[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: What do you say to people who tell you it’s impossible to make it as a screenwriter in Hollywood?
Jay Fingers, Screenwriter/Author/Youtuber: That’s nonsense. It’s not impossible. Now if you’re trying to chase Joe Eszterhás or Shane Black and make millions of dollars, I mean that might be a bit difficult. I think that it’s certainly possible to achieve success as a screenwriter.
I see it every day on Twitter when I log on. There’s a community Screenwriting Twitter. People share their successes, they share their good news. Every day someone tweets about finding a manager or placing in a contest or being staffed in a room. You get the occasional big deal, so and so is adapting this novel for a big studio or so and so sold a spec script. That happens occasionally. Seeing that lets me know that it’s certainly possible.
One of my buddies Mark Sanderson is a screenwriter and he wrote a book believe it’s called The Screenwriter’s Journey. What I love about that book is that it lays out a realistic path to having a screenwriting career. That is the path that most people, if you’re chasing the dream, that’s the path. You should look at is establishing a career a realistic career? Yeah, it’s totally doable.
You can work on an indie film. You can work on streaming services series. Even social media platforms are doing scripted stuff.
I have a buddy who wrote (I think for Facebook) a scripted series. It can definitely happen, it’s not an impossible dream.
Film Courage: I’ve even seen [retail] stores do their own web series. Home Goods did one where it’s funny…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Jay Fingers is a novelist, journalist, editor, and emerging screenwriter. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, before attending film school at the University of Miami. After college and working in Miami Beach’s nightlife scene for several years, Jay moved to New York City — Brooklyn, specifically — where he wrote four books: Guestlist, Kisses for Tati, Orange Mound and Manhattan Sweetheart. Deciding to fully pursue his lifelong screenwriting ambitions, Jay relocated to Los Angeles, where he currently lives and has been tirelessly working on spec scripts.
CONNECT WITH JAY FINGERS
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