Entertainment- Ken Miyamoto was a security guard at Sony, and worked his way up to story analyst for the studio.
- A self-taught screenwriter, Miyamoto was later offered a development deal at Lionsgate.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ken Miyamoto, a screenwriter based in Belleville, Wisconsin. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I learned everything about screenwriting inside a Barnes and Noble. I read every screenwriting book that I could — some were good, some were bad — along with the few published scripts that were available.
This was the mid-to-late 1990s, before the internet took hold.
In 1996, I took one University of Wisconsin screenwriting class, and that was the extent of my screenwriting education. Beyond that, I'm self-taught.
I moved to California from Wisconsin with my wife in late 1999 to pursue a career in screenwriting. While she was busy with grad school, I did whatever I could to get onto Hollywood sets. I wanted to understand how movies were made — and the easiest way I could do that at the time was to become a movie extra, so I signed with some background actor agencies.
I loved being an extra, even though I was only making $50 a day. I even made it into the final cut of Steven Soderberg's "Traffic." I was a stand-in for one of the FBI agents (and later in the background of the pool scene).
I spent 12 hours in a hotel suite with Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro. Del Toro was in character the whole time, and Soderbergh was completely hands-on — he was the cameraman, cinematographer, and director for these scenes. It was amazing to be in the same room as both of them.
The whole time I was working as an extra, I was writing and honing my screenwriting.
Then in 2002, my wife and I moved to Culver City. We picked an apartment online and made an appointment to go see it, only to learn upon arrival that it was right across the street from Sony Pictures Studios — on the old MGM lot.
The apartment was way overpriced and much smaller than others we looked at, but we signed the lease that day. I just knew that being that close to Sony would be my best opportunity to somehow break into the industry.
We moved in soon after, and nearly every day I jogged around the studio and peered through the gates.
After months of trying to find a job at Sony, I became frustrated. I walked up to a security guard and asked him how I could get a job there. He gave me a number to the security company's corporate office. I called it, went to the hiring office, and was hired right away. Two weeks later I was a Sony security guard.
Security work isn't that glamorous. Most of the guards don't want to be there. But when I was first assigned to the Sony lot, I worked the side gate details, sitting at a post doing nothing. I hated it. However, one day while sitting at my post, an expensive sports car was being revved behind me — I turned around and saw Harrison Ford.
He was shooting what would eventually be entitled "Hollywood Homicide" on a nearby stage, and was on a coffee break in between camera setups. I could smell the coffee on his breath — that's how close he was. We exchanged small talk and he smiled that crooked smile and went off to work. It hit me that I'd just met one of my childhood idols — Han Solo. Indiana Jones. Jack Ryan.
That wouldn't be my last encounter with Hollywood icons. I talked my way into a promotional position working the VIP gate. Each day, I met and conversed with icons like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Stan Lee, to name just a few. I also welcomed the then-studio head Amy Pascal every morning.
I worked my way up from security guard to story analyst at Sony
My new post at the VIP gate allowed me to broaden my reach throughout the studio. I now had my own golf cart to ride around the studio lot. I was given a free membership to the Sony Athletic Club.
I had opportunities to meet a lot of studio and production company executives. One day, I was making a studio ID card for an incoming development executive. We had a good rapport.
I took a chance and said to him, "Hey, if you need any script readers, I have experience." It turns out he was looking for a new reader. It was kismet. He asked for some sample script coverage (screenplay summaries that executives often rely on to save time reading entire scripts). I sent him some coverage I'd done at a previous internship, and he hired me as a script reader & story analyst for Sony Pictures.
That job was my greatest education in screenwriting — reading scripts and writing coverage for them was an outstanding way to learn what worked and what didn't.
I became a stay-at-home dad to focus on my writing — and it paid off
In 2005, we had our first son. My wife suggested that I stay home with him to focus on my screenwriting. It was a great opportunity to write and be with my son, but I kept my story analyst job part-time.
At this point I knew I needed to write a marquee script — something that was high concept and would catch people's attention. I started to develop concepts that would have the best odds of breaking through.
The one I landed on was a script entitled "The Doomsday Order," which made the rounds in Hollywood and got me a manager. I had meetings at Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, and Disney, but sadly, it didn't sell. I had major momentum in my writing career though, finally, after years of struggle.
Around this time, my family and I visited our hometown in Wisconsin for the holidays. I realized that this was where we should be as a family. I told my wife, and we decided we wanted to leave LA and move back home to Wisconsin.
I told my manager — and he said I didn't have to be in LA to write, as long as I could come back for meetings. It wasn't the ideal situation for a screenwriter with some momentum, but we wanted to raise our kids close to family.
It was hard for me to leave my Sony job though. The night before I left to drive cross-country from Los Angeles to Wisconsin, I spent one more night on the Sony lot, riding around after-hours on my golf cart.
