On Feb. 7, Amazon Studios will select its Best Script of 2011 from five finalists, including Origin of a Species by Matthew Gossett. This week, we’re telling our finalists’ stories (see more here). Learn more about the Annual Awards — totaling $1.1 million — here. 

In Origin of a Species, an ex-cop faces the greatest obstacle of his life after his three German Shepherds are infected with rabies and terrorize a small, Midwestern community. Meanwhile, his estranged wife feeds her sexual desire for one of her students, even as fear grips the town and the body count rises.

Writer Matthew Gossett, 31, lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. where, when he’s not contemplating canine carnage, he works for an interior plantscaping company. “Basically, I water and care for plants in corporate offices all around the city,” he says. “Not a bad gig, but I’d like to focus on writing in the future.”

What inspired your script?

I used to work with a guy in Cincinnati who was embroiled in a property line dispute with his elderly neighbor, and as their confrontations escalated, I wondered what would happen if chaos erupted. This screenplay is about chaos fed by humans and set loose upon a town. 

How long did it take you to write it?

This screenplay took me roughly nine months to get from a first draft to an eighth draft. 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in telling the story?

The biggest challenge any writer faces is figuring out how to deal with distractions. Making a habit of dedicating time out of a busy day to write is tough to do, and sitting down in front of the computer doesn’t always solve the problem. I often find myself more willing to clean up my apartment or wash dirty dishes when I know I should be writing.

Once I finally sit down to write, and momentum starts to build, writing comes naturally and quite quickly. That being said, writing draft after draft always forces me to consider and reconsider the choices I made in the previous version of the story, and learning how to separate what’s important and essential to a story versus what I’d like to be important and essential are completely different. Kill your darlings, they say….and it’s true. By the way, I get most of my good ideas when I’m washing dirty dishes. 

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

In the moment of creation, there’s no one in existence who knows the characters written down on paper better than me. The manner in which the audience is able to understand the characters, the plot, and the tone of the story is a puzzle to be put together, and I’m the one in charge of it. How do I make something totally intangible into something that a group of people can put in front of a camera and show the world?

My job is to communicate, and when people read my screenplays and see in their mind what I’ve written on paper, I know I’m communicating on a level that can connect with the reader on some emotional level. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s a good feeling.

What do you hope people get out of your story?

I want people to be entertained. It’s as simple as that. I want them to forget their lives, and their phones, and whatever else makes them distracted, and lose themselves in a story for an hour and a half. If the audience or reader can predict what the next scene is, or what’s coming up next, I haven’t done my job. 

What other scripts have you written? Have any been produced?

I’ve written and directed seven short films while a student at the School Of Visual Arts. However, Origin Of A Species was my first feature screenplay. I wrote another script, The Liar Boyd, a sci-fi western, though it’s an early draft in need of a lot of work. My most recent feature script, titled Mickey Walton and the Weepin’ Eagles, is a comedy with appeal to Will Farrell fans as well as Coen Brothers buffs. I’m really excited about it and personally think it’s my best to date. None of my features have been produced.

What made you decide to be a part of Amazon Studios? What have you gotten out of the experience?

I feel like the film industry is in a state of flux right now, and I’m interested in seeing what avenues exist outside the standard channels. Amazon Studios seemed genuinely interested in exploring this as well, and I thought I’d give it a whirl. The experience has been great. I’m impressed with the judging process and hope Amazon Studios continues offering young writers and filmmakers the chance to show their stuff.

          — Ernest Jasmin