From True Life to Television Movie:
John Scott Shepherd
By P. J. McIlvaine
Reprinted from Screen Talk

Matt Gross, a producer at Kopelson Entertainment, predicts that he has the potential to be a major media player in the league of heavyweights such as David E. Kelly and Steven Bochco due to his "amazing talent" and "universal appeal."

Manager Ken Atchity says that he is a "natural, multi-talented" wordsmith who has his "finger on the pulse of middle class America." Valarie Phillips of Paradigm explains his phenomenal success in more practical tones: he "knows how to tell a Hollywood movie" that "actors and actresses are drawn to."

Add to those superlatives a prolific body of work, a unique and original voice, lyrical writing, well-drawn, believable characters and on-the-nose dialogue, and it's easy to understand why mid-westerner John Scott Shepherd has suddenly become, in a relatively short amount of time, one of Tinseltown's most in demand writers.

A former advertising executive and commercial and corporate video writer/director in Kansas City, Missouri, Shepherd's feature film, literary, and television career began to skyrocket when in July of 1998 New Line and Zide Entertainment purchased the rights to his novel Henry's List of Wrongs for seven figures in a hotly-contested bid.

The top screenwriting duo of Karaszewski and Alexander (People Vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon) are adapting with Jim Carrey currently slated to star; production is expected to commence in 2000.

Shepherd had even more cause to celebrate when Warner Brothers and comedian Ben Stiller's Red Hour bought his original black comedy script, "The Kill Martin Club," and New Regency and Davis Entertainment picked up his spec romantic comedy screenplay, "Life or Something Like It." Both projects are well into development.

Shepherd's streak did not stop there. In June of 1999, Warner Brothers and John Wells Productions ("ER", "Third Watch," "The West Wing") purchased the rights to his second novel, the drama "Eulogy for Joseph Way." That same month, Shepherd sold his concept for a one-hour dramedy called "Sherman's March" to NBC in a contested bid with two other networks. Plans are for Shepherd to write and executive produce (along with Matt Gross of Kopelson) the pilot and the series; if NBC subsequently picks it up, Shepherd will partner with Emmy-winning director/producer Scott Winant ("thirtysomething," "My So-called Life").

But wait, that's not all. In November of 1999, Shepherd went on to sell his third spec script, the romantic fantasy "American Dream," to Columbia Pictures and Donald Deline Productions. The project is presently being "fast tracked," and an A-list director is already tentatively attached.

Soon after, Shepherd accepted a "page-one rewrite" assignment from Kopelson Entertainment on what he claims will be a "very peculiar approach to romantic comedy," titled "Nature of the Beast," which has another distinction, reportedly that of being the first Hollywood deal signed, sealed and delivered in the new millennium.

Personally, Shepherd (or JSS, as he has affectionately known on the Internet and screenwriting boards), is married with three young children and an unabashed "football fanatic," graciously took a brief time-out from his supernova schedule to answer our e-questions.

ScreenTalk: Tell us the secret of your success! You've made a ton of wonderful sales in a short period of time. To what would you attribute this run of good luck besides talent? Savvy management? Destiny?

Shepherd: As far as a secret to my success, I really can't explain why everything happened at once and then kept happening. I think my third screenplay, written five years ago, is in the ballpark with stuff I'm doing now. I may have a tighter sense of story that allows people to get to the characters and dialogue that generate most of the compliments I choose to believe (!). Really, I suppose it comes down to access, and I can thank my management and agent for that. Once people started reading me seriously, they started buying.

ScreenTalk: How did you hook up with your present manager Ken Atchity?

Shepherd: An agent who simply didn't know if she had the artillery to sell my script at the studio level referred me to Ken Atchity. He was producing at the time and switching over to management as well.

The timing was perfect -- we clicked personally, he "got" my work, and we sort of solemnly swore to each other that we wouldn't give up until people paid attention to us. Ken has evolved into some odd blend of big brother, best friend, hard-ass coach and business partner.

I wouldn't trade him for the world, unless Renee Zellwegger was somehow specifically involved. He's a genius who displayed very good taste by making me his greatest discovery (!). (Note: AEI is a production partner on all of Shepherd's projects).

