Interview: John Gary

There are several reasons I have wanted to interview John Gary for some time. First and foremost, he’s a talented screenwriter. Second, he has a unique vantage point about the craft as it exists in today’s Hollywood. John has been outside the system, worked inside it, achieved some success, then hit a rough patch, made some key personal decisions and acted on them, which has led to his current situation in which he’s writing two studio projects, one for Lionsgate, one for Paramount. He’s also smart and has a keen understanding of the business side of screenwriting. Finally, John is the person who coined the phrase The Hope Machine as it relates to the whole cottage industry of screenwriting ‘gurus’ and consultants. So I was pleased to be able to grab an hour or so of John’s time recently for what turned out to be an insightful conversation.

Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview:

Part 1: “It is crucial to read scripts, and a good amount of them. But don’t read shitty scripts. Only read the good ones. And at some point, you have to stop reading and start writing. Procrastination won’t help you write.”

Part 2: “ I took a step back, and I said to myself, “What am I missing here?” and the thing I was missing was I was writing what I thought I should write, instead of what I wanted to write. I’d been listening to too many other people, and I’d stopped listening to myself.”

Part 3: “I think we go to movies because we want to see people having relationships with other people, exploring how they’re thinking and feeling. Along the way, things blow up.”

Part 4: “It sounds so easy, but it’s not. Great writing is about what is personal and human and relatable. That’s different for everyone. The trick is to keep your nose down and keep writing.”

Part 5: “As long as I know that the script is interesting and that the character is constantly being pulled in different directions and there is dramatic tension and conflict, and that I have an arc through each act, then I know I’m OK.”

Part 6: “I hadn’t written with intent. I hadn’t made choices with purpose. I couldn’t advocate for the script I’d written. I didn’t have an answer. Ever since then, I have done everything I could to make sure I have an answer. Have an answer.”

John is repped by ICM Partners and The Gotham Group.

Twitter: @johngary.