[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: What kinds of jobs are available to writers for their first opportunity trying to break into the writer’s room?
Zimran Jacob, Screenwriter: There’s a lot of jobs that you can kind of break into the writer’s room.
For me it was the support staff roles.
I was a showrunner’s assistant on my first two shows. There’s also the writer production assistant who goes and gets the lunches and does all the runs.
Sshowrunner’s assistant is an executive assistant position that does a lot of the scheduling and ultimately is the conduit between the showrunner and the rest of the production.
There’s a script coordinator who does the legal clearances and does the distribution of scripts.
Then the writer’s assistant who takes notes in the room.
Those are not necessarily entry-level positions but they can be entry level if you’re trying to get your first job in a writer’s room.
Another entry level position is the staff writer. If you’re getting hired for your script then that is usually where you’ll start off. There’s obviously certain circumstances where you can write a pilot and that’s your first job in a writer’s room or you come in…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
Zimran Jacob is an Indian American drama television writer originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. After graduating Cum Laude from Chapman University with a B.A. in Screenwriting and studying at NYU, USC, and UCLA, he moved out to Los Angeles where he began to work in the finance department at Gaumont Television, which released Narcos, Hannibal, Hemlock Grove, and F is for Family during his tenure at the company. Zimran’s job at Gaumont led him to Marvel in the writer’s room on the Netflix show, The Punisher where he was able to contribute to the story in his role on the support staff as the Showrunner’s Assistant. During his time at Marvel, he pitched two stories which became produced episodes. Zimran sold his feature SWAG to 19f Productions where Kevin Pollak is attached to direct. He was a PGA Diversity Workshop Fellow in 2019 and was a Semi-Finalist in both the 2018 and 2019 Austin Film Festival. Most recently, he brought enthusiasm to his job as Showrunner’s Assistant for October Faction on Netflix. He writes dark Shakespearean dramas featuring Machiavellian characters, tribal power struggles, and is addicted to crime stories.
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