The LA Times has a weekly column called Scriptland. It is a weekly feature on the work and professional lives of screenwriters. The July 22, 2008, column is about director/writer Joshua Michael Stern and it a read well worth the time it might take for anyone desiring a career in acting.
Director/writer Joshua Michael Stern seeks a collaborative relationship with his cast, and as a result, he’s building a rep for landing top-flight actors.
In 2005, Joshua Michael Stern’s first feature, “Neverwas,” opened the Toronto International Film Festival; but despite a cast full of Oscar winners, it ended up going straight to video shelves. On Aug. 1, his second, “Swing Vote,” written with Jason Richman and starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, will premiere in theaters. Already moving on, he’s got Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Keira Knightley and Naomi Watts in talks to appear in his own version of “King Lear.”
So, how, at a time when experienced feature writers are having trouble finding work, has Stern rocketed from 0 to 160? First, he said, he’s never stopped writing since he started at 14. Next, besides writing and directing, he’s also involved in managing, producing and whatever else needs doing. Then, too, as a child of Hollywood, he said he knows how to persuade top-notch actors to sign up for his films. Click here to read full article.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
[…] Joshua Michael Stern collaborates with his actors By Admin Already moving on, he?s got Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Keira Knightley and Naomi Watts in talks to appear in his own version of ?King Lear.? So, how, at a time when experienced feature writers are having trouble finding work … Academy of Cinema and Television Blog - http://academyofcinemaandtv.com/blog […]
July 29th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Stern wishes he came up with this idea. I wrote “Swing Vote” about one man’s vote deciding a presidential election back in 1995. I took 2nd place out of 2,300 in a major screenwriting competition back in 2001. Several major producers seriously considered “Swing Vote” in 2000 but the main obstacle/comment at the time was that though everyone loved the script, they were tired of politics and felt audiences would feel the same way. Remember again, I wrote mine and registered it with the Library of Congress in 1995. Stern didn’t register his until 2007. If it weren’t for the fact that my producer associate had a meeting directly with his first exec. producer to pitch “Swing Vote” (she loved it by the way), I wouldn’t even be raising this issue. There’s much more to be told. He had access to my screenplay, that’s all I can say. If the writer of this article is interested to learn more, feel free to contact me.