We recently connected with Michael Ouzas and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Everything changed on my eighth birthday, when my aunt gave me J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I read it once. Then, I read it again, swiftly followed by The Lord of the Rings. I was enthralled by the fantastical worlds and languages Tolkien had created. I wanted more than just to read about them. I wanted to inhabit them. But since that wasn’t an option, I decided to create worlds of my own. My stories were pale imitations of Tolkien’s, my only reference at the time, but I was hooked by the idea that I, too, with nothing more than a pencil and paper, could create something from nothing.
While I loved writing, it never felt like a career option, especially growing up in Australia. So, and I know this sounds ridiculous, I took what felt like the easy path and became a lawyer. But the law felt like more of a chore than a challenge. My colleagues were great, but the work itself brought me no satisfaction. It was draining. That’s when I remembered what had always given me energy…
Even throughout my career as a lawyer, I would rush home from work brimming with ideas, eager to get them down on the page. So, when the opportunity came along to follow my screenwriting dream in the US, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t take the plunge.
One reason I’m drawn to writing is that I get bored easily. The moment I know I can do something for sure, it’s no longer interesting to me. It’s probably a symptom of a deeper disorder that will come out in my writing at some point. Writing is like a puzzle that rearranges itself with every new story.
Something that works in one story won’t necessarily work in the next one, so you have to constantly adapt to what each story requires. The possibilities are endless.
Writing is not easy. When things aren’t working, it can be excruciating. But I’d still take a bad day as a writer over a good day as a lawyer. I think when you still enjoy the hard times, you know you’re on the right path.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a writer for both film and TV. I recently worked on a series for AMC, which I can’t wait to share, and I have a number of other film and TV projects in various stages of development.
There are a lot of exciting things about being a writer. I love spending time with other writers, pitching ideas in the writers room, and improving my craft every day. Being on set producing is a surreal experience. There’s no feeling quite like seeing talented actors and crew bringing your words to life.
It’s truly special to work together with talented artists to create stories that (hopefully) move people, or cause them to think about the world in a new way.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
So many disparate skills make up the art of screenwriting and a career as a screenwriter. Without going into minute detail, these are the three things that have been most impactful in my journey as a writer.
First, resilience has been key. When you start out, no matter how talented you are, you will face rejection. From the competitions which overlook your submissions to the managers who don’t vibe with your work, the rejection is constant. I had to stop looking at rejection as failure and start seeing it as part of the journey itself. Each rejection was a step closer to where I wanted to be. I started tallying my rejections and, by the time I landed my dream gig, I was actually proud of how many I’d accumulated.
Second, a desire to constantly improve is a massive asset. Once you think you’ve got it all figured out, there’s a tendency to close your mind to further learning opportunities. If you approach screenwriting with the mindset of a student, however, every movie, every episode of TV you watch, becomes an opportunity to improve your craft. I’m constantly analysing what I watch, asking “How did it make me feel? How did the writer make me feel that way? Is that a technique I can use in my own work?”
On that note, reading is essential. It’s been said before, but if you want to write well, you should read. When I was starting out, I bought the screenplays of my favorite movies and read them over and over again, analyzing the techniques the writers used to engage me, how they structured their stories, and what made their characters compelling. At one stage, I was reading a script a day, taking in everything I could. My reading hasn’t slowed down, either, but these days I mostly read scripts written by friends and colleagues. Whether the script is a masterpiece or still needs a bit of work, there’s not a story I read that doesn’t teach me something new.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
Recently, I had the opportunity to produce an episode of TV. Being on set and seeing your words brought to life by incredible actors is a special feeling, and a great opportunity to improve your craft. But more than that, having a writer on set is essential for the quality of a show. No one knows the script like the person who wrote it, and the writer is a crucial resource for the director, actors, and producers. As a part of the writers room, writers are aware of an episode’s role in the greater context of the series, and use that knowledge to make sure nothing is overlooked or changed in a way that’s inconsistent with what’s yet to come.
Personally, covering set was the best way to improve my communication skills, whether that be with the director, actors, or producers, all of whom are extremely talented individuals, all pulling to make the episode the best story it can be.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelouzas/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ouzas-42b3bb62/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/michael_ouzas
Image Credits
Akil Rashad Anderson
