I'm A Screenwriter Who Hated Movies

Sounds insane, right? But yeah...that was me.

Growing up, I hated going to the movies. Sticky floors, overpriced snacks, packed crowds, and traumatizing experiences like watching a man get ripped apart in Mission to Mars (seriously, who let me see that?) or being dragged to Scary Movie way too young. I didn’t get the hype. If it wasn’t on VHS or DVD (yes, I'm old), I wasn’t interested.

But here’s the twist: even though I hated the theater, I loved storytelling. I’d devour movies at home, break down the characters, rewrite endings in my head. That love evolved. After COVID hit and I found myself jobless for the first time in years, I leaned into writing. A year later, I’d finished my first TV pilot. All of that without ever stepping foot into a film class.

Eventually, I took one. And it cracked something open in me. Learning the history of cinema, the evolution of film tech, the blood, sweat, and genius that built the industry…it gave me a whole new respect for the art. Now I’m that person who goes to indie theaters, watches film analysis breakdowns for fun, and yes, still rewrites the endings in my head.

From anti-movie kid to full-on screenwriter. Life’s wild like that.