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Need a daily dose of inspiration? Meet Chris Hall, who just signed with Zero Gravity after meeting his rep through Roadmap Writers!
This interview was submitted on 4/03/2025
Firstly, tell us about yourself! Who are you as a writer & who did you end up signing with?
I've been working in the industry for twenty years, but after writing a dozen scripts and getting all the doors shut on me, having people tell me there was no place for me as a writer, and that I should figure out something else to do, I just kept going. Last summer, a friend told me about Roadmap and encouraged me to check it out, and I've had a really positive experience getting to be a part of the community of aspiring writers, having access to all the execs, and even getting some personal coaching from Joey. And finally, last week I signed with Rodrigo Mocoso from Zero Gravity, who is helping me pitch a producer I know who might be interested in my recent horror spec, WHISPER LAKE.
How did you meet your now rep? What was that first interaction like and how did it lead to your professional relationship now?
Met through a Top Tier Read & Meet. He read one of my scripts and was positive and encouraging about it. I told him I had really targeted his company as a place I wanted to be repped. I followed up shortly afterwards and asked for his help with this producer I had a relationship with, and he jumped on it and said let's move forward together.
From the moment you started training and/or working with Roadmap Writers, how long has it been before you secured your current representation?
I started last June 2024, and just signed at the end of March 2025. So ten months!
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?
Roadmap undoubtedly helped me - both to further develop the scripts that I had when I got here, but also to start on new ideas and which genres to pursue. I had a lot of experience and relationships before I got to Roadmap, but being a part of this community has absolutely helped me get my material in the best shape and see how to devise a path for myself forward.
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?
My writer brand is a mix of character-driven genre filmmaking, with a strong understanding of the business, and a decade of working in branded video content for the chronically on-line audience, understanding how to "go viral" and chase the generation that for some reason the Hollywood execs seem to have largely ignored in recent years.
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?
It hasn't been long enough for my mindset to really change - I still feel like an outsider trying to claw my way over the fence and into the established world. I'm sure I will continue to feel like that for a long time. My guess is that my rep will need me to prove to him that I can drum up business mostly on my own before he becomes all that invested in spending much time developing or selling on my behalf.
What do you hope your next steps are? What are your immediate goals now that you've landed representation?
I'm chasing a specific producer to make my low-budget horror film, I'm still looking for a producer on a political/heist script, and I'm currently starting on a new action feature. My immediate goal? I'd love to turn any of these projects into a sale of any kind :)
In 10 years, what do you want your screenwriting career to look like?
I'd love to be a working screenwriter! I've worked with many writers who work consistently and I know there's a career to be made there. I hope to be a part of the next generation of voices trying to shape the future of this business into a place that is fair, equitable, and honest - and also passionately chasing creative and financial success.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Chris - best of luck!
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