ScreenTalk: Do you have an agent?

Shepherd: Yes. I have an agent -- Valarie Phillips at Paradigm. She's a gem. Great with notes and as savvy as they get. My suggestion regarding agents -- only bother with those actually selling scripts. The names never really change; just check the Done Deal website.

Your audience is really only 20 people at most. Scripts sold by any other manner except through these 20 agencies or managers are like shooting stars -- they get a lot of attention, but they really don't happen very often.

ScreenTalk: Obviously, since you live in the Midwest, you've proven wrong the old canard that you have to live in Los Angeles to get anywhere in the industry. Do you think being outside the loop, as it were, has been a help or a hindrance?

Shepherd: If the series I sold to NBC, "Sherman's March," gets picked up, I'll eventually move to Los Angeles. Being an "outsider," living outside of the film community ... as well as writing novels and TV ... has given me a fairly unique profile. I'm not often confused with anyone else - frankly, I don't really like being referred to as a "screenwriter."

Creatively, I like dropping into the "scene" for a week and then separating, connecting with an existence that's about more than movies. This way, I write instead of talking about it or "networking," which has never carried much water with me.

Great material is great material, screw the zip code. By the way, I truly, deeply, madly love to write. It makes me buzz. Food tastes different. I become socially inept when buried in a project. I rediscover smoking, and feel horrible about it later. I can't explain it any other way - it's the greatest privilege to get paid for this.

ScreenTalk: Do you have a regular writing routine? Any particular software program?

Shepherd: I write on Scriptware. I pretty much write all day, almost every day. My nights are for my family. A good screenplay day for me is 10-15 pages, which I like to stick to pretty religiously, assuming I have a tight, 3-5 page treatment with act breaks and plot points ... and some fully-formed character notes.

The actual writing of a first-draft screenplay ... I've never figured out why it should take longer than a few weeks, maybe four. I could never keep focus at the pace some writers seem to enjoy ... a few pages a day. I'd forget what the hell I was doing. I write novels in Word, and actually tend to write more pages per day.

ScreenTalk: Which do you prefer, writing novels or screenplays, and why? Which gives you greater satisfaction?

Shepherd: I love all three of my outlets - TV, film, and fiction. After one, I'm always ready for the other. I was particularly surprised at how much I loved writing the "Sherman's March" pilot. Sixty pages or under ... man, you've got to be economical. Plus, TV dramedies are all about character and dialogue, not heavy-duty hooks. It's a good fit.

I try to switch genres - light to dark, absurd to erotic, etc. But almost everything I do comes out romantic on some level ... and is about a man or woman in transition, where that romance is a byproduct of the journey (rather than fitting Hague's criteria for true romantic comedy). There's usually a sense of magic, as Scott Winant put it, either literally or figuratively. While my stuff often has a hook, it's also "about something," some small truth I want to explore. And it's almost always funny despite some darker undertone.

ScreenTalk: I also understand you've been offered several lucrative rewriting assignments. How you feel about rewriting other people's work? Do you go in a completely different direction or do you try to stay as close as possible to the initial writer's vision? And what about other writer's rewriting your work?

Shepherd: I really don't want to get too deep into talking about rewrites. Let's leave it that I'm very much in favor of skipping shared credit unless the piece is clearly and totally reconceived by design ... otherwise, we should indeed create the "additional writing by" credit.

Rewriters are subliminally encouraged to fix what's not broken along the way to get credit ... I'm living some of that now. I'll also add that I'm very reluctant to do rewrites and have no intention of making assignments of any kind a major part of my creative life. I have way too many ideas in my head that need to get out. Okay, one more thing - I don't think writers and rewriters are normally one and the same. Being one does not make you the other ... I'm seeing that firsthand, too. I think I'd be a horrible literary "mechanic," which is why the page-one reconception works, but a lube and brake job might not fit my peculiar skills as well. So much for not getting deep into it ...

ScreenTalk: Where do your ideas come from? Do you have other writers read and critique your work or do you rely solely on your instincts?

