We were lucky to catch up with Lawrence Whitener recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lawrence, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
In 2012, NYC Acting Coach Tom Todoroff challenged me to become a full-time Actor. Because of him, in 2013 I was cast In author David Baldacci’s “Wish You Well” where David convinced me to follow my life-long dream dream of becoming a writer. I immediately signed up for Yale screenwriting professor Marc Lapadula’s class. While learning the art of screenwriting for four years, I also volunteered at my local television station where I became certified as a cameraman, director, and producer. My first T.V. play was such a success, I decided to re-shoot it as as SAG-Aftra short film. “RevelationZ” is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video with twenty awards. Also while doing all the above, I continued to travel to NYC to train under any Acting Coach that would teach me. This allowed me to be cast in 86 Feature Films.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
After graduating from Yale screenwriting professor Marc Lapadula, I then wrote 25 feature screenplays and 13 short scripts producing 10 of those into SAG-Aftra short films. “Saving Robin Williams” now has 63 Awards and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. I moved to Los Angeles where I pitched my stories to every studio and also worked at Disney.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2020, after Green Lit to shoot my 8th short film, Covid hit. I spent the next year trying to figure out how to film it until I realized it was just too expensive. I took that experience and instead made a covid-selfie “Weapon of Choices – The Making of, Kinda Sorta, Not Really, What the F is a Pandemic” with Brian Anthony Wilson. Our film now has 22 Awards on IMDb.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
“There is a difference between trying to make a good movie, and making a movie to try and do good.” All my films and stories are designed to both entertain and educate the audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.LawrenceWhitener.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawrencewhitener/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawrence.whitener
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-whitener-5a453238/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawrencWhitener
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@klahdkfhlkshdfjkhd
Image Credits
David Baldacci, Marc Lapadula