{"id":237499,"date":"2021-12-14T18:34:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T02:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/?p=237499"},"modified":"2021-12-14T18:37:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T02:37:08","slug":"chad-handley-on-hitting-the-black-list-the-importance-of-writers-groups-and-not-moving-to-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/2021\/12\/14\/chad-handley-on-hitting-the-black-list-the-importance-of-writers-groups-and-not-moving-to-la\/","title":{"rendered":"Chad Handley on Hitting The Black List, the Importance of Writers Groups, and (Not) Moving to LA"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.13.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]\n

North Carolina film and TV writer, Chad Handley, didn\u2019t always know he wanted to work in film, but he knew a good visual when he saw one. In the ninth grade, he loved drawing, so when his teacher announced that the class could do their next book report in images, everyone thought he\u2019d turn in a few sketches. Chad, however, went big. He\u2019d just gotten access to a camcorder, so he and a funny friend did the West Side Story as a puppet show. It went better than he imagined. \u201cThey loved it. The class was in shambles for the rest of the day.\u201d His teacher though wasn\u2019t convinced. He laughs, \u201cShe said she knew we worked hard, but it went way off-topic. I think I got a D.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Film School (The Very Best Trade School There Is)<\/b><\/h3>\n

Undeterred, Chad continued to pursue film and attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for film. There he attended classes and made projects with the likes of David Gordon Green, Craig Zobel, and Danny McBride. Not only did he make great connections, Chad argues that film school is the best vocational school there is. \u201cYou\u2019re there to learn real tangible skills. You can become an editor, a gaffer, a sound technician. These are great, high-paying, union jobs. Ignore the pie in the sky stuff\u2013like whether or not Spike Lee or Spielberg went to school\u2013and focus on acquiring the skills to make real money in this industry.\u201d Knowing what production is like and the job of the people actually making movies is an important thing for a writer to understand. \u201cIt\u2019s way more than just famous directors.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Serious About Writing<\/b><\/h3>\n

After receiving his degree, he floated a bit and ended up at the Screenwriting MFA program at Hollins University. \u201cThat first summer, I wrote a 30 ROCK spec and a whole feature in six weeks. It made me realize I\u2019d been lazy.\u201d So, he kicked it into high gear and started writing 3-4 features a year. At Hollins, Chad met ProPath\u2019s own Tim Albaugh. \u201cHe probably doesn\u2019t even remember first meeting me, but before he was even a professor at Hollins, he visited one of the classes and said some very nice things about my script. So, I knew he had good taste.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the next few years, Chad took every class with Tim he could. \u201cI don\u2019t really think you need a lot of screenwriting books, but you need to read scripts, write, and have someone in your corner who will give you good but fair criticism. That\u2019s Tim. He\u2019s kind and professional, and never mean, but he\u2019s not going to sugarcoat it. You need that as a writer.\u201d He laughs, \u201cDon\u2019t go for the Simon Cowell type who\u2019ll break your spirit. Work with someone that will give you kind but honest feedback so you get better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another great thing about taking classes was deadlines. \u201cBeing a working writer means deadlines. It means multiple deadlines for multiple projects. Putting yourself under someone\u2019s tutelage before you\u2019re getting paid gives you those deadlines. You don\u2019t want to be working on the same project year after year. In this business, you don\u2019t get ten years, you get 2-3 months. Discipline, honest feedback, and working, that muscle of hitting deadlines is the best thing you can do to learn how to be a professional writer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that kept Chad going before he started landing paid gigs was his writing group. \u201cYou need deadlines and feedback; you\u2019ll get both if you find a great group.\u201d His group, however, takes it a step further. \u201cWe give each other consequences. If you don\u2019t hit your deadline, you have to give up something big. Like, once they said that if I didn\u2019t hit my deadline, I\u2019d have to sell my gaming console and not buy another one for a year.\u201d Someone else in the group would\u2019ve had to donate $500 to an opposing political group had they not hit theirs. Needless to say, everyone in the group consistently met their deadlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Honing his craft catapulted Chad to the next level. A western he wrote, BLOOD WILL TELL, landed in the Nicholl top 50, and from that script, David Gordon Green hired him to write another. Then RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES lost NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE scribe Jared Hess, to a directing gig, and Chad got the job. That\u2019s another reason film school is so important, \u201cDavid Gordon Green and his producer Julian Lawitschka recommended me for the job, and I knew the co-head writers as well.\u201d From there, Chad\u2019s career really took off and he\u2019s since worked on projects for Disney+, Netflix, and Universal. Along the way, he wrote THE DARK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making The Black List<\/b><\/h3>\n

Chad laughs a little when talking about The Black List. \u201cPeople keep asking me, \u2018So, now do you think someone will buy your script?\u2019 And I have to tell them, \u2018It\u2019s already sold!\u2019\u201d Chad worked hard on the script, going through 4-5 drafts before taking it out. So, it was a nice moment of recognition. He says, \u201cYou don\u2019t get to have a lot of public wins as a writer. It was fun to be able to post it, and tell my mom.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

THE DARK is about a group of inner-city middle schoolers, stranded on the wrong side of Manhattan during a blackout, who must fight through supernatural forces to get back to their families in the Bronx. Thinking about the inspiration for the film, Chad says, \u201cI wanted to do a Black ET. It was very much inspired by ATTACK THE BLOCK, but I didn\u2019t want something scary, I wanted an Amblin tale set in the city. What if ET happened in Brooklyn? Or THE GOONIES took place in Bedstuy? I wanted to see that type of story from a very different perspective.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Black List is a great win, but it\u2019s not the job. So, he\u2019s going to make like Tiger Woods, pump his fist, and get back to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To LA or Not to LA that is the Question<\/b><\/h3>\n

Chad works and writes in North Carolina. However, pre-pandemic, he still had to shell out thousands of dollars to Uber around LA for a week of general meetings. Now, though, a lot has changed. \u201cI just turn on my laptop and have those same meetings on Zoom. It\u2019s more possible, but breaking in is still hard. If you\u2019re young and can afford it, I don\u2019t know why you wouldn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, don\u2019t go until you\u2019re ready. \u201cYou need to create attention no matter where you are. Write and write and write, and then enter the Nicholl, Austin, get coverage, and get feedback on your writing, see if it\u2019s ready.\u201d He continues, \u201cGet good enough first without worrying about your career. I wasn\u2019t always good enough. Get better first. Then get a lot better. Then way better. Good enough does not just meet deadlines. You have to do good work under deadlines. Take notes and execute them well. Learn how to be a professional even when people tell you your writing sucks. Writing one perfect script is not what the job is. You might sell that script, and that\u2019s great, but you\u2019re not ready for what follows.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a simple journey. There\u2019s no easy button when it comes to screenwriting. Ultimately, it\u2019s about love. As Chad says, \u201cIf you don\u2019t love it, why do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chad Handley on hitting The Black List, the importance of writers groups, and (not) moving to LA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21,15,84],"class_list":["post-237499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-screenwriter","tag-screenwriting","tag-the-black-list"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237499"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237507,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237499\/revisions\/237507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propathscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}