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CAREER

Adam Bloom – Young & Hungry

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Adam C. Bloom is an Indiana native who earned a dual BA in Fine Arts and English from Anderson University. Soon after graduation, he moved to San Diego where he earned a degree in gemology at the Gemological Institute of America. While working in the GIA laboratory, Adam took advantage of his proximity to Los Angeles to pursue his screenwriting ambitions. In 2012, he landed representation at Kersey Management and has been steadily building up his body of work ever since. In 2018, Adam landed agents at APA and made his first spec script sale to Universal Pictures – a grounded sci-fi thriller titled Varietal. Adam also has scripts in development at Broken Road Productions and XYZ Films.

How young and how hungry do you need to be to win a place on the 2018 Young & Hungry list?

To be honest, I don’t think I qualify as “young” anymore at 39 years old. I must have benefited from a clerical error. As to hunger, I’ve had my nose pressed up against a computer screen for many years now.

Describe your unique personal and professional background and the specific project(s) that attracted industry interest?

My interest in the arts began with drawing and painting in my teenage years. In college, I studied Fine Arts for two years before coming to terms with my lack of talent. I shifted from the Art Department to the English Department and began writing seriously, completing my first screenplay soon after graduation. It was awful, of course. I had no formal training, not even a copy of Save the Cat, so my screenwriting education was a long process of trial and error.
 
I failed more times than I care to admit before finally producing scripts that were worth reading. I don’t know that there’s any connection between my background and the specific projects I write, but all that failure has demystified the process for me in a wonderful way.

What personal qualities do screenwriters need to make it?

 I wouldn’t want to generalize too much, but I think self-motivation is the ultimate must-have trait. A willingness to work endlessly without affirmation. Coupled with a very thick skin, or a willingness to pretend you’ve got one.
 
Why did you decide to become a screenwriter above all other careers? 
I can’t imagine any occupation more invigorating than telling a great story that moves people.
How do you become agent/manager bait? 
 
Beyond writing screenplays that are strong enough to get you noticed, agents and managers want to be sure that if they send you into meetings with executives you will be able to conduct yourself with confidence and professionalism. If you’re skittish when you have that first coffee with your would-be manager, how much more skittish are you likely to be on a studio lot?
Where do you get your creative inspiration?
 
I wish I knew so I could better focus my attention. But ideas come from strange places, usually unbidden. I read pretty voraciously, watch a ton of movies and listen to as many podcasts as I can. Variety is important. Fiction and non-fiction.

How do you decide which ideas are worthy of pursuing?

My instincts about what ideas to pursue are getting better, but it’s never been my strong suit. I spent many years writing concepts that struck me as interesting, but had no chance of finding a commercial audience. It was invaluable for me to get experience by writing those scripts, but probably stalled my career. Now that I have terrific reps, I rely on them to help me choose from the ideas I generate.
Do you have a writing brand in terms of interests you gravitate towards?
 
I went through a period of writing international thrillers, often political. Traveling on the page. But for the past few years, I’ve been focused on grounded genre scripts, particularly science fiction, horror, and thrillers. I’m always after realism.
How do characterize the current state of the industry and opportunities for emerging writers?
 
There have never been more outlets for original work, but if you’re writing feature film scripts expect to be asked why your story is worthy of the big screen. I hear it’s better to write a script that a few people love than a script that many people merely like. Is that actually true? I have no idea!

How do you train and improve your writing craft?

 I read all the time and write all the time. I don’t wait for a bulletproof idea to get started, because no idea ever feels bulletproof. It’s better to write something bad on any given day than to write nothing at all. You may find something valuable buried in the mess you produce. And more importantly, you will kill the mystique of the writing process that makes the blank page so frightening.
What are the qualities of scripts you read that don’t get industry interest?
 
Any script without a compelling main character – “actor bait” – is probably doomed. Likewise, any script that will cost a fortune to produce and isn’t based on IP. 

What advice do you have for screenwriters wanting to make next year’s Young & Hungry list?

Be aggressively willing to fail. Or willing to fail aggressively. I’m not quite sure what I mean, but it feels about right.

What is something that few people know about you?

 I own more cardigans than shoes.
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