The Dialogue: Learning From the Masters, Vol II
Hosted by Mike De Luca
starring John Hamburger
Gotham Writers Workshop
Everyone wants to be a big shot Hollywood writer – doing deals, lunch at Spago or Wolfgang Puck, hanging with the big time stars. And since almost all of us took enough high school English to write a book report, the world should be full of writers, right? It nearly is, and if you live in L.A. for more than a week, you’ll find everyone has a screenplay in their back pockets, from that guy at 7-11 to the Mayor. Fortunately, most of these scripts will never be filmed, and it’s not because of some deep, dark conspiracy. It’s because most people can’t write for beans. Maybe a few tips would help…
The Dialogue is a 9-part series of interviews with today’s hottest screenwriters. While proper punctuation and a deep knowledge of Joseph Campbell help, sometimes a few well placed connections can help pull you out of the pack. This 90-minute episode follows the career of Joe Hamburg, who wrote Meet the Parents and Zoolander among other films you may have heard of. Joe’s an interesting guy, and he has some nice war stories of getting through film school, making some high-level connections early in life, and becoming an overnight success in only a decade or two. I found the conversation entertaining and even the over-eager questions from host Mike De Luca were well thought out. I doubt anything Joe said will make me or anyone else get any closer to the silver screen, but listening to him was a pleasantly non-competitive way to spend an hour and a half. Here’s the biggest tip I gleaned – if De Niro likes you, you’ll get work. I’m going to try that one on my next project. Check, please!
