ATLFF Spotlight: Jeanne Bowerman
It was funny how I became aware of Jeanne Bowerman. I think it was on Twitter when it was still called Twitter and not nearly as polarizing. But one day, I saw this lady giving all this excellent advice to screenwriters. I did a deep dive and saw who she worked for. I figured, what the hell, let’s give her a shout and see what happens.
Jeanne, as you will read, was kind and gregarious. So, when I had a chance to interview her for the Atlanta Film Society, I knew I had to. Though she isn’t an alum, I knew she would provide me with a ton of…Well, just read this and see why I am so doggone smart for asking her to chat.
Keith Hannigan
Hi, everyone. Once again.
This has technically been called the Alumni Spotlight, but we'll change things up here. By the way, my name is Keith Hannigan. I am the Community engagement lead for the Atlanta Film Society and the Atlanta Film Festival. Today, I have the pleasure and the honor of speaking with Jeanne Bowerman. She is the Senior Executive of the Pipeline Media Group. Jeanne Hi.
Jeanne Bowerman
Hey, how are you, Keith? So nice to see you. I think the Atlanta Film Festival is probably one of the only ones I haven't attended yet. How are you?
KH
I won’t hold that against you. It’s an incredible festival, and you should check it out when you can. I'm bubblicious, my friend. I am. How are you?
JB
Good. It's always so fun to get to meet people who I've met on Twitter slash X. And that's why i love social media. A lot of people hate it. It has downsides, but the people I have met over the years. Just incredible. And I feel so blessed because I'm in this tiny little town of 4,000 people and one traffic light in my town.
KH
What region of the country are you in?
JB
No stalkers. I'm in upstate New York, straight up from the city. I can be in New York City in two hours. I fly to LA a lot, fly wherever I need to be, writing conferences and stuff like that. Get anywhere now. It doesn't matter as much where you live.
KH
So, this is primarily going to be for the writers out there. However, you'll likely acquire some info and insight that will be beneficial no matter what you do or aspire to do in the film or entertainment industry. Jeanne is well-rounded when it comes to that stuff. That's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to her. But I did want to touch on something she just said.
I met Jeanne on Twitter before it became X. Jeanne provided a lot of insight that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. She allowed me to access her, ask questions, and pick her brain. A lot of you don't want to go out and network. That is the most terrifying thing on earth to a lot of you. I get it. But with that being said, Jeanne, tell me, what have you learned by engaging with writers on social media?
JB
I learn something every day. I published an article that I wrote called the Exodus. And it's about everybody leaving X and why I am not leaving. And I give very specific reasons, which all have to do with the community I built there and the people. I'm not leaving them. I love them. They've changed my life, literally changed my life, not just with friendships but with professional relationships. I wouldn't be where I am.
You know, even if you're uncomfortable engaging with people, just create a social account whether you want to be on X or Blue Sky.
I met Jane Friedman on Twitter in 2009 when she was the publisher of Writer's Digest. We started following each other, and she loved my writing voice and how I would tweet. The things I would say in my tweets were only 140 characters, and I loved that because it forced you to self-edit. As a writer, it's like you realize I don't need all these words to say what I'm trying to say. And that was beneficial, especially as a screenwriter.
Jane asked me if I would write an article for Writer's Digest about Twitter because it was so new. So, I wrote this very informative Twitter 101 piece, a very instructional piece, and I sent it to Jane. I was all proud of myself. I've never had an article published before. And she comes back with, this is lovely. This is very informative, but it isn't what I want.
That was the biggest lesson ever. After that, I was like, oh, yeah. Balls to the wall now when I write. That's my voice. And you just embrace it instead of constantly questioning yourself..
KH
I reached out to you about acquiring mentorships because having a mentor is imperative for anybody seeking to improve. How should folks approach people like you about this? Any horror stories?
JB
You did it right. I didn't block you. It's about having a conversation with somebody first before you ever ask. For myself and acquiring mentors on Twitter, Doug Richardson, who wrote Die Hard 2, Bad Boys, Hostage, is now like my brother from another mother. But that all started with us having a dialogue on Twitter together via Follow Friday’s.
