Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cameron Young. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cameron, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

My definition of “success” has evolved over the years. I was already a working copywriter with a couple ad awards to my name when I was awarded the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. So my concept of success was “make more money by selling scripts”. Over the years I got paid to write a few scripts, and a little more money optioning some scripts. But only one got made (Locker 13) so then my notion of success became “get more scripts made”. This motivated me to write a short script (during the ’08 recession when I wasn’t working) and a few friends helped me get that made. I was able to direct it, too. It was called “The Visitation” and we got it into a few local film festivals. That was really creatively satisfying and definitely educational. So that became my vision of “success”. Meanwhile, I was still doing my day job in advertising, and began to mentor younger creatives. And I also got a side job teaching creative writing and film at a local community college. All of which has helped me give back and grow as a person. And helped me appreciate how lucky I am to have a lovely wife and family. Last year, I was hired by the Academy to write their inaugural short film for the Academy Gold program. It’s called “Estelle” and it was a chance to write and mentor and learn. Meanwhile, my original Nicholl script is currently under option. And I turned my experience of getting a colonscopy into a psych horror screenplay that had KeKe Palmer attached for a hot minute. (Still developing that with some Nicholl friends. Hope to get Ron Perlman.) And I’m starting a new script this week, based on suburban teenage rebellion in my little OC town. So I’m still getting to do what I love. How’s that for “success”?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a writer. I’ve been an advertising copywriter for over 20 years. I’ve worked on ads, tv spots, billboards, you name it, for Burger King, Jaguar, BOTOX®, UCI Health, Haagen-Dazs, California State Lottery and more. Here’s an example of what I do. Great Call (the panic button service for old people) had a spokesperson their target market identified with: John Walsh (“America’s Most Wanted”). But their tv spots were boring and generic. So I came up with a spot that encouraged their users to “Live Fearlessly”. I had John Walsh jump off a 40-story skyscraper in downtown LA and explain Great Call’s features as he plummeted to Earth. At the last moment, he pulls the ripcord and a “Great Call” parachute floats him safely to the street – where he tells viewers the device is also waterproof as a sudden rainstorms soaks him.

As a screenwriter, I do the same thing – come up with interesting and exciting ways to tell a story.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being able to express myself through storytelling, whether it’s creating a brand for an ad client, or developing a screenplay, or teaching people about cinema, is truly fulfilling. It enables me turn my nervous creative energy into something palpable and shareable. So it’s also a form of therapy if you look at it that way.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was hitting my stride as a copywriter, I was also becoming more and more of a drinker. (My father was a recovering alcoholic.) I would work long hours, and then occasionally join co-workers at a local bar afterwards. I would sometimes drink too much and say things I wish I hadn’t later. This was a pattern that started in college, and was a problem that concerned my wife. Cut to December 23rd, 1998. I had too much to drink with a co-worker and I drove home drunk. The next day I woke up and realized I was an alcoholic and I put myself, my family and the public at risk. So I stopped drinking then and there. (My wife was very happy and relieved.) The following January I started writing my first screenplay, and I sent it off to various screenplay competitions. I wrote two more screenplays, the third being “Saint Vincent” (based on an incident I witnessed when visiting a friend in the hospital). This third script won the AMPAS Nicholl Fellows Screenplay competition and validated my screenwriting ambitions. So now I had two creative outlets – copywriting and screenwriting. And since then, one has fed another.

Contact Info:

• Website: jellyfish-lime-xsds.squarespace.com
• Instagram: chromefacerobot
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-young-a72aa92/