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Goldie Jones signed with Heroes & Villains Entertainment. She met her rep through Roadmap Writer's Top Tier Program.
It's that time again! We have a signed writer Success Story we want to share with you, so we chatted with Goldie Jones to learn more about their journey to representation and beyond!
This interview was submitted on 3/25/2024
Firstly, tell us about yourself! Who are you as a writer & who did you end up signing with?
I'm a Wyoming born, non-binary writer/director and aerialist. I write mostly gritty genre features that have won 2nd place at Slamdance and been a finalist in the Universal Writers Program, particularly twisty crime/action thrillers - like if THE USUAL SUSPECTS or MOMENTO were about women and queer people. I signed with Joseph Cavalier and Chris Coggins at Heroes & Villains Entertainment.
How did you meet your now rep? What was that first interaction like and how did it lead to your professional relationship now?
I placed in the Top 10 of the Top Tier screenplay competition which allowed me to be in Roadmap's Top Tier program and connected me to Joey. I did a month mentorship with Joey during the strikes and he sent out three of my scripts to 30+ reps, one of which was Joseph Cavalier. Joe was the only rep that read my work who also requested a link to my short film. As someone who was looking for representation as both a writer and director that definitely made him stand out. But, because of the strikes, it was three months before he requested a meeting. The meeting itself went great - we really clicked, he really understood my writing, and we were very much on the same page about the direction for my career. He read a couple more of my scripts after that first meeting and in the follow up call a few weeks later he introduced me to Chris Coggins and that was that - now they're my management team.
How did (if at all) Roadmap Writers assist in getting you to this point? Do you think you could've made this step in your screenwriting career without Roadmap?
Joey's mentorship and marketing emails directly connected me to my manager. And being a part of Roadmap has opened up a lot of opportunities to meet and pitch to execs I wouldn't otherwise have access to. I probably would have gotten repped eventually, but Roadmap definitely accelerated that process and helped me connect to a management team that was the right fit for me and the direction I want to take my career.
What types of stories do you write? What's your "writer brand" and how do you think that helped you attract a good match for representation?
I write female led, dark, gritty, psychological genre stories. Heroes and Villains as a company has a strong focus on genre as well and being on their client roster, without even knowing anything else about my writing, gives people a pretty strong indication of what kind of work I do. Their brand and my brand are very sympatico.
Has your mindset about what you're writing changed now that you've added representation to your team? What's the biggest lesson you've learned or had to adapt to since you've been working with your rep?
I've spent so long hustling on my own that it's definitely been an adjustment to have a team available to help me meet my goals and figuring out how to let them help me. I don't have to do everything on my own any more. I'm still very proactive in my process. I heard someone say once that no rep is going to work harder for your career than you do, so I'm still very active in looking for opportunities and connecting with people in the industry. But now I have a team of people who are also hustling on my behalf. Figuring out where they can step in and support has required a mindset adjustment but the excitement when they find opportunities I never even considered has definitely been the best part so far.
What do you hope your next steps are? What are your immediate goals now that you've landed representation?
The next goal is to direct my first feature film and the development wheels are already turning on more than one of my scripts which has been a very exciting process.
In 10 years, what do you want your screenwriting career to look like?
In 10 years I'd like to have several feature films under my belt, a few shows I created out in the world, and a production company developing projects with the next generation of emerging and underrepresented talent. To me it's not enough to just build your own career. It's important to open doors for others too.
Thanks, Goldie, for taking the time to tell us about your journey and goals - Best of luck!
Are you ready to take the next step in your career?
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