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Another day, another Success Story interview! Today we're chatting with Jack Stranger about his journey to representation with former Roadmap Staffer James Moorer at One Moorer Media & Management.
This interview was submitted on 10/08/2024
Firstly, tell us about yourself! Who are you as a writer & who did you end up signing with?
I write strictly features, neo-noir, horror, action and thriller stories. Someone recently described my writing as "my genre is genre", which I thought was pretty accurate. I recently signed with James Moorer at "One Moorer Media & Management.”
How did you meet your now rep? What was that first interaction like and how did it lead to your professional relationship now?
I've known James for quite a while. He's always been an integral part of the Roadmap community, not only as a very gifted scribe in his own right, but also as a career coach, former Director of Outreach & Diversity Initiatives, and all round champion of writers. When he moved into managing, we already knew each other pretty well, and some time ago he'd been kind enough to read a script of mine, and gave me some of the best notes I'd ever got on anything. So when he offered to sign me, it was an easy decision.
From the moment you started training and/or working with Roadmap Writers, how long has it been before you secured your current representation?
I met Joey in 2017. I've been doing different things with Roadmap since then. I think it was "16 writers signed" when I started!
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?
When I discovered Roadmap, I was working in film, I but wasn't doing anything close to what I actually wanted to be doing. Even though I was writing scripts full time for an indie production company in Vancouver, I felt like the needle wasn't really moving on my career. When I first started talking with Joey, he was really encouraging about my writing, and urged me to come out to LA and take some meetings, which was hugely helpful in building a network, and gave me a very different perspective on the business.
Without Roadmap, I wouldn't have a manager, or be teamed up with the excellent LA based producers I'm currently working with. None of what's going on for me right now would be possible.
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'm first and foremost a huge cinephile. So beyond what makes the story personal in some way, or why I should write it, I approach every script by asking myself; what are the key films/genres that will inform the story? Threading the tone is always the most important thing for me.
My manager and I have pretty similar tastes, and he likes what I do on the page. I was lucky to connect with someone who gets what I do.
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?
Yes, I'd say my mindset is a little different. I'm more fired up to finish new projects while I take out the old ones. It's a great motivator to have James in my corner. Beyond being able to discuss next steps and strategy, he's a writer himself, so we can talk story and tone at a very high level. It's inspiring.
What do you hope your next steps are? What are your immediate goals now that you've landed representation?
My next aim is to direct my low budget giallo-horror feature, "The Killer Never Sleeps". I'm working on putting the financing together for that, and plan to be shooting next year.
In 10 years, what do you want your screenwriting career to look like?
I'd like to have a small studio space where I could work with a high level of autonomy, position myself to be able to direct at least one shot on super 16mm low-budget genre film a year, and produce features for my like-minded colleagues.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Jack - best of luck!
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