Interview (Part 3): Ben Jacoby

This week I’m featuring an interview I did with Ben Jacoby. This has a particularly unique hook in that I have an email thread with Ben dating back to July 30, 2013. Every several months, Ben would contact me with the latest development in his writing life, so in effect the emails are a living history of his emerging screenwriting career. The fact he has been a longtime GITS follower makes his story especially satisfying.

Today in Part 3, Ben shares what it’s like to have not one, but two scripts generate heat from the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition:

Scott: To that last point, you put your money where your mouth was when you wrote me a couple months after Borderland wrapped. You said, “I submitted two scripts to the Nicholl Fellowship this year and both advanced to the quarterfinals. Fingers crossed. Send me some juju, some creative juju,” which I did.

One of those scripts was “Earthwalkers,” which ended up a Nicholl finalist. Interestingly enough, after I sent you those congratulations, an agent contacted me to get in touch with you. But you told me you had already signed with Verve.

So “Earthwalkers” was a finalist, and “The Inklings,” which we talked about earlier made the top 50. So, maybe you can walk us through that whole Nicholl experience.

Ben: It was incredible. I still can’t believe I got that call. First of all, I thought if either of those scripts had a chance, it would be “The Inklings,” because I was just neck deep in it at that time, and it was a really emotional experience for me, writing it. I think I was most surprised about “Earthwalkers” making it because after I wrote that script, I paid for coverage from a couple of readers — and the feedback was not positive. [laughs] They completely eviscerated the script. It was painful. So, needless to say I wasn’t confident.

That exact same draft made the Nicholl finals. So there you have it. Finding success in competitions is very much about getting lucky and getting the right readers.

After the quarterfinal notification, they sent out two judges’ comments per script. I think last year was the first year they did that. So, I sent those comments to a mentor I’d met at a screenwriting convention, a successful writer — who I won’t name — and asked if he’d mind sending them and my script to any agents he knew. I figure I had enough capital for one favor, so I cashed it in.

He sent them out to a few agents and Adam Weinstein at Verve really responded. I signed with him right away. So, in a way, the quarterfinals were really the most important step for me in the competition.

Scott: Verve is a great agency.

Ben: They’ve been amazing.

Scott: Then in February of this year, as we’re tracking the arc of your career, you sent me this note, “I wanted to write and share some good news. I just landed my first studio-writing gig. The last few months have been a whirlwind. I’m walking on clouds. Thank you again for always inspiring and motivating us writers.” That project is called “Doctors,” right?

Ben: Yes.

Scott: That’s at 20th Century Fox. It’s based on a graphic novel from Dash Shaw who is pretty well acclaimed as a comic creator. And, David Goyer is producing the project. I did a little research and it looks like Fox picked it up in October 2014. You wrote me in February 2015. I am guessing this was an open writing assignment, one a lot of writers were pursuing?

Ben: I believe so. I didn’t really want to know anything about who I was going up against, I never do. [laughs] The only person you can compete in these things with is yourself. So I just told myself this is my shot, I have to put together the best pitch I can and deliver it, and just hope they like it.

Scott: What was that process like? Do you remember how long the pitch was, how comprehensive it was?

Ben: It was very comprehensive. I have a hard time figuring out all the things I want to talk about in a pitch if I don’t really break a detailed story. So, my pitches tend to be on the long side.

After the Nicholl, I met with Fox in my first round of generals and they mentioned the project. I read the comic and was blown away by it. It’s dark and eerie and complex, and hits on some very fascinating themes. Difficult and fascinating, not standard popcorn movie fare. I spent about a month putting my take together and it ended up being about 25 minute pitch. It’s about doctors who discover a way to tap into people’s afterlives.

Scott: Meeting David Goyer too, that must have been quite exciting.

Ben: It was amazing. It was nerve-wracking as hell. I pitched my take to Fox and then to David. And he’s just incredible. He made me feel comfortable, which I really needed. [laughs] And throughout the entire process he’s just been a real champion, and his feedback is brilliant. He and Kevin Turen, the president of his company, they’re both truly brilliant creatively.

Scott: So, last month I get an email from you, “My draft on ‘Doctors’ went great. And, more good news — I just sold another pitch!” That pitch is still under wraps. Can you talk about that at this point?

Ben: I can’t yet, unfortunately. But I’m dying to. It’s an idea that’s been percolating in my mind for a long time, so I’m beyond thrilled that someone took an interest in it.

Scott: Literally in two years’ time, with this email chain that we’ve got going, you’ve gone from watching your first small budget movie being produced in Atlanta to making the Nicholl finals, landing a studio writing assignment, then selling a pitch. It’s pretty remarkable. Do you pinch yourself at some times and go, “Wow, is this really happening?”

Ben: Pretty much every day.

Scott: I know this is a big question, but are there any lessons you sort of learned along the way in this upward move in your career?

Ben: Just that you have to keep writing and never stop. I always worked as hard as possible, even when I had 40-hour-a-week job, which didn’t allow for much time. Just find a way to write. I would bring my laptop on the bus in New York and write for 20 minutes on my way to work every morning. Then again on the way home. And at lunch too.

I snuck Final Draft onto my work computer and got a screen-guard so no one would see what I was doing. [laughs] Other than that, just establish relationships and nurture them. Of course you have to get lucky too. I think the Nicholl was luck for me, but I really believe you can put yourself in a position to get lucky by honing your craft and by working as hard as possible.

Scott: That’s right. The Nicholl wouldn’t have happened if you had not written those two scripts on spec.

Ben: You have to work hard, write what excites you and hope it’s good enough to catch someone’s eye.

Scott: Let’s talk about your other Nicholl script, “The Inklings,” which I read and really enjoyed. When you said you thought it might be right up my alley. Literally just the other day, I was talking to someone about Charles Williams because “All Hallows Eve” is one of my favorite novels, I am a huge Tolkien fan, and I’ve read a bunch of C.S. Lewis, so I know about that group of writers who called themselves The Inklings.

Ben: Well, I already know you’re a fan — and I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I actually got the idea for this script from your blog.

Scott: Seriously!?

Ben: It was a few Halloweens ago, you wrote something about “All Hallows Eve” and Charles Williams and The Inklings. I had never heard of them. I obviously knew Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, but I didn’t know Charles Williams, and I didn’t know that all these writers were friends and colleagues.

I read that on your blog and immediately thought, “Wait, what if there was something to that.” The greatest fantasy writers of the 20th century were all connected. What if they shared a secret? What if they had access to some secret realm where they drew their stories from? That’s basically where the seed of the script came from. So thank you for that!

Tomorrow in Part 4, Ben and I dive into the script which landed him representation: The Inklings.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Part 2, here.

Ben is repped by Verve.