He had just joined Twitter and didn't understand this Follow Friday thing. And so we started having a little conversation back and forth. And then he started reading my articles on script magazine. I never asked anything of him. He asked me if he can read the script I was writing? And I was like, oh, okay. And so I sent him the script.
He gave me notes. I did a rewrite. A couple of months go by, and he goes, aren't you going to send me back the rewrite? And I'm like, no, because that would be rude like you already did this massive favor by giving me notes. He goes, no, no, no. I want to see how you take notes. And then he came on as a producer of that script.
You've got to be like a nice person, and you have to be genuine. You have to be a good writer. If they had read my stuff and it wasn't good, they wouldn't help it reach the next step. So, work your craft. And the only way to work on your craft is to learn and be open to learning.
But if you come right out and ask somebody, ”Would you read my script?” The answer would be no.
I get it. It's hard. This industry is so hard, and you just want to find that one champion. It's like on that first date when things get too aggressive too fast. It's like, slow down.
KH
You engage predominantly with writers, correct?
JB
Yeah, screenwriters and also novelists. My presence on X is still more screenwriter-centric.
KH
A lot of people view writing a script as a Wonka ticket. I've always been a storyteller and always will be a storyteller. Many of us have day jobs but still aspire for that ticket. Unfortunately, the ticket is entry to a place that's not the same. And for many of us, we don't want to give up on it because we don't know what to do if we do. What do you want to say when you hear that?
JB
I first want to remind everybody what you said: you're a storyteller. So, it's okay to pivot to different mediums. I'm writing a novel. Writing a book, you know, is IP. Hollywood loves IP. It's a proven product. Getting it published by a traditional publisher would be even better. But you can also self-publish. Even if nothing ever happens, nobody wants to adapt it, and never makes it to the screen; one of your stories is out there.
So, as you get older, sometimes you look at your life. And think, when I'm on my deathbed, what am I going to say? Why didn't I stop saying yes to many things and write that novel? Or why did I quit screenwriting?
But I suggest to people who, if it's about screenwriting, make independent films. Grab it by the balls and produce independent films if you can. Do it now. I did a short film back in 2012. And it was like $15,000. It does not have to cost that now. There are so many ways you can film inexpensively. And if the story is outstanding. That's what matters, especially as a writer.
Enter film festivals. Do a short. I have a neighbor who years ago wrote a short film called Frozen River. And it was at our little local film festival. And then she used that short to raise money for a grant to film the feature. She filmed the feature. It went to Sundance, where she won the Grand Jury prize and was nominated for an Oscar. She did it all by herself.
I work for Pipeline. So we have script pipeline contests and book pipeline contests. But I always tell people that when you are looking for a contest to enter, find the finalists of a screenwriting competition, and it’s very easy to find those people on social media. Reach out to them and say, what did the company do for you when you were a finalist? Did you have a good experience? Did they do anything? Did you even get notified you were a finalist? And there are other writers, you know, they will answer those questions for you.
But contests are still a valid way to get discovered by managers. Managers will contact us and say, hey, I'm looking for a horror script. I'm looking for a comedy. Do you have anything good?
KH
That's good. Everybody should hold on to that little nugget right there. Speaking of success stories, what type of success stories have you seen lately?
JB
It's exciting because, like one of the people who came to Script Chat the other night; Script Chat is a screenwriting chat I've run on X for 15 years. It's Sunday nights, 5 to 6 Pacific time. So anyone can join. Just use #scriptchat. In Script Chat the other night, somebody had just come from American Film Market. And he said, oh, I just want to let you all know that everybody only wants horror now, and people don't want rom-coms and comedy. So I'm talking to my colleague about that, and he goes, that's crazy because I've got managers coming to me all the time. I'm looking for a delicious comedy. I'm looking for a good rom-com.
What people are looking for is specific to them. I wouldn't let myself get all caught up on trends and all of that. Just write a great story you're passionate about; it might take years to be discovered. But, like, I think we had another success story, and she sold the script. One of our contest winners from 2017.
The other thing is we had Bob Saenz talk about Christmas movies. He's had 21 film scripts produced, and 10 of them are Christmas movies. But he said he takes all his scripts from the year that haven't been purchased and updates them for current culture and technology so that they're ready at any given time. Because you never know. He has brought 10-year-old scripts back to life and sold them. Nothing is ever really dead.
