Interview [Written]: John Arends
An interview with John Arends by Kate Hagen over at the Black List.
We spoke to John Arends, writer of TRICE. John participated in the 2014 Black List minilab in Las Vegas, and was chosen as one of two finalists for the NFL/The Company partnership on the site. He’s now working on a script for the NFL. Today, we talk to him about how the past, present, and future have shaped his screenwriting career, and how the Black List helped foster his journey as a writer.
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How did you first hear about The Black List?
I read about the website being launched in late 2012 on Scott Myers’ blog Go Into The Story, and Deadline.com. So I gave myself an early Christmas present by uploading my best script at the time — TRICE — over the holidays, heading into 2013.
Since using The Black List, how has your career been impacted?
In so many ways! The Black List website readers and community embraced TRICE with some astonishing support…and then The Black List staff kicked into high gear. First, they commissioning a movie poster concept for my script from UK graphic designer Paul Alp that literally brought tears to my eyes. I landed representation with a manager who found the script on the TBL website, and BAM! I was “inside the gates.” This past year, everything kind of came to a head. I was invited to the second annual The Black List Screenwriting Labs in Las Vegas — among the coolest 5 days of my life! The pro writers mentoring us there showed us how to think about our material and our careers on a truly professional level. Then, almost two years to the day after I uploaded my first script to the website, I landed my first paying deal. I got a call from producer Charlie Ebersol, congratulating me on winning one of two blind script deals he is producing through a joint partnership with the NFL and The Black List.
So, yes, The Black List website and the team behind it have had an enormous impact my career. They are generosity personified.
Any tips for writers interested in the site?
All that matters in this business is real simple: What’s on the page? So keep rewriting the hell out of your material until what’s on the page really sings and is the absolute best writing you’ve got in you. If you have a script that is performing well on the website, then get the word out to your network–via your reps, if you have them; in short, smartly targeted e-mails, if you don’t have reps. Being associated with The Black List brand via the website is open to everyone. Give it your best and work it to the max. And always be patient and kind, with yourself and especially with those you meet along the way on this crazy filmmaking journey.
John has been a longtime GITS reader and has taken some courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class. I also was one of the mentors at the 2014 Black List screenwriters lab where I worked with John on his script Trice. He is a terrific writer and equally so as a human being. Could not be happier for his success.
For the rest of the interview, go here.