I started writing scripts in 2013 after a local producer in Cleveland read my story titled DUAL. I was trying to package it as a graphic novel, and it was getting zero traction. I am sure the readers at Dark Horse, Image, and several literary agents were not taking unsolicited material, or they looked at my dismal resume in writing and thought, yeah, selling and writing backpage ads for Cleveland Scene Magazine and a contributor blessing them with reviews on everything from stand-up comics to best male reviews, you'd be surprised the crossover, was not the qualifications they were going for. Plus, I'm writing graphic novels, and I can't draw. I can describe the scene in such precise detail as if I were seeing it through the eyes of a 2000s Minnesota homemaker. I can recount the blueish hint in the eyes of our heroine and the soft peach tone of her lips; she is confident and stands 5 '3 with honey-red hair. Yet, I can't provide even a stick figure for my graphic novel, and let's face it, 70% of why we love them are the illustrations. The artists who could draw wanted to focus on their work or weren't excellent at working on group projects. We'll return to this, but let's talk about the local producer. He's a highly creative semi-hippie, the calmest person I have met. We passed around chit-chat at a media mixer, The Cleveland Film Commission host, and years earlier, I had interned there. I was in a place where I could get back what I felt was my calling: to be a writer.
Growing up in, at that time, a pretty rural community outside of Cleveland with four older brothers and a graduating class of 236 kept me pretty sheltered, but movies, TV, and comic books let me fantasize about the rest of the world. Plus, they connected my family, especially my brothers, since they were so much older. They would tell extravagant stories of a fight or something, and I always tried to top them. I really loved writing short stories and poetry, so after graduating from Akron U with a focus in English and popular literature and film, every career path I accepted was tied in some way to the entertainment business, but I envisioned a family surrounded here by extended family, and we are raising two of the coolest humans ever. That is still the focus and what I'm most proud of, so dropping everything to try and make it as a writer, a poet, or a screenwriter; any of that was not going to be my starting path. No person has any more or less devotion to their craft when they start; it is who we are in the moment. I say that because why am I writing a blog for an AI program that caters to filmmakers? I'm a filmmaker, I take care of a family, and I sell restaurant technology that utilizes AI as a tool for restaurants and bars to help their business more efficiently. The AI tool helps track inventory. It DOESN'T create the menu; there are more comparisons I can make, but the point is that AI is there to help the chef make their business better, make it fun again, and take away mundane tasks.
After that producer's meeting, he said in what I can only explain as a Bill and Ted moment, "Yeah, just turn this into a TV series." So, I started that process, I kept reading that all these streaming platforms needed content to survive the boom, what was the harm. I know how to write a story- we all do, but a script? I read scripts, asked everyone who would talk to me about how they structure a script, what software programs they use, and damn, did Final Draft have everyone by the throat. I started with Celtx because a film distribution company I worked for a few years back had a free subscription. I got good enough that I was invited to several screenwriting competitions, winning some, traveling around the country, meeting different writers all grinding, and getting there in various ways. The biggest issue is that all of these cultures, writing methods, and genres I saw at the competitions were not represented in Hollywood after looking up screenwriters whose movies I enjoyed. That is when I found Adam G. Simon. He still held the same outward appearance as 90% of Hollywood's writers, but I had just watched Man Down, and my graphic novel explores two men struggling to get through life after serving several tours in the Marines. Their journeys are different from that of Gabriel, but in the end, whether they become superheroes or lost in the abyss of PTSD, their characters fight the same demons. I reached out to Adam via Instagram to help me write action scenes. He answered me and took the time to go through a couple of scenes with me. Since then, I have reached out several times, and still, he gives me advice and asks for nothing in exchange; that is a BIG get in this industry. I write about superheroes, graphic deaths, action sequences, a male gaze, so most screenwriters/writers I contacted were male. Some were immediately asking me to send nudes, but some played a long game, and I had to learn how to spot those assholes quickly. On the opposite end, like Adam, several writers I DM'd on socials to help answer questions, work through scripts, and give me coverage are still people I can count on today. They all create fantastic content and one of the best television shows possibly of all time. But being the minority in this boys' club led me to take a pen name; I had to start bringing other good guys with me to bad guy meetings (most of the time, it is the bad guys who have the money) so after so many ups and downs, even getting a greenlight for Dual with a perfect production company Covid changed everything and I became a writer by hire. Do you need me to fluff your scene? I got you; write you a whole script, sure. I focused less on my own writing and reached for anything that would give me credits. I needed an agent because winning writing competitions didn't matter. Showrunners didn't know me; you can only get a script read through an agent or at least a person of influence at a large company, and writers/ producers are only producers, so they can do their projects. Years before, in desperation, I called Plan B Entertainment and Ethan Hawks offices pretending I was an agent (confidence and talk fast) and got pretty far until I had to admit who I was and "click." There are just constant dead ends, and moving to LA is still not an option. The irony of it is we are at a time in technology when we can connect in so many ways.
I've explained too much already, but there is a point: independent filmmakers need a platform that can compete with whoever the big guys are right now. They aren't playing by the rules; they have billions of dollars and use AI tech to help their bottom line; we need to learn the tools or be left to struggle. My incredible restaurant technology company leader suggested I use AI to help create images and decks. "We use it here, so why not use it for your writing?" AI was the devil; it was going to cause damage to my writing community, actors, and directors. Then, I dug deep and used a bunch of writing AI tools. Some admittedly wrote some pretty good stuff, but I didn't find any Scorsese-level work. Yes, there are ways to sound like him slightly, but no. When Adam posted about Nolan AI, an artist I trust and look up to, I started the free trial and immediately created a teaser for a concept I have, but I don't feel right telling the story. Typing the 8-12 sentence summary and precise descriptions of the characters and environment, I had intense images that showed who Iman and Marcus really are to the point of seeing the sadness in her eyes, a logline; I hate writing loglines, NolanAI gave me that without taking away any intentions I had for the story. It helped my business improve, make it fun again, and remove mundane tasks. The producer I sent the teaser to loved it, and we are talking about one of her writers taking on the script. I will help. Ultimately, no matter what we do as artists, somebody will always heavily wrap it in the tight foil of capitalism.
There are other AI tools, but NolanAI is creating a space for a mom in Ohio or Thailand who has a story to tell and owns the process in which our story gets made. The clapback is, what about the people who will lose jobs because that mom in Ohio or Thailand uses NolanAI and won't hire people? The people making an actual living in entertainment are NOT helping us anyway, and the number of times I have been ghosted, even after paying, is dumb. Bringing the studio to the person isn't a new concept; it gets packaged differently. I have worked for and with a few producers who wanted to accomplish this, but in real life, it just won't happen; people play favorites. Every important player in Hollywood has a short list. They are part of or run a business, so why would they take a chance on those moms if they are making a profit? The other question is whether they have the human bandwidth to try.
NolanAI gives folks from all backgrounds a platform to use fundamental tools and technology in a virtual space to create and at least have a fighting chance to be represented. Take your future into your own hands. Then when you can hire those below-the-line crew members or artists then HIRE them. Use your power for good.
AUTHOR
H.J. Grayson
Working to break the standards and overwhelming scene that is the comic book world, Heather started working on a graphic novel and then turned those significant stories into scripts called DUAL. Growing up in rural Ohio, she started writing early and went to college and to her English degree. Heather also hosts a podcast through Evergreen Podcasts and Gravitas Ventures called Behind the Doc on all podcast platforms. As of right now Heather is actively working on scripts for various projects and independent filmmakers popular in filmmaking today.