Film and television have always been a great inspiration in my life and upbringing. In a sense some of the films and television shows I’ve grown up watching have helped me understand the world in which we live in. The key element is emotion and how emotion works with the human condition. In dealing with story, I’ve learned that great storytelling triggers mixed emotions out of people (both good and bad) but at any rate these emotions help a person feel something; and that feeling helps them feel alive. For me, the emotions I feel after seeing a good movie are the most memorable in my life and that is why I have decided to become a screenwriter. So I can help people feel something magical after they watch a movie that I wrote. Hopefully, someday.
As far back I as remember, the cinema was always my sanctuary, a place that I could go to escape and find answers for everything that was happening in the world around me. Whether it be family, relationships or just plain life, it was always at the movies that I could bring some sort of resolve to how I would feel about something. The first movie I ever saw was ‘Rocky’ it was also the first movie where I experienced how emotion was triggered by great storytelling. The scene where Rocky is running up the stairs and the music is playing and the kids are following him!! That scene did so much for me at such a young age! I felt such great inspiration in knowing that he had made it! The Rocky character came from noting and went against all odds to believe and become a champion. Looking back I realize that scene taught me my first lesson about screenwriting; It taught me that a character must have a goal and that the goal must present conflict and that when and how that character overcomes conflict is where and when you find the magic of great storytelling.
Still, Im trying to learn more about writing., particularly screenwriting. By no stretch am I a pro, but I think I’m on the right path. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to learn more and hopefully earn my masters degree from UCLA TFT in the next couple of years. As I mentioned prior, my main objective is to write stories that make people feel something. No matter if it’s a good feeing or a bad feeling, I only dread the idea that my writing be flat or dull. My ultimate goal is to have a young aspiring writer sit in a theater and feel the same way I did when he or she is watching a film that I wrote.