Authors In The Media With Marc Guggenheim 

One thing I enjoy about Authors In The Media Q&As is discussing with authors what they do (or used to do) outside of writing books whether it’s journalism, magazine editing, editing & screenwriting etc. In this Authors In The Media Q&A we will go more in depth discussing his screenwriting career! 

Q: Welcome back Marc! I’m excited about doing this with you again! What drew you into screenwriting for movies and television? 

A: I’ve always loved television and film. My father owns a small electronics store and, growing up, we were the first family on my block with a VCR. My brothers and I just devoured every film we could rent (back when that was a thing) and I loved recording my favorite TV shows.

Q: Did you go to college to take courses in screenwriting scripts for movies and tv? I also know in our Q&A, when I asked you what advice you had for anyone wanting to write books, comics, television, movies and video games you wrote Create and consume. Writing is a talent that improves with experience and repetition. I learn something new with every writing project that informs, in ways large and small, every subsequent project. What more wisdom do you have for anyone wanting to be a screenwriter? 

A: No, I went to law school. I would argue that many of the skills I use as a showrunner and producer stem from my law background. Life experience makes you a better writer. I couldn’t, in good conscience, advise anyone to go to film school today. First, the employment landscape film school graduates are entering is simply horrendous, so it’s a good idea to have a background in something you can fall back on if writing doesn’t work out. And even if writing does work out, I truly believe that having non-writing life experience is more valuable to being a writer than whatever one might learn in film school. I’m obviously biased given my experience, but the truth is, the more life you can bring to your writing, the better your writing will be.

Q: I find it impressive that your television credits are ARROW, DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, TROLLHUNTERS, CARNIVAL ROW & your movie credits are GREEN LANTERN & PERCY JACKSON – SEA OF MONSTERS! What was it like writing for all those tv shows and movies? What was it like interacting in the writer’s room & with the cast of all the shows and movies?

A: Thank you. I’m very blessed to have had all the creative experiences I’ve enjoyed over the years. Each project is always its own thing, so the experience really does differ. No matter what, though, I feel like I’ve come away with some new piece of knowledge or information that further informs my work.

Q: Can you spoil what movies and tv shows you are currently screenwriting right now? 

A: At the moment, all my tv and film work is in the developmental stage and none of those projects have been announced yet, so I can’t really spoil anything. I’ve been doing a lot of work with Netflix recently, on both the film and television side. I’m consulting on one of their shows which is currently in development and enjoying that a great deal. Hopefully, the show will get ordered. I’m also doing rewrites on a few movies, and, over the next two months, I’ll be pitching four different TV shows.