coffee with a creative: noah
“A mixed baby just trying to mix it up.”
This week’s guest on Coffee with a Creative is an old friend of mine, Noah Clark. By old, I mean that we’ve seen each other during our most awkward days. I suppose that is what makes our friendship so wonderful though--we’ve seen our growth and get excited for each other whenever we’ve accomplished a goal of ours. There is something very special about having a friendship like this. So it is an absolute pleasure to introduce you to Noah, an aspiring screenwriter, and let you all witness his greatness.
You could call Noah an official Angeleno now that he’s lived in Los Angeles for half a decade. He currently lives with his wife and another friend while working as an assistant at a talent agency, but his goal is to be a screenwriter. When he isn’t working at his job, he’s working on his scripts and putting his ideas to paper. “I crave structure, I’m lost without it. I try my best to block out 2-4 hour chunks of my day when working through a script to hammer out what I need,” he tells me, the dedicated times a very important element. “If I sit behind the computer too long it all goes to hell.” Being a writer is tough, I know that all too well. There is a certain kind of dedication and perseverance you have to have to be successful, but Noah seems to have that down.
“In this town, most everyone, “writes.” It’s a useful skill to have, to be sure,” he explains, his point made. The entertainment industry is saturated with so many creatives that are just trying to catch a break. Although that is what makes some of us fight even harder, and find ways to stand out. “Even then, however, I’m the only person I know who writes in my preferred genre...historical drama (period pieces). I suppose my influence towards that genre is simply that I grew up watching them.” I don’t know about the rest of you, but I love a good period piece. Perhaps it’s my adoration for the costumes, or the romantic yearning, or simply that they show me a time I never lived in and give me a greater understanding of life. “I love the stories of our past. Despite the varying time-periods, we’re still struggling with many of the same issues. So the stories have themes that a modern audience can relate to and glean wisdom or emotion from.”
Being a writer isn’t just as simple as just...writing. There is a lot more that goes into it, as you’re probably aware. Sometimes we go through months of zero inspiration, or no idea how to turn an idea into a full-fledged story. Like many writers, Noah has his path when creating. “My concepts always start extremely broad and hardly with any depth,” he admits to me and it's refreshing to hear such honesty. “If you ask a writer what the inspiration for whatever script was, they’ll have some extremely deep story or inspiration for their story (which is all well and good and often important). But here I am over here with the mentality of, ‘Oh damn, it’d be so cool if…’.” Sometimes that means there is so much more to develop, which can be a daunting task. But at the core of it, Noah is just excited to create a story that he would want to see. “I approach my scripts with the mentality of, ‘I’m going to write something that I would be psyched to watch.’ Maybe I just haven’t gone through enough trauma in my life...probably also why I’m not a comedy writer!”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Noah’s stories are just action-packed and without any depth. He assures me that there is far more that goes into creating his stories, “at the core of every story, usually, one thing is being said. There’s one idea/belief/statement that stands head and shoulders above the rest. So when I have my ‘It’d be cool to watch…’ the next thing to figure out is, ‘what do I want to say?’” Without that, a story always feels lacking. There’s a reason why certain films that are jam-packed with explosions and action never stick with you. That’s not to say you can’t do action with substance though, that is possible. “From there the story can unfold and sometimes the statement/belief changes as the characters/story is developed which is always really fun to see happen. Sometimes a story you set out to write ends up saying something entirely different than what you originally anticipated.”
Noah would love to work as a staffed screenwriter at a studio, but his ultimate goal is to sell one of his original scripts. He has come a long way from the kid he was in the Bay Area. “I’ve loved movies/TV since before I could speak. But for many of us who are LA transplants, the “entertainment industry” was this mythical beast reserved only for the George Lucas’s, Tom Cruises, and Jimmy Fallon's of the world.” He never really thought about actually becoming a filmmaker, mostly because it was never a topic of discussion in Northern California. You don’t hear about people becoming filmmakers up there because the technology industry is the focus. “When my actress girlfriend (now wife) suggested I become a film major when moving to LA, my first response was ‘wait...you can do that?’ It was such an exciting revelation that you didn’t need to be famous to be considered “successful in entertainment.”
The entertainment industry is not as glamorous as everybody makes it out to be. At least for all of us struggling to catch our big break. “This industry is a beast. It’s more cutthroat than I could have ever imagined, but also ironically it runs on genuine relationships. You won’t survive or get far without friends and favors, the trick is discerning who is out for themselves vs who genuinely wants to form a friendship with you.” It is hard to navigate an industry that doesn’t have a clear cut path for you to follow. There is no “this is how you do it,” but instead just a collection of people that all have different advice to give. “I’ve worked for less than I’m worth and for hours that make “regular folk” audibility cringe. It feels like moving through a jungle with a rusty machete sometimes, trying to carve your way to your goals and dreams.” It can absolutely feel hopeless at times, and I’ve had my fair share of breakdowns about it all...but that doesn’t mean you give up hope.
It is hopeful to see a change in this industry too. Hollywood has been front and center in the call for treating employees better, paying higher (livable) wages, and diversifying on-screen and behind the camera talent. The public outcry with the “Pay Up Hollywood” movement directly benefited Noah and gave him some encouragement. It showed that all of this isn’t done in vain. It doesn’t stop there though. “Nothing brings me more joy than to see people of color telling their own stories. I just want to see more of that in my industry.” Noah’s Grandpa is from the Philippines and his Grandmother is from Puerto Rico, so the diversification of Hollywood is something very close to his heart. It has been encouraging to see the strides taken in the industry, but there is still so much more to be done. Noah begins to tell me a few steps we can take to make even bigger strides, “advocate for your BIPOC friends in this industry and provide opportunities for them to flex their creative muscles/tell their stories.” If you aren’t in the industry yourself, there are really easy ways you can make a difference too. “This industry responds to how we spend our money and what we spend our time watching/consuming. Go see movies made and/or starring BIPOC. Spend that $12-$15 ticket on it. Binge that show on Netflix. Executives who green-light these projects like safe bets when approving what gets made and pay close attention to the metrics. The best way to support POC storytelling is to give them some numbers to get excited about.”
With the industry forever growing, we’re seeing more and more movies and television made from BIPOC or featuring stories that need to be heard. It used to be that making it in this industry meant you had to have your story told by a big studio, but now there are so many more options for distribution. “The beautiful thing about this industry is that there are endless opportunities. So while it may be exhausting trying to nail down that first gig, or the next big career leap, the world really is your oyster,” Noah tells me, a welcome reminder I needed to hear. Sometimes it just takes one person telling you to keep going to make you feel better and give you the hope you were struggling to hold onto. “I’ve had cold submissions lead to jobs, I’ve had cold emails turn into coffee dates which lead to job interviews, I’ve had friends directly hire me into positions. There is no one correct way to navigate the industry which should encourage everyone to hear.”
Everybody has a dream, whether it is in the entertainment industry or not. We all have struggled at one point to make that dream a reality. It is hard, but it isn’t something to ever give up on. Sometimes we are given roadblocks, but we just have to find our way around them. Noah’s final words resonate with me, and I think would resonate with a lot of you too. “No one road is the “correct” road to success, you just have to keep hacking away at that jungle.”
Thank you all for your continued support of my Coffee with a Creative initiative. Getting to tell Noah’s incredible story and showcase his heart and talent was such a gift. As explained in my original post, I have created a Ko-Fi account for this series. On there you can donate (literally just buy a creative a coffee if you’d like) and express who the donation is going to. All the donations will go to the creative you name, and help support them and their arts, as well as simply a way to show them you believe in them!