We recently connected with Richard Dane Scott and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Richard Dane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

In the screenwriting world, there’s much emphasis on obtaining a literary agent and/or manager to help facilitate successful careers. In my 20 years of writing screenplays, 10 produced features, and one gig on a TV series, I’ve had neither. Thrusting my recluse self into uncomfortable social situations and blindly taking leaps of faith to create networking opportunities have been the keys to many failures, but also fruitful successes.

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 am an Asian American who grew up a military brat. As an only child, it was difficult to constantly make new friends every 3-4 years. Often, I’d entertain myself by creating storylines for my action figures and playing *homemade* Dungeons & Dragons. This early foray into storytelling and ignored prowess in school writing assignments wouldn’t be obvious for another 15-20 years when I decided to write my first screenplay. That bug bit me and never left. And then after a decade of failing and learning and embarrassments and evolving I got my first big break. A director who was a set dresser on a small short film I wrote six years earlier reached out and asked if I’d help write a feature family film. That obvious yes became my first credited feature called MY DOG THE CHAMPION starring Lance Henriksen, Dora Madison Burge, and Cody Linley. It did NOT secure me representation, but that one relationship catapulted me into other relationships which spawned several more projects.

The moral of my story and what I’m proud of the most is building and fostering relationships by taking chances, no matter how small they may be. There’s nothing wrong with riding coattails in this industry and developing the reputation of – quite simply – being easy to work with. Keeping your ego in check and being a team player can be just as fruitful. Remember that it’s not always better to be a Jack of all trades and a master of none.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had attended a major film festival with the goal of meeting a particular director to pitch a screenplay. When my opportunity presented itself, I almost bailed, but a friend literally thrust me into the director’s path. Nervously, I introduced myself and pitched my project. It turned out to be a success since he gave me his business card and asked me to send him my screenplay. But he didn’t read it.

The following year, at the same festival, I ran into the director. We exchanged pleasantries and the director apologized for not reading my screenplay and gave me his business card and asked me to resend my screenplay. So I did. And he didn’t read it.

These meetings repeated for the next several years. I’d say hi, NOT bring up my screenplay, but he’d request a resend again.

Seven years later, the director FINALLY read my screenplay. He loved it and then hired me to write two feature films and a TV series. I was never pushy, never showed desperation, and was always cordial. Time and patience prevailed. I often say that maybe we weren’t ready for each other in the early days, but in the end, persistence paid off

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There’s nothing that compares when your work is seen by others and they react positively. Sitting in a dark theater and hearing laughter at the right jokes or witnessing tears during the touching moments is a rush that can’t be described. Reading positive reviews and signing autographs never gets old. Also related is the burst of narcissism you experience when walking around the movie set of something you’ve written. EVERYONE has a job because of it. Their specific tasks are dictated because of specific details you’ve written in a screenplay. It just might be the closest of feeling a God-like complex one can experience.

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