When it comes to movies, no dream is too big. Filled with rags-to-riches and overnight success stories, Hollywood is a whole lotta flash. The screenwriting world isn’t all that different with a number of writers going from unlikely nobodies to household names. Who are the real contenders… here are thre screenwriters who bucked the system or catapulted their way into the big time. Their passion and drive pushed them to the front of the queue and now they’re living their dreams.
A popular subject when it comes to all things cinema, Quentin Tarantino is often cited as the video store clerk who became a cinematic visionary. The modern great started in a video store, developing an appetite for film and converting his broad knowledge into the realm of Hollywood. Now a household name, his recent talk of The Movie Critic fizzled but had tongues wagging. A pioneer with a penchant for kung fu and spaghetti westerns, the influential auteur has reinvented the wheel with films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction all the way to Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds.
Another name that comes to mind is that of Charlie Kaufman, a novelist who quickly discovered a knack for screenwriting. Known for Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the screenwriter has become synonymous with complex narratives, absurd humour and deep explorations of the human condition. A mastermind of screenwriting, Kaufman has an intricate way of telling stories, managing to use unconentional means to craft provocative tales that weave indelible and surreal tapestries.
Finally, let’s turn to Shane Black… a child actor from films like Predator and Robocop 3, who became an action screenwriting legend. The writer who penned the Lethal Weapon series, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Predator, Black’s writing activates the best of the action genre – able to conjure up memorable charaters, witty dialogue and explosive set pieces. Able to blend humour and violence, Black’s scripts bristle with entertainment and serve up iconic action making him one of the best screenwriters working in Hollywood today.