After that, I got in my car, turned on Green Day's "Time of Your Life," drove past the security shack I used to man years prior, waved to the guard, and cried like a baby as I drove away.
The stigma of being a stay-at-home dad was difficult at times
Once we made the move, I found myself sitting at home in Wisconsin with my baby son, feeling like my dream had slipped away a little. The momentum I had was dying down, and I was far away from Hollywood.
I was a proud stay-at-home dad, but it came with a lot of baggage and insecurity. My wife was supporting us with her successful career. I wasn't earning any money towards our daily needs, so the stigma of being a stay-at-home dad was difficult at times. I felt out of place amidst the moms at parks and coffee shops.
I used my late nights to work on the next script I would send to my manager, and within a few months, I had another marquee script. It was an action thriller script called "One Shot to Kill." The pitch was basically "Top Gun," with snipers. My manager sent it out to studios and production companies, and the response was great. Hollywood players were talking about my script — they were calling me a rockstar.
Then I found out Lionsgate wanted to option the script with some development money. I was so happy. Knowing that I finally had my first offer to do what I had always dreamed of doing for a living — telling cinematic stories — it was an amazing feeling. And it happened after moving 2,000 miles away from Hollywood.
Most screenwriters see the trades and read about million-dollar deals for spec scripts. That doesn't happen too often, and it's usually for established writers. My Lionsgate deal wasn't a huge amount of money, but it was worthwhile for sure.
The deal fell through — but it opened the door to more paid screenwriting work
Sadly, the deal expired before the film could go into production. The one-two punch of the economic disaster and the Writers Guild strike hit in 2007 and 2008. It sent shockwaves throughout the industry — the results of which are still felt to this day. Deals were dropped everywhere, and mine was one of them.
In 2010, I was approached by a Hollywood producer and executive with Wisconsin connections. He grew up just an hour away from where I was living. I was president of a local screenwriters group, and he had reached out to see if he could help. I took the opportunity to pitch some of my work.
He read "Doomsday Order" and "One Shot One Kill" and loved my writing — he wanted to hire me to write a miniseries for him entitled "Blackout." The catch was that they needed it written quickly.
I signed a contract and wrote it in two and a half weeks. They loved it. It was the most I ever made as a professional screenwriter at that point — low-to-mid five figures, which was a huge haul for a new screenwriter.
Big names were attached to the project — like the late Anne Heche, James Brolin, and Haylie Duff. I even had a chance to fly back to Los Angeles to be on set. It was a dream come true seeing my words come to life.
Today, I've found success writing thrillers for Lifetime. They're formulaic and designed for the intended audience and their expectations, but they're damn fun to write. The fans love those movies. And it's actually helping me hone my craft.
I'm making more money as a screenwriter than I ever have
I'm learning so much about writing on the fly and making crazy deadlines because the projects at Lifetime can go into production fast. My deals with Lifetime thrillers usually take a few months. They really crank out those movies, so it's cool to see a more quick, streamlined process.
The way it works is that I pitch my take on a project, and then it goes through the executive producer, and on to Lifetime for notes and approval. I write the script pretty fast — usually three to four weeks for the first draft, and then a few days of rewrites. It takes only a few months on average for them to go into pre-production, and a little longer for them to actually come out.
I don't have a doubt in my mind that I'll eventually make the jump to studio stuff. I have samples to showcase my writing. But I'm loving the regular gigs, the outstanding collaboration, and seeing my words produced as written.
Here's what I've learned about succeeding in the industry as a screenwriter
- Don't put too much stock into getting representation. Focus on writing amazing scripts — stack your deck with three to five outstanding ones. Don't rush into trying to find representation with your first or second scripts. Generally speaking, they're your worst scripts. You haven't honed your craft. You're still learning.
- Once you have a stack of great scripts, then you should go out and try to find representation. Managers want writers with a good body of work — not just one or two beginner scripts. When you do start marketing to reps, never try to get an agent. Agents don't really come until they see a hot script they can sell. Managers are the go-to.
- Beyond that, make your own luck. You can market your scripts on your own. Go to IMDBPro and find similar movies. Find out who made them. Don't market to the studios that distribute them — market to the production companies listed. That's the in. Send them simple and short query emails with your logline. I've represented myself for over 10 years. It's possible. I handle contract negotiations and sign contracts on my own — but that's after being in the business for 20 years.
- Lastly, don't write for free. It's okay to do a draft for a manager here or there. But don't get caught in the industry trap of writing endless drafts for free. Don't be afraid to say that you need to justify the time by getting paid. Too many novice screenwriters fall into that. It's not worth it and often leads nowhere.
That first deal with Lionsgate legitimized my dream. Every assignment contract since has offered me the chance to get paid to do what I love.
How many people in this world can say that? Plenty, I'm sure — but certainly not the majority.