A lifetime of being in and around the film, television and journalism worlds has made me appreciate both how difficult it is to get movies and television programs made and how many interesting stories are out there that need to be told and seen.
As my former boss Tom Hanks said in 2023, “no one knows how a movie is made” and he further described the process as a “miracle” from idea to screen, even for “experienced filmmakers.”
It often takes years, always takes thousands of people, (which is why I always watch the credits of movies and TV shows, both out of respect for the work these people have done, and amazement at the sheer numbers of people involved) and is subject to the seemingly random whims of the marketplace, revolving executives and decision makers, and even political influences. But it is possible!
I’ve been storytelling since before storytelling was such a popular theme, first as a journalist, telling hundreds of (mostly) true stories, then as a writer, script consultant and developer of fictional ideas and stories.
And after reading well over 1,000 scripts and working with dozens of actors, writers, producers and others, I am often tempted to quote screenwriter William Goldman (“All the President’s Men” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”) who famously said about the entertainment industry “Nobody Knows Anything.”
Goldman may have been overstating things a tad, but his instincts were on the mark. More than many industries, entertainment seems like a black box that insiders believe they understand yet are reluctant to share those “secrets” with outsiders.
It can be a daunting and lonely venture to write a script and even more challenging to get your story to the “right” people who love it (but will always change it) and hopefully help get it to the screen.
But it can be done, and regardless of the outcome, the effort to tell stories is usually well worth it. And there are many good, compelling, funny, tragic, heartwarming, heartbreaking stories that currently reside only in the heads of their prospective authors.
Which is why I have been giving a “From Your Head to the Screen” workshop for decades, and believe Modern Elder Academy is the ideal venue for it.
Although I appreciate most genres (though not a big horror fan) the stories I like most are character-driven, multi-layered ones, often though not always about families and relationships (the result in part of having been a single father) I love directors like Alexander Payne (“The Holdovers,” “The Descendants,” “About Schmidt”) and Cameron Crowe (“Say Anything,” “Almost Famous”) but there are many talented storytellers, some well-known, many waiting to be discovered.
During my recent fellowship year at Stanford and even before then, I did a deep dive into storytelling and interacted with many people over 50 who have stories they think are well-suited to the big and small screens, but are either unsure of how to begin the process, and/or lacking confidence that anyone would be interested in what they have to say.
I can certainly assist in figuring out the process, and offer at least some wisdom on whether, and who might be interested in those stories.
And while Goldman may have been on to something with his famous quote, I do know that people over 50 in particular have stories that can capture the imagination and attention of an audience.
-Joe
Joe Seldner is a writer, journalist, and media/entertainment veteran who served as creative executive to actor Tom Hanks and Co-Producer of the HBO film “61*” among other positions. An alumnus of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Yale School of Management, he recently spent a year as a Fellow at Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute while continuing to write and develop projects. He has earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination, and his work has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, Huffington Post and dozens of other publications and he has worked with dozens of actors and writers.