Why Film School...

A friend of mine asked me why I wanted to go to UCLA film school. The simple answer is that I want to learn how to write screenplays, but that's not it. I think I could learn how to write competent screenplays by cobbling together some sort of extension class/workshop curriculum. But I have an eye toward something more.

When I was fifteen, I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and like a lot of African American youth, it affected me to the point that I knew I had to not only just make a living, but to make a mark for my community. And I want to do the same thing when it comes to film. I want to make what I like to term, quiet films. My idol is Mike Leigh, who makes films that delve deeply into the lives of characters. I want the freedom to do the same.

But I know there are obstacles. There are African American writers who are struggling to sell their scripts because Hollywood is not the most diverse place in the world. So while smart black films don't get made, Soul Plane does. Also, the African American audience is for the most part, not demanding films that I would consider to be quality, but instead are satisfied with whatever drivel given them. So there has to be a mindset change among the very community I'd like to appeal to.

I hope that after I graduate from UCLA, I will write scripts that turns this around. I want to be innovative, different (but not for the sake of being different) and produce work that is at the highest quality in the industry. If UCLA gives me the opportunity to gain these tools, then I will be able to make my mark.