Collaboration, Deadlines, and Having Thick Skin: “Night at the Museum” Co-Writer Thomas Lennon on Surviving as a Hollywood Screenwriter
I was broke, unemployed, and bumming around my hometown trying to figure out my next move. It was the summer of 2007 and I had no fucking clue what my next move was. So I started a blog and used it as an excuse to talk to artists I admired about their music and movies. One of my goals was to interview all 11 members of MTV’s sketch comedy show The State over the course of the summer.
I still had a very naive, impractical idea of how people created. I didn’t understand that becoming a successful writer took discipline and hours of work. I thought that one major success could make everything OK. I wanted to believe that an influential person would discover my blog in it’s second month of existence, fall in love with it, and throw bags of money at me to share my thoughts with the world. So when The State member Thomas Lennon agreed to talk to me about his work as an actor and screenwriter, I figured we would talk about being a precious snowflake and finding the creative muse. I was wrong. Tom, though hilarious and very pleasant to talk to, provided me with some very hard truths about writing. It took a long time for me to internalize his message, but I am very grateful he was blunt and honest with me, because his advice about writing was indispensable.
Years of writing scripts for Night at the Museum, Reno 911!: Miami, and many other films taught Tom that success in Hollywood is fickle. His exact words?
“I wouldn’t necessarily recommend writing movies in the studio system if you’re looking for something that’s really fun.”
I think this is valuable to remember for all aspiring writers. You should not be discouraged by his words, but it is important to remember that if you are serious about writing, you need to focus on process more than results. Tom has been fired and rehired on movies as many as three or four times. Instead of holding a grudge he responded like a pro and kept working.
People might care about something you write, but chances are they won’t. At least not at first. But that shouldn’t stop you. These days I am more mindful of Tom’s message than ever before. If I am serious about becoming a writer, I need to write all the time and not let lack of public acknowledgement or failure dissuade me.
I hope you enjoy the following snippet of our conversation circa 2007 and find it as sobering and useful as I have.
“You’re usually getting replaced by people that are pretty good friends with you. We’ve had to replace them on their movies too.”
Gino: You guy and Ben Garant have been cranking out movies nonstop for the last few years. I saw that you’re writing the sequel to Night at the Museum. The first one was a big success, so you must be happy.
Thomas Lennon: Yeah, we’re pretty pleased with that one. People always think Ben and I have had so many of our scripts produced. We’ve had seven movies come out, which is a lot, but we’ve gotten about half or maybe even less than half of the movies we’ve written produced. For every movie that’s been made, there are an equal number of unproduced films that we’ve written.
“For every movie that’s been made, there are an equal number of unproduced films that we’ve written.”
Gino: How are you able to write so many scripts? I tried to write a movie script this summer and it was so difficult I gave up. I can’t fathom writing that much material in a short span of time.
Thomas Lennon: It really helps to have a deadline where you absolutely have to hand it over to someone. When you can fiddle around with a script forever it’s hard to get motivated. One of the good things about Ben Garant and me writing together is that when you write with a partner, it’s always a little bit competitive. You’re sort of always racing to see who can write more. Ben and I both write almost compulsively. The advantage of having a partnership is it’s half of the work and you’re always in a slight competition to see who can write more material.
We’ve never really written spec scripts. We’ve only ever written specific stuff for a studio where they tell us, “We want it, boom, you have 12 weeks.” That’s a very long time to have. We’ll spend eight weeks on the outline and four weeks on the script. The outline is kind of the hard part. After that it’s just fun because you get to write the dialogue and jokes.
“You need a pretty thick skin to write in the Hollywood system. The studio system will really crush your spirit if you’re not prepared for it.”
Gino: Are the movies that were shelved ones the studios approached you about that just ended up falling through?
Thomas Lennon: Yeah. It’s a really slow process writing movies for the studios. It’s unbelievably slow. You’ll work on the same thing for years.
Gino: Do you ever get frustrated with a project when it seems like it’s never going to get finished?
Thomas Lennon: You need a pretty thick skin to write in the Hollywood system. The studio system will really crush your spirit if you’re not prepared for it. The writer doesn’t have very much power, and you get fired and re-written all the time. If you write a script that’s going into production, generally you’ll get replaced on your own movie with somebody else just to let them do a draft, and then frequently you’ll come back in and rewrite everything they just wrote.
Gino: That’s so different than what I envisioned. I think to a lot of people who aren’t in the industry still have this illusion of an aspiring screen writer pitching their script to an exec, getting it picked up, and then turning it into a great movie.
Thomas Lennon: I suppose sometimes that happens. We’ve been fired and replaced on our own movie as many as three or four times. The comedy studio writing world is a pretty small community out here. You’re usually getting replaced by people that are pretty good friends with you. We’ve had to replace them on their movies too.
“It’s very awkward, it’s embarrassing, and it makes you mad. But you just have to think, ‘Ok, fuck it, it’s part of the game.’”
Gino: That must get awkward.
Thomas Lennon: Oh totally. It’s very awkward, it’s embarrassing, and it makes you mad. But you just have to think, “OK, fuck it, it’s part of the game.”
Gino: That’s a really good outlook. If I got fired from my own movie I would be cursing people out.
Thomas Lennon: You feel like you never want to go back, but then they hire you right back and they’re like, “Boy that last guy really fucked up.” (Laughs) It’s just a cycle. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend writing movies in the studio system if you’re looking for something that’s really fun.
“A career in writing for the studios is generally pretty short…like an NFL career. You don’t want to mess with it while it’s working.”
Gino: Is there going to come a point where you’ll want to back off the studio system and do more independent and personal projects?
Thomas Lennon: I think at some point we will move on to smaller, independent stuff, but it’s a hard habit to break. Once you’re on the list as an approved studio comedy writer guy, there is a lot of opportunity. A career in writing for the studios is generally pretty short…like an NFL career. You don’t want to mess with it while it’s working.
I am a director of academic support/special education teacher who loves to write about books, movies, music, records, and samplers. I also love interviewing people about these things. If you enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, and recommending it on Medium.
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