Film Courage: From what I saw in your book on Amazon [A SCREENWRITER’S JOURNEY TO SUCCESS:
Tips, tricks and tactics to survive as a working screenwriter in Hollywood] when I was going
through (before the interview) you said you did not have relatives in the industry, you
had very supportive parents and you had to break in what you call “the old-fashioned
way,” which was hard work, discipline, faith.
And I was wondering if we can talk about the faith part?
What is that exactly?
Mark Sanderson: Faith is if you don’t believe in yourself why do you expect other people
to believe in you?
And it’s your dream.
Someone else will live their dream and why shouldn’t you live your dream?
That was always my opinion and it’s scary because you don’t know if you are going
to or if they will allow you to do it.
So you have to write something that you care about but also that somebody else sees that
care in there and wants to make it, then the business part they want to invest millions
of dollars in your idea as opposed to someone else’s idea.
And it’s the finding that company, finding the timing.
My spec sold because (my first and only spec which was my fifth spec) but that opened the
door to assignment work so I haven’t sold a spec since then because I’ve been blessed
with assignment work, which is fine.
I’ve written other specs, yes.
But it’s exhausting to try to continue.
It’s you know this one and maybe this one.
It’s a much better experience when the producer comes to me and says “Are you available?
We have this concept that’s greenlit, we need writer.”
You’re like “Thank you very much.
I would love the job.
I’m available.”
And I’ve turned down stuff as well.
But the faith aspect, you always have to have faith.
Not blind faith but there are time when you’re staring into that abyss and you go “I’m
going to take the leap, you know.”
When I worked a day job at the law firm, I only had a day job for 2 years in my whole
life.
I worked other odd jobs like restaurants and things but once I decided to take that day
job because things were really slow in my career, when I got the call from the production
company and they said we have this job, we want to get back in business with you, I took
that leap, the void wasn’t so dark because it was a job (it was money) but I could have
thought about and said “Well, I’ll stay at the firm because it’s steady money and
I’ll do this other job and I can do both right because I have?”
But it wasn’t worth it for me to do that.
The minute they said hang up the phone a two week notice I took that leap because I just
need to do that.
I have to live the life of a writer and luckily that last X number of years I’ve been able
to do that, live the life of a writer, live the life where I get up and that’s the only
thing that I do.
That’s my job and it’s the faith aspect (like I said, as we discussed before) you
always have to have people who believe in you but that only goes so far, they can all
yeah.
That’s why I say don’t give your script to your family members to read because unless
they’re executives at Warner Brothers because there is no real point in it.
Everybody is going to say “That’s the best thing ever.”
“Well it kept my interest, you know?”
Great!
So everybody can rally around you and say “Yeah!”
And have the faith but it comes down to you are living it, you know?
You’re sitting in front of the computer, you’re trying to come up with ideas and
your choices that you make are directly affecting your life financially and psychologically
and relationship-wise with other people so there’s a lot of things involved in pursuing
a screenwriting career.
Not just “Oh, I’m going to write a script.”
There’s a bigger picture of how it affects your life, especially when it becomes how
you pay your bills.
So faith is an important part.
But you have to, there’s always a fear still, I mean when I get a new job I get nervous.
I think I read that Henry Fonda would throw up on stage before he went out to do a performance.
You’re like “You’re Henry Fonda?”
But I think a little of that nervous not too much fear but like that respect for me comes
into the craft.
My mom always says “Oh, you’ll know what to do.
You’re fine.”
To this day she says that.
I go “I think I’m fine.
I’m pretty sure I’m fine?”
And then I finish it and go “Yeah, okay.”
But I don’t want to have that arrogance of “I’ll work it in.
This is fine.”
No, no, no.
Absolutely not.
So I have a tremendous faith in my ability but I temper it with humility and also the
realities of the business and situations I guess.
Faith is (back to your question) is extremely important.
But I think faith in yourself first and foremost.
Don’t search outward for it.
Like looking for validation from outside.
Like I’ll write something and if an agent likes it, then that validates me.
Know and have faith in your abilities first and foremost and then go out there and see
what happens.
Film Courage: Has gratitude always been a part of your makeup?
I see that gratitude seems to be a strong thing for you, but maybe I’m wrong?
Has it always been in your nature?
Mark Sanderson: You mean gratitude?
Film Courage: It seems like you recognize things to be grateful for?
Mark Sanderson: Yes!
It seems like the longer you are in the business…it always have been my makeup (yes), but the
longer you get punched around and see how things work, for myself.
Everybody has a different story.
You are very humbled and gracious.
And then you say things like “I’m blessed.”
Yes, I feel like I’m blessed.
But I’ve also done a lot of hard work and a tremendous amount of sacrifice in my life
to devote for this and not for the sake of being (you know) the wealth and the riches
and the loot because I say there is no fame and fortune in the screenwriting game.
I mean half of the writers in the writer’s guild don’t work every year and those are
professional WGA writers.
I think the odds last year were like 5,200 something out of approximately 10,000.
So the other half are looking for jobs and not working or the 50,000 scripts that are
apparently registered with the guild every year those are just the ones registered or
the 70 to 100 specs a year that sell.
And I always tell writers I don’t bring up those odds to scare you but for you to
realize what you’re up against, you wouldn’t climb Mount Everest without the training and
the help and the tools, you just go “Okay, I’m going to go do it.”
Now there’s a certain courage in doing that, but there’s also a certain stupidity at
some time.
And just like writing your script and being eager and someone says “I want to read it!”
And you give it to the wrong person and then that bad note circulates, you’re finished.
Things like that.
Film Courage: With this job at the law firm, so you got this movie or you got some other
show or something, did that pan out?
Mark Sanderson: It was made.
I went to the set while I was working, that was the hardest part where I am like “I
don’t want to go back.”
And then I had to go back.
And I’m like deja vu.
I’m back in the situation I was however many years before with doing the catering
when I sold my first spec because the way monies are doled out in the step deal just
because it’s optioned or whatever doesn’t mean you can quit your job and live in Bel
Air.
So there’s realities about paying your bills.
Same thing when I was working at the day job but again I was like it starts to psychologically
on you and say “No but I’m a writer” And it’s like yeah but you work at a thing
you know?
And I’m back at the tunnel again.
And there was another writer there that was a sitcom writer and he had worked on things
and he too hit a short thing (a slow period).
And he was on his way to get back to it and he did.
We all sort of quit at the same time and he got back into writing sitcoms and I was like
“Yeah!
No looking back.
Now again I don’t have children so that family aspect is a whole different thing.
So what I say is from my own opinion, from my own experience but it sort of goes for
everyone with disciplines and things you have to really keep your eye on the prize and the
big picture as they say because you can get lost so easily even when you’re in it and
doing it, it can get lost.
So you always have to have that bigger plan about where am I going with my career, what
am I doing?