So, don't get discouraged, and don't think that that project you worked so hard on will never see the light of day.
KH
So I don't want to take up too much of your time. But I want you to talk about Pipeline Media and what you all provide for writers or anyone.
JB
I was the Editor-in-chief of Script Magazine for 10 years before I came to Pipeline, and one of the reasons that I love Pipeline so much is that it's a bunch of writers who believe in what we do, the readers we have for our contests are incredible and incredible writers in their own right. Pipeline started 25 years ago with Script Pipeline.
Then we added Book Pipeline, which has contests for unpublished and published books.
And then we either say to the writer of the book. Do you want us to pitch your story to producers and managers, or would you like us to teach you how to write a screenplay? And that's all part of the prize. We don't get any money from anybody we find success for. We really are there to help them get discovered.
Pipeline Artists was born when I came on. I was brought on to launch it with Matt Misetich. And I love it because it's a beautiful site. It's all about just content for artists and creatives. There are no ads on it.
We pay writers to write the articles. Go figure. And it's just so clean, and it's all about the words and the images. We even sometimes pay artists to create an image for the piece. But basically. I was so drawn to it and Pipeline Media Group because we have this philosophy: you need to tell people what they need to hear, not what you think they want to hear. Because when you're blowing smoke. You know it is selling hope. That is a big pet peeve of mine because it doesn't get anybody anywhere.
And you can get farther along the path by knowing the absolute truth about the path.
I also run Symposium, our online conference for the arts. And we keep it cheap and approachable. We do a lot of free events. We just want people to learn. I love doing those. We had one last night with Bob. I always learn something from them. Bob taught one about writing to budget, which is incredible. It's like explaining how you write a screenplay to budget, which would be helpful if you get hired to write a script or get hired to rewrite a script.
So, you know, anything that we can do not only as a company but as individuals to help educate people and help them achieve their dreams. It's really hard to have a dream like this that is like winning the lottery. You have to be in it because you love it.
And if you can find some people to champion you along the way and, you know, feed you little breadcrumbs along the way that help you not starve to death on the way to the win, that's how you build your community. And you have some fun along the way.
KH
I love that. Before I had my son. I was a prolific writer. I was able to bang out a few scripts a year. Variety of subject matters, what have you. They weren't delicious. But they were getting better. And right before I had him, I wrote my most successful thing, which happened to be a pilot. However, I went to rewrite it after he was born. And it's like, whoa, man. I don't want to say my blade's been dulled, but I'm softer. I cry a lot easier in life, you know.
Hearing all of that, what would you say to me, knowing that I have this passion, drive, desire, and dream?
JB
There was a time I had adapted a book called Slavery by Another Name. It won the Pulitzer Prize while I was adapting it. We had tons of meetings. It was my PhD in screenwriting. That was the one that Doug Richardson came on to produce, as well as Tom Shulman, who wrote Dead Poets Society. Working with those two guys was like a dream come true. But 12 Years a Slave came out. And Slavery By Another Name was about slavery post-Civil War how it turned into prison leasing.
People weren't making black films when we started working on the adaptation. Then, the logical problem came: I'm white. You know, there were many issues with timing and all that other stuff. But my kids watched all of what I was doing and going through.
Through that process, I got the gig in the first place, flew down to Atlanta to meet the author, and pitched him to try to get the gig. I'm a nobody. Like I don't have any produce credits. He was the Atlanta bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal.
So my kids watched me put it all out there. And they watched me work on it year after year. This is a huge thing. And one day, when 12 Years of Slave came out, the guys were like, maybe we should just pause it for 18 months.
And I remember doing two shots of whiskey and walking out the door and just crying and just taking a long walk. When I came home, my kids were in high school, and my kids just gave me this big hug and said, we believe in you, Mom. Don't give up.
They learned by watching me every day. Sometimes, I'm sure they thought to themselves, like, what the hell is she doing? How many no's does she have to get before she's going to get it? But they got it. But it's the people I met along the way, the experiences, the life experiences I had with this project. You know, I'm in HBO's offices. I'm in Johnny Depp's offices. I'm in, you know, Imagine's offices.
