Josh Olson
Late Blooming with Josh Olson
July 17, 2008 | by brett | Permalink
Josh Olson is an Oscar nominated screenplay writer for his work with the movie “A History of Violence.” Josh recently moved out of a Hollywood apartment and into a secluded home with a patio that overlooks the Los Angeles skyline. He is a self described late bloomer and a film snob.
It’s not enough just to be a good writer. I wish it was. You have to have the right idea and it has to be the right place and all these things have to come together. Because there are a zillion people out there who are ten times the writer I’ll ever be. And they’re stuck in coffee shops at 8 am fighting for the good seat.
My breakthrough? There was a couple. The one that turned me into a professional writer was pretty depressing, at the time. I’m over it now. I had written a really good script and optioned it to some producers who ended up getting it set up with a bunch of cheeseballs who made it into a crappy, low budget monstrosity. People were at the premiere laughing at how bad it was. But that got me into a world where I was writing dumb, straight to video action movies for a few years. That made me a living, not a great living, but a decent living.
My plan had always been to get into something commercial. A lot of people don’t. They try to write their deep dark passion project and sell that. Unfortunately, that’s almost impossible to do. They let you do that project when you’re inside, not from the outside.
I literally got to the point where I was thinking, “If this script doesn’t sell, I have to stop. I can’t do anymore. I’ve hit the great concept. I’ve got the ability. I’ve got an agent who’s not the biggest in town, but more than respectable enough to sell a script. If that combination doesn’t work, then this is not for me.” It reminds me of these idiots who are broke on their ass and they’re saying “Well, this script (mocking a bum holding a script like the Ten Commandments), I’m going to sell this script!” I don’t know what I would have done if things wouldn’t have worked out. Maybe drive around the country interviewing people about their passion.
I was down to less than $200 in the bank when Paramount bought my script for life altering sums of money. After years of struggling, it was so strange, because all of a sudden the game plan was to sell a big commercial script and then start writing movies that really matter to you. And that happened almost instantly. It took forever to get in the door, but once I got in the door, it was doing what I wanted to do.
Unfortunately, that film Paramount bought got stuck in development and never got made. But it led directly to my very first studio assignment which was A History of Violence. Which was a ridiculous experience. Every step of that was ridiculous. You could have stopped at any point after the film got made and I would have been happy. It could not have gone better…although, I could have won. I could have beat Brokeback Mountain . That would have been better (Laughs).
I had gotten the job by being brought in to pitch, and was told by the executive, “We really just want to get to know you. You’re not going to get the job. We’re talking to four or five really big writers, but I want you to come in and if you’re impressive we can get you back in for something else.” I took that as a license to pitch the story that I wanted to tell. That’s a very valuable lesson.
You have to trust that you’re a valid audience. If I can make myself happy, there’s enough people out there that are like me, or perceive things the way I do that I will entertain them. You can’t sit and second guess that. You can’t wonder about whether they’re going to like it. I’ve always found the stuff I’m happiest with is the stuff that people like the most. When I’m trying to please someone, or trying to figure out what somebody wants, or trying to figure out what an audience wants, it doesn’t work. I sit down and entertain myself. That’s a hard thing to do. It’s a hard thing to remember. You’re always aware that you need to write a hit, and make this guy happy, and make that guy happy.
I had written this awful thriller movie for a guy, and I had this car chase in the script. You’d never seen a car chase like this in a film. It was an angle that had never been done. I put this in the script and then later asked myself why I put it in. When I saw the film the director didn’t use it. He didn’t quite understand it. So I took it out of that script and put it into the one Paramount bought. It was actually one of their favorite things. There’s a really important lesson there.
I don’t know if a formal education is the answer for everyone, but you have to have an education. I do believe that you have to find people who help you come across that in yourself. I believe in mentors. Eventually, I’d love to be good enough to be one. Right now I’d probably just lead people down the wrong paths (Laughs).
I’d tell the 18 year old Josh that it is way better to be a late bloomer. There’s the people who peaked in high school, and there’s the people who figured it out later. I remember sitting in a bar in England for the British Academy Awards, talking about the joys of being a late bloomer with George Clooney over drinks. You know, I wasn’t the captain of the high school football team, but that’s alright. The answer is not to get everything you want right off the bat. It’s all a learning experience. Don’t sweat it so much. Life is long. The great thing about having things working out later as opposed to sooner is that you appreciate what you have.
This has been a Pursue the Passion interview. Visit www.pursuethepassion.com for over 200 interviews with people passionate about their work, just like Josh. And if you need a keynote speaker on careers, those Pursue the Passion guys aren’t a bad call.
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THERE ARE 3 RESPONSES TO THIS INTERVIEW
Late Blooming with Josh Olson Says:
July 17th, 2008
[…] [Read original] Tags: Best Friend, Coffee Shops, growth chart, History Of Violence, Hollywood, Hollywood Apartment, Josh Olson, Late Bloomer, Screenplay Writer, Skyline, Socializer, Zillion […]
Steve Says:
July 18th, 2008
This is one of the best video interviews and writings you have ever published. I loved it. Josh “gets it.” It’s no wonder he’s made it work. He’s sticking to his convictions of writing for himself first and foremost.
George Clooney Celebrity Gossip | Late Blooming with Josh Olson Says:
July 18th, 2008
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