Inverview: Jeff Morris

Done Deal Pro runs occasional interviews, mostly with screenwriters who have broken into the entertainment business fairly recently. As they are still close to the ‘aspiring screenwriter’ phase, I find these interviews can be particularly relevant for my students. Here’s one with Jeff Morris. From DDP:

Writer/Director Jeff Morris was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Arizona State University where he graduated with a degree in Political Science. Jeff’s feature film debut as a writer/director was the 2006 award winning independent comedy You Did What?, distributed by Mar Vista Entertainment. At the Tiburon International Film Festival, Jeff won the prestigious Orson Welles Award given each year to a first-time feature director for outstanding achievement in their debut film. Currently, Jeff is writing a script for 20th Century Fox with John Davis producing. He’s constantly humbled by his two children and beautiful wife. Jeff’s represented by Julie Bloom at Art/Work Entertainment.

The interview is definitely worth a read. Here are a couple of excerpts:

In 2004 you wrote another script. How had your writing process changed? And it landed you a manager. You’ve said that it didn’t get things rolling for you like you would have thought. What played out?

Before 2004, I wasn’t writing big idea scripts. I was writing too small and it’s probably why I wasn’t breaking in. That or I still wasn’t that good. Maybe both. So, in 2004 when I wrote what I think was my first truly big concept, industry folk began to request it. It landed me a manager and I had my first experience of having a script go wide. The script didn’t sell out of the gates but was optioned by Rich Hull (Daddy Day Camp). It also led to my first series of meetings with development execs at various production companies. I learned that to get people’s attention you really need a killer concept. I started to see how much Hollywood needed to be able to convey your idea on a movie poster. Rich’s plan with the script was to take it to various studios and try to sell it as part of a slate of films. I did an additional pass on the script and let Rich run with it. Nothing ended up happening and a year later, the script was mine again.

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One of the meetings landed you an opportunity to write a script based on an idea you had. You showed it to a company, they liked it and it started getting passed up the chain. But at the same time, in early 2008, the same company asked you to write a different script for them based on an idea they had. What was that process like? How did it all play out?

In every meeting, execs ask what ideas you have or are working on. In a meeting with Davis Entertainment, I pitched an idea to an exec that he absolutely loved. The exec at Davis passed the idea on to the president of the company and he loved it too. They asked if they could develop the idea with me. This is one of the most successful production companies in town — their films have grossed $6 billion. I jumped at the chance. The execs were great and I learned a lot from them. We had a lot of fun developing that script.

When the script was finished, the execs took it to all the studios and tried to set it up. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell. But, right after we finished that project, the execs approached me about an idea they had. I pitched my take to John Davis and he bought it out of his discretionary fund at Fox. After the birth of my two children and my wedding day, it was probably the greatest day of my life.