Shepherd: I don't fully understand where my ideas come from, nor do I think I should. They just come when I call them (knock on wood), and I'm able to download whenever I decide to take the time to reel off a paragraph.

My instincts on what's right for me to write are getting better all the time, and really aren't totally fixated on what will be the most commercial or make the biggest splash. It just has to be something I can get excited about, immersed in ... and slip inside other people's heads or hearts and be relevant.

I have several people who read for me, including my manager and agent, but also an employee of AEI who lives here in Kansas City and has been my friend for years - John Seibert - and the next big writer to come out of this city, Roger Hull. I've hooked him up with AEI and Ken is helping him develop a killer high-concept sci-fi thing that really doesn't "feel" sci-fi.

ScreenTalk: What's your take on all these websites cropping up that promise to promote/cover/list scripts or loglines for a fee?

Shepherd: Buyer Beware. The industry has a pretty well-cast system - agents and managers filter for producers, producers filter for the buyer, the studios. For my postage, I'd stick to the 20 or so agents and managers who sell scripts in Hollywood. Maybe 30 ... there are books that critique them, too. If none of the 15 who actually read have any interest in your script, I'd move onto something new (in fact, I'd move on while you're waiting).

I'm not one who subscribes to believing your script is brilliant, marketable, timely, and fresh just because you typed, "fade out." There are so many variables, so many reasons for a script NOT to sell. Just put it in the drawer and start something else ... you can always revisit it later.

Sitting down and writing is the only thing you have power over ... so do it. You'll keep getting better, and that's the difference between perseverance and stubbornness.

ScreenTalk: Tell us about your first pitch meeting.

Shepherd: I think I'm really good at pitching - I spent a decade selling advertising to Fortune 500 companies. On the other hand, I think my stories make really shitty pitches. Everything I ever pitched ultimately sold as a spec ... but never sold as a pitch!

The first "pitch" I sold was "Sherman's March" to NBC, actually. There were like 12 people in the room, from the networks, the studio (Twentieth), and the producer (Kopelson). It occurred to me that a writer with no background in presentation might be scared into paralysis by something like that ... it sometimes seems hideously unfair and illogical.

Now I've sold a totally new spin for a rewrite of a screenplay that's been sitting around for a couple years, and I may be close on another original piece (although you really don't know if you're close until it's done ... it's all so slippery).

ScreenTalk: Is there anything you wish someone would've told you when you first started out that might have saved you heartache and frustration?

Shepherd: I kind of wish I'd started asking myself the hard questions earlier in my career - "What is this about? Why does it matter? What is so compelling about these characters that actors would die for the roles? Would a director throw other scripts aside and salivate over this material? Why would an audience - or an audience segment - line up to see this film?" With that, I would've been more careful with what I committed to, material-wise. I would've seen that a notion isn't a story, for instance. I spent a couple years interesting people with what I call my cross-over dribble, my one great move - relationships and dialogue.

ScreenTalk: Professionally speaking, where do you hope to be in five years? Ten?

Shepherd: In 5-10 years, I hope to be really happy and fulfilled as a creative person, jouncing to get back to the keyboard or onto the set. To me, it doesn't matter which of my outlets end up consuming me more, just as long as I'm doing terrific work that compels me and blows my audience right out of their panties.

I hope to get more and more confident in my instincts, to the point that I can righteously fight for situations where the project succeeds or fails by what I think is right. My more tangible goal is to win both an Emmy and an Oscar in my career.

ScreenTalk: If there's anything you'd like to vent about, feel free.

Shepherd: My only rant with the film industry? I hope we see the return of the Famous Spec Writers. It seems to me the only two career paths for today's screenwriter is directing (which isn't for everybody) or becoming part of the system through rewrites and assignments, where the idea starts in a crowded room instead of between your ears and in your heart. It's nice to read about the Shyamalans (I know ... he directs) and Kaufmans, who are dedicated to being the well, not the waterboy. (HEY! I JUST MADE THAT UP!).

P. J. "The Lone Wolf" McIlvaine is a ScreenTalk staff writer who has written numerous screenplays in a variety of genres and recently made her first sale, an original teen comedy, to Showtime.