I'm a country girl from a one-traffic light town with 4,000 people. I won. Whether this ever gets made or not, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't trade all those life experiences for anything. And my kids got to come along for that ride. I remember coming home from a flight from LA. Mom, how'd it go? They were rooting me on. And that's like an incredible lesson for your kid.
And being a parent, though. You don't have as much time to be creative. It's all-consuming. But it also, like you said. It taps into this thing in your heart that you wouldn't have gotten at 25 years old. Sometimes, I'll read a script by someone who doesn't have kids and has never been married. And I'm like, Buddy, this would never happen. You know, and you know, that's why when they talk about ageism in Hollywood..
That's what's so frustrating because there are certainly some stories that younger writers better write. But there are stories that only somebody with life experience can write.
KH
Ya, my perspective on life has changed entirely.
JB
And just the perspective that you have in telling stories has, too. Enjoy the ride, something I'm trying to say to myself. Enjoy this. But can you imagine your 25-year-old self grasping the need to let go of the things you can't control? No, not at all. I was crying. I was like, that boy didn't call me back. I'm letting go of anything I can't control. And if I have some control over it, I will make it happen.
If I look back at my career, there are opportunities that I let slip by. Maybe I had an insecure moment, or I just didn't do the work to take advantage of this person willing to open a door for me. So, when you go to festivals like the Atlanta Festival Festival and meet people and get their cards, they've taken two minutes to talk to you, shake your hand, and give you a card. Follow up. That's one of the things I hear so many executives tell me who go to like pitching events at festivals. They'll say, yeah, I gave this person my card. I asked them for the script. They never sent it. You know, or they never stayed in touch, like they just burned the bridge. I would have waited six months for the screenplay. Just email me to say, hey, so great to meet you. I'm just doing a rewrite. I'll get back to you. Nothing crickets. So there are many opportunities that people, you know, let's slip by and might not even realize.
KH
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky.
– Michael Scott.
JB
Yes. Oh, my God. I love the office. It's so true.
KH
Before I let you go, what is one piece of advice you can give to writers to make them a better writer?
JB
Stephen King has this expression: write with the door closed. And that means don't think about the rest of the world. Don't think about trends. Don't think about marketability. Don't think about all that stuff. You can certainly think about that when you're developing your ideas. And is this something I think I could sell? Like Bob said last night, Christmas movies. So many people break in because they make over 100 of them a year.
So, do you want to write Christmas movies all the time? Maybe not, but give that a shot. That's a marketability and a business decision to write something like that. But once you sit down to write, don’t think about what other people are going to think. Pour your gut on that page. I used to say to people. I am ripping open my wounds and handing the reader the salt shaker.
Because that's my job, to make you feel. And if you're getting uncomfortable with your writing because you're going there, it will make it a much better, more compelling read. So, don't get in your head and think, “Oh my God, should I say this?” Or, you know, “will somebody in my family recognize this?”
Just being daring. Put it out there because what are you writing for if you're not going to do that? Your job is to make people feel. So you have to feel yourself.
When you're doing it, it will be painful sometimes, but it will be worth it in the end. The best thing that you can hear is when somebody says after they've read your work, “I wish I wrote that.” And that's the reaction you want to get from another writer.
KH
It's awesome. I love going out on that note, so Jeanne, how can people find you.
JB
I am still on X. @jeannevb. And I'm that everywhere. Except for Instagram and Threads, I’m @jeannevb_. Because somebody claimed the name of my handle first. Yeah, so that's how you can find me. And you can also find me on Pipeline Artists.
KH
I appreciate you and everybody taking the time to listen to this, too. Hopefully, this was entertaining and insightful. I know I got a bunch out of it. And at the end of the day, it’s all about me so…
Jeanne, thank you so very much. And for everybody who is watching, please be sure to follow the Atlanta Film Society on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. You can follow the Atlanta Film Festival on Instagram, Facebook, and X as well. On that note, thank you very much. And we'll see you next time.
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While this was primarily geared towards writers, I feel the info and insight Jeanne supplied was evergreen for anyone interested in this magical world of visual storytelling. Even novelists. So, you know, you’re welcome!
Thanks for playing.
-k