardrobe, the logistics of getting a screenplay made, and much more.

As a special note, this was part of our new LIVE interview series in partnership with Buzztown, a community for serious screenwriters, where students also participated in this interview. You can learn more or join the waitlist here:

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