We were lucky to catch up with Michael Dunker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

Two years ago, I signed a shopping agreement for my script Cold Dead Hands about the federal government banning military assault rifles and going door-to-door collecting them all until one day someone who doesn’t want to give up their guns. This script touched many hands, including the major streaming services, and praised for the originality, yet no one wants to take a chance on controversy.

We’re told by Hollywood’s literary department to have an original voice, yet nothing original is being made unless you’re a made professional. Great scripts are often rejected if the industry can’t package it as “marketable,” but when some of those scripts are finally produced, they turn into gold statues. Good Will Hunting, Back to the Future, and Casablanca were all rejected scripts, but then Hollywood produces Cats without question.

So, I’ve learned to have to prove your marketability, thus keep writing, keep submitting, learn your craft, grow as an artist, and listen to William Goldman.

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?

I come from the cornfields of Illinois, joined the military at seventeen, went to college on the G.I. Bill, then packed a bag and drove out to Hollywood with my two best friends. I came to be a screenwriter and after 17 years, I still want to be a screenwriter. Luckily, my parents gave me a work ethic that got me into industry as a commercial production assistant and from there, I started shooting behind-the-scenes photography & corporate events. Those jobs pay the bills, while I grind out pages on my down days.

My photography clients hire me for the colorful commentary I capture in their lives. My candid approach, balanced composition, and ability to relax a subject is my meal ticket. Plus, I edit out their wrinkles. I’m incredibly blessed to make money shooting photos in the most photocentric time in history, but the dream still burns to be a writer.

One day soon, I hope to be hired by this industry to write the great American screenplay and I’ll use every book, lecture, YouTube tutorial, Aaron Sorkin quote, etc. to make it exceptional. We often need great art to understand the struggles in life, but the struggle is real in making great art. Even worse, when you’re doing it in the remake/reboot/sequels era of Hollywood with all red lights for new writers.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

“All you need is one,” is what we’re told. One line, one scene, one project is all you need to launch your career into the stratosphere. In 2012, I won the High Concept Screenplay Competition. In 2015, I was a semifinalist for the Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Fellowship. In 2020, I placed in the Nicholl Fellowship. This year, I won the New York Screenplay Competition. None of these were “the one” that launched my career, but for a brief moment, I believed. I was excited, even hopeful. But when nothing happens, you’re forced to wipe off the disappointment and start again.

After nearly two decades of tiny victories, my resilience is defined by picking up the pen and doing it again tomorrow, often with no hope that the next one will be “the one.” You’ll never know when, you just have to believe.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

When I started, my goal was to sell a script and take my mother to Curacao. Haven’t gotten there yet, but it’s still lingering. Sure, I have a credit card to do that now, but it’s the symbolism of accomplishment that drives that victory.

Currently, my goal is to raise funds for my directorial debut film, Love & Detroit, that we hope to shoot by the end of this year. Though asking people for money during a high inflation period is like asking out a supermodel wearing Crocs. I do wish the well-moneyed community would establish additional film funding programs for artists like myself, if only for a tax break and an executive producer credit, and help independent cinema thrive. I wish the studio system took more chances. I wish short films got you the feature. Art is the color in a black & white world, but that color needs money to paint. Today’s goal is finding that funding for my feature. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Curacao.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.photographybymichaeljohn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeljohndunker

Image Credits

Photo credit to Heather Dunker