Page 17 - Real Style January 2018

those feelings, and that bridge between the origin of the feeling and the desire to eradicate that feeling could create a kind of movement,” solomon explains. In fact, this is partly how he envisioned his concept for Mosaic, and developed sharon stone’s character of olivia lake.
“We learned so much while we were making Mosaic. It took us three years of making it, writing it, shooting it, editing it and re-editing it, to really understand what we actually have,” solomon says. From this experience, solomon realized the importance of active engagement and connecting with the audience. however, Mosaic is no video game—going back to solomon and soderbergh’s vision, this is a genre completely unto its own.
“Mosaic is not meant to be a game, you’re not choosing who lives or dies, you’re not getting points, you’re not being asked to solve the riddle. It is a narrative experience that we are curating, hopefully very carefully for you. We are not asking you to do our job for us,” says solomon.
despite the serious business of his latest, genre-breaking show, solomon actually got his big break as a comedy writer. Growing up, the california native knew that he wanted to be a writer since the age of 12.
“I always thought that I wanted
to write, but I never realized that you can make a living as a writer. like,
I didn’t grow up around writers or anything like that. so it never crossed my mind that I might actually be a professional writer,” solomon re ects.
that all changed when, during his time as a ucla student, solomon walked into a comedy store one
day and encountered comedian Jimmie Walker. that meeting led
to an opportunity writing jokes for other comedians, and eventually a
meeting with a tv producer. In the years that followed, solomon penned the screenplays for several lms in
the 1980s and 1990s, including
the 1989 cult classic Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which he co- wrote with chris matheson. the
lm starred alex Winter and Keanu reeves as Bill and ted, two young high school students who embark
on a strange time travel trip as they complete a history project. a sequel, Bill & Ted Face the Music, is currently in the works (although as of this writing a deal has not been closed), following 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.
so, have his endearing and goofy characters evolved since
they rst appeared, 26 years ago? solomon shares that his characters have matured from clueless teens into middle-aged fathers.
“our hope is that this movie works for people of my age, and the people of the generation who saw this movie when they were kids. the goal is to make a movie that has something for everyone, and is sweet and funny,” solomon says. “Wherever I go in the world, the movie that people are most excited for is the third Bill and Ted movie. and so, for the Bill and Ted fans, more than anything, I would love to give them a movie that was created in the spirit of the rst movie.”
constant evolution being the key for progress, solomon is already thinking ahead to his next piece of work, a thriller mystery.
Whether he is merging generations or fully embracing
the latest digital advancements in television and lm, solomon appears to be a bit of a time traveller himself. Whatever the future may hold for him and his projects, we’re sure to keep watching. In the meantime, to quote the iconic message from Bill and ted, “be excellent to each other!”
17