Sign up. Sign in. Kate Hagen