Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star 2007

Other articles by Phil Villarreal:

'Conduit' leads new games lineup Local scene: Extra stands up to Johnny DeppAmphi grad, 33, picked for White House FellowshipTucson brothers create iPhone sensationDirector's layoff a blow to AZ Film OfficeEsplendor Resort offer: Stay now, pay later 'Ghostbusters' rocks the video game world Local scene: Production coordinator pushes Tucson localesNow playing: locally made studio films'40 Under 40' will celebrate Tucson's top professionals

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After a two years of screenwriting, film production and festival visits, now comes the easy part for Tucson screenwriter Will Conroy — sitting back and watching his film "Transsiberian" come to life for audiences.

"The best thing about that, for me, is that the movie will show at the Loft, and my mother can finally see it," Conroy said.

The film, which played at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, is scheduled for a small national release, reaching a total of 243 theaters by November.

That's comparable to "The Visitor" and less than a quarter of the likes of Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Conroy said it's been gratifying to watch "Transsiberian" make its entrance to the national stage.

"It's been very educational and interesting. Daunting, too, because I know now more than ever how difficult it is for a film to make it to theaters nationwide," he said.

"I think of the PBS nature documentaries I saw as a kid where 5 million tadpoles try to make it up some beach to safety and only maybe a dozen make it."

Conroy, who runs the Arizona Inn, is already working on several other writing projects.

His next script, an adaptation of Robert Wilson's novel "The Blind Man of Seville," is getting closer to production, with Spaniard Mariano Barroso set to direct.

Conroy will meet Barroso in Spain next month.

While there, he'll meet with director Brad Anderson, who co-wrote and directed "Transsiberian," and Filmax Group, which produced the film, about a new project.

Since they wrote "Transsiberian," Conroy says, he and Anderson have collaborated on four new treatments.

Conroy also has been writing stories and researching the Arizona Inn's history to update the "Pink Book," which is distributed to guests.

"Between all those things I've been writing every day — which feels great," said Conroy, who is married and has two children.

"Transsiberian" stars Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer as an American couple, Roy and Jessie, who are traveling from China to Russia by train.

They cross paths with a dogged Russian law enforcement officer, Grinko, played by Ben Kingsley.

"I initially, in the scripting, argued for making Jessie more sympathetic and against the action-leaning ending, but Brad would have none of my objections, and we proceeded the way he wanted.

"When I saw the movie for the first time, I was delighted. Brad was absolutely right, as far as I'm concerned. I find Jessie fascinating, and I find the third act fun and entertaining and right on."

On the comparisons reviewers have made to Alfred Hitchcock:

"One thing I find somewhat ironic: A few reviews — The New York Times for example — extolled the film's first 'two acts,' calling them brilliant and Hitchcockian, but then objected to the shift in tone at the end.

"But to me, only that third act is a nod to Hitchcock — I think of Cary Grant hanging on Mount Rushmore — plus there's none of Hitchcock's legendary and beautiful glamorous sheen to be found in 'Transsiberian.'

"In fact, quite the opposite. And it's not as tightly constructed as Hitchcock, and the pacing is much more hectic.

"And although I know Brad was not considering it when he made the movie, I know now that if there's no action at the end of 'Transsiberian,' it becomes another crushed tadpole on the wide, ruthless beach of film distribution.

"Its fate at best would have been a small matinee screening at Sundance and a brief round on the art-house circuit.

"No way First Look would have bought it and no way The New York Times would ever have even seen it."

"That balance is one of the hardest things to achieve in a thriller, and everyone works on it, from the writer to the director to the actors to the film editor.

In the script, I know I worked hard to create a plot that would unfold in a compelling way and to create characters who were real and interesting. . . .

"Brad and everyone at Filmax certainly allow much more room for character development than most directors and producers, but even so, there's not a lot of time. You have to do it fast — with poetry, you know, not prose.

"One thing's for sure. If you care about the people involved in an adventure, the adventure is more exciting."

On one of his favorite scenes:

"I also like the scene, short as it is, in which Grinko and his man interrogate Jessie in the dining car. They know the answers to most of their questions before she answers, of course, and I had fun watching Jessie try to lie and think on her feet about how much the police already knew.

"That was by far the most fun scene to write, and although it was shortened quite a bit in the final film, I thought Ben Kingsley and Emily Mortimer brought it to life beautifully.

"It may sound odd since it's not a long or complex scene, but that was the highlight of the whole experience for me."