We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hilliard Guess a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hilliard, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I grew up in the Bay Area, on the East Side of Palo Alto/Menlo Park, California in the mid-70s. The neighborhood was full of working-class blacks and Latinos, hustlers, lowriders, drugs and sprinkled throughout was former Black Panthers and conscious people in the fight for the movement. One of my earliest memories, was learning about Black History around age 8-9. Not the stuff you read in schoolbooks, but history passed down from the older cats in the neighborhood who felt the need to encourage the youth with wisdom and pride. This was a time when the lady down the street could give you a whooping, you had to be home before the streetlights came on and it felt like, even though the streets were most certainly dangerous, that most of those gangsters lived by a Code, so respect (whether it was good or bad) was something you grew to learn quickly as a child or got caught up in it on the wrong side.
Everyone I knew was resilient. Everyone had a hustle. It’s a Bay Thing! It’s in the water, in our music, our style and ingrained in us to never give up. I brought this belief with me to Los Angeles and it’s what keeps me going as a writer/producer to this day. I do my best to never let a day go by or to allow myself to have any regret. If I hustled hard today, I know that I am setting myself up for something tomorrow. That’s what I live by, and one thing for certain – I got that kind of resilience my ‘hood. “Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop!”
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a writer/producer/podcaster in West Hollywood, California.
I was a theater-trained triple-threat from age 12-32. Now, I use all those years of on-stage and screen experience in my writing, ‘cuz I’ve seen and done just about everything as a performer. I have done almost everything as a writer and producer as well. From shorts, POCs, films, music docs, to Indie and Network TV.
As I mentioned earlier, growing up where I come from, I was always an outsider looking in. That strange-dressing, gay theater kid who hung around the weirdo Punks and Rudeboy’s and stood out like a sore thumb everywhere I went. I was literally listening to Run DMC and Rakim with my homeboys and The Specials and Fishbone with my new friends and theater kids at the same time. I’ve always been an ‘underdog’ and to this day, that’s why I write underdog stories in the murder-death-kill world that focus on redemption. That’s what moves me. No matter the genre. If I can make my protagonist an underdog in said world…I’m in!
Currently, I serve as the Executive Producer on Amazon’s highly anticipated Alex Cross companion/bonus series: CROSS: ACE (working title).
One of the things I’m most excited about is my long-running podcast called SCREENWRITERS’ RANT ROOM (the first of its kind to drop knowledge from diverse writers’ POV), with over 491 episodes in the archive. Me and my amazing team have just dropped the new season on June 24, 2024 – celebrating “10 YEARS OF GAME!” This show is for beginners to pros, talking about entertainment, TV, film, music, culture and I interview some of your favorite TV Showrunners to Emerging Writers/Directors on the Verge. There is always tons of wisdom dropped and helpful hints in every episode. Please be sure to subscribe, follow, share, and 5-star review us!
https://www.screenwritersrantroom.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There is something to be said about having a routine. Without it, you could be running in circles. Throughout my career, I had mentors who challenged me. Whether they were testing me on how fast I could write a strong outline or script or challenging me to write in a genre I wasn’t familiar with to force me to learn new skills, the routine is what kept me going and kept me strong to this day. So, now I test my mentees in similar ways. I give them deadlines and ask them to treat it as if they were turning the project in to say, Spielberg. I’m trying to help them deal with pressures now so that when it comes, they can handle it and shine to the top of the pack.
Also, more advice I would add don’t hold back on who you are as a writer or filmmaker. I told you all about my being the outsider/underdog theater kid from the ‘hood. That was to set up “why” and “how” I know what it’s like to be the underdog and the reason behind writing those stories from that specific POV. I’m leaning into my past where most others would avoid in a negative sense. I I have learned through the years to embrace it. It’s a superpower. It’s what makes me different and interesting on many assignments that I landed over the years.
Last, read, read, and read. I won’t tell you all not to go to film school. I didn’t, and I’m doing fine. But that’s not for everyone, nor is it everyone’s path. You need a place to build your tribe, and schools are great for that. But you can also learn this craft by reading – the greats. And I mean all kinds of genres to see how the craft is made. It will change how you write, hopefully for the better. Because for me, you have to see how a script looks on-the-page and not just on screen. Two different mediums. You truly can master this craft from home, your local cafe or your Zoom writers’ group. You just have to put in the hours and watch yourself grow.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, as I mentioned, we just dropped the new season of Screenwriters’ Rant Room podcast (#screenwritersrantroom), and we are currently accepting sponsorships and partnering with brands. We have a strong, solid audience and are well known in the industry across America and dozens of other countries. SRR is looking for partners that we can collaborate with who want to reach a fun, young & old, diverse group of people in or aspiring to be in the entertainment industry. We want brands that share in that underdog spirit, represent or sell to diverse communities, and are the kinds of brands who believe in giving back. SRR is all about giving back. So, that would be important to us. Let’s work together and support Black businesses!
Contact us:
ScreenwritersRantRoom@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.screenwritersrantroom.com
- Instagram: @screenwritersrantroom and @HilliardGuess
- Twitter X: @HilliardGuess
Image Credits
Hilliard Guess
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