This book is about inspiration.
It is not a memoir. It might appear as a biography…but it’s not. There’s no dirt or wild tales from my life. Everything in this book can somehow be connected to my love for movies. I included some personal stories here and there, but only if they had an influence on my writing.
I included portions of all the screenplays I have ever written, some of which I don't even remember writing. Luckily, I saved all of my scripts, essays, rejection letters and student films in boxes.
So how did I get here?
When I was in grade school, I was obsessed with a book series called Choose Your Own Adventure. At the bottom of each page, you had to make a decision on the direction of the story. For example, turn to page 81 to climb the ladder or turn to page 39 to go down the chute. There were so many different ways the story could end; some good, some bad.
There was one book in particular that I will never forget. It was called Inside UFO 54-40 by author Edward Packard. It came with a disclosure about a planet of paradise called Ultima. It explained that many never get there and couldn’t be found by making choices or following instructions. The warning ended, “There is a way to reach Ultima. Maybe you’ll find it.” As a young reader, I was determined to choose the adventure that led to Ultima. I read the book countless times, but struggled to find the elusive ending. I questioned whether the ending even existed.
And then it happened. Page 101. I don’t remember how I got there. It read, “You did not make a choice, or follow any directions, but now, somehow, you are descending from space, approaching a great, glistening sphere. It is Ultima, the planet of paradise.”
I still think of that mysterious page to this day.
