What motivated you to become a writer?

I have been artistically creative since I was very young. That was mainly in music, but I co-authored a book at age 21 that ended up selling about 10,000 copies, which eventually led to becoming a book publisher of international self-help bestsellers. I worked with many authors, including editorial, along with running the company. I always had a good flair for writing, I’ve even mentored some authors, and for my first screenplay I hired a 20-year Hollywood veteran script consultant to walk me through the process since I didn’t know what I was doing. This was a fabulous learning experience, as she ran out of red pens with the massive redline on my first draft (ha ha. . .). But it taught me to think in screenplay terms (show me) rather than book language (tell me). That was the beginning of my screenwriting education.

Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?

I have a core belief that everyone has a huge reservoir of creativity within them, even if they have not tapped into it yet. So, for me, with a strong concept, that drives the creative focus to begin to flesh out the story. Some of this process is straightforward; however, when I hit a roadblock, I take a break ask for guidance – you can call it from my higher self, spirit, God, doesn’t matter – what counts is I open myself to receiving what I need. I’ve been awakened at 3 am more than once with an entire visual of a scene and scrambled to grab a pen and write it down on a legal pad so I would not forget. Other times I go for a walk, anything to stop the hyper-focus for a bit, and let the ideas come to me. And they always do, including from my wife, daughter, and screenwriting friends who are willing to review and suggest ideas which are sometimes off-the-charts fabulous. I do the same in music and as I said, everyone has this ability. Another aspect of this: when I read through my work, it’s neither “This sucks,” nor “This is awesome,” rather, I’m always asking myself, “What’s not right, what’s out of place, what’s awkward, etc.” Writing is an ever-evolving process, and you must remove self-judgement.

Do you write projects knowing that so many other factors need to happen to get it to screen and does that come into your project creation?

Without question, I know that making a film is both creative and filled with business decisions (which can also be highly creative), so having run a publishing company, a record company, and other businesses, I am always wearing multiple hats when I work with any project and hold all of it in my space.

What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate?

The title is The Millionaire Monk, it’s a Feature Dramedy, and I believe it is quite worthy of the big screen (I’ve had producers say this, it’s not just me). It has excellent sequel possibilities, as well as my co-writer and I have some merchandising elements that would be a perfect fit.

How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?

Mixed – and always helpful. I’ve hit everything from a semi-finalist, or Hot 100 List with Capital Fund this year (thanks!), to partial achievement, to nothing. However, getting nowhere in some contests taught me to look at the script in different ways: “What’s missing that caused this to not score higher?” As well, on some occasions I’ll pay for feedback, and 100% of the time there are valuable comments to help me elevate the quality of the script.

If you could stand in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects, what would you like them to know about you and this project?

First, as both a businessman and a writer, I understand the mindset of all the players, which means, among other things, I’m a quick learner, easy to work with and I love feedback and brainstorming to make things better. It’s how I work on everything. Collaboration is essential. And I’m fun to work with; I like to inspire those around me.
Second, this script is a Feature Dramedy with a High Concept, and the Logline makes for a terrific start to the pitch:
HIGH CONCEPT: A disgraced, bumbling Wall Street guru-wannabe lands in a Tibetan monastery, teaches the monks to trade the market, and together they change the world.
LOGLINE: When a deliberate bad tip crashes the career and marriage of a self-professed Wall Street Guru, life conspires to land him in a Tibetan monastery where he struggles to find inner peace, teaches the monks to trade the market, and faces a life-or-death ultimatum when he attempts to save China from environmental disaster.

Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc that you would like to share?

I don’t for my writing, however here’s the quick background:
President and Publisher, 1979-1986, New World Library (international self-help best-sellers)
ScreenwritingU Pro Series Alumni
Record producer, musical artist, and consultant to many companies and creative people for 30+ years.
And here’s my music site: http://skycanyonjazz.com

Thank you,
Sky Canyon