(Richard Walter, UCLA Screenwriting professor, Interview Part 5)
SS: The title and subtitle of this blog is “Screenwriting from Iowa….and Other Unlikely Places,” and it was in part inspired by learning that Diablo Cody went to college in Iowa, just about an hour where I live, and wrote the distinctly Midwestern screenplay Juno in a Starbucks in the suburbs of Minneapolis. I think that part of her wild Oscar-winning success is that she tapped into not trying to do what everybody was doing?
Richard Walter: I totally agree with you about Diablo Cody. It was my privilege to be at the Academy Awards the year she won the Oscar and I got to hang out with her a couple of years ago at the Cinequest Festival in San Jose. But you’re absolutely right. One question I get all the time is “Don’t I have to be in L.A. if I want to be a serious screenwriter?” And first all if you want to be in series television, yes. You have to be available to make pitches. And especially in sitcoms if you succeed in selling a few freelance episodes you will ultimately end up on staff and you have to come in everyday.
But most people want to work in features, theatrically distributed films, and to them I actually say it’s actually an advantage to be from Iowa, to be from anyplace other than L.A. or New York.
There’s a certain kind of cache that applies to being from the midsection. I know one writer, believe it or not, who launders his scripts through a phony address he has in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, because it’s just more exciting than one more writer from the San Fernando Valley.
So there’s much merit in what you say. Unfortunately, a lot of the writers that ask me ,“Do I have to come to L.A.?” really want to come to L.A. They want a reason or an excuse to come to L.A. and I appreciate that—this is a beautiful town. It’s a diverse culture. It is a world-class international city that has everything that you’d ever want including awfully good weather. With that said, you do not need to be here. You’re actually better off if you want to succeed as a screenwriter being in an other section of the county. That’s the way it seems to me—very, very clearly I have to say.
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[…] (Richard Walter, UCLA Screenwriting professor, Interview Part 5) SS: The title and subtitle of this blog is “Screenwriting from Iowa….and other unlikely places,” and it was in part inspired by learning that Diablo Cody went to college in Iowa, just about an hour where I live, and wrote the distinctly Midwestern screenplay Juno in a […] Original Source… […]
My problem is getting feedback. I wrote a screenplay; Taking Lincoln, a movie about the kidnapping of Lincoln. I couldn’t get anyone to read it, just a dude from Wisconsin without any representation. I think there are four films coming out about Lincoln, just saw the trailer for Redford’s “The Conspirator.” So I am looking for a writing group or just a few folks who are serious about their writing. I’m well aware of some of the post your scripts but I like the opportunity to spitball as I write…
Murfreesboro, TN
@JL –Correction made. Crazy thing is I did a shoot there a few years ago—interviewing a fellow that was a park ranger for the Stones River National Battlefield. It didn’t look right, but I was in a hurry this morning. Thanks.
@Hobbs9- Like a good protagonist, just keep plugging away. You’ll find people to connect with if you keep knocking on doors. (Even if some of those doors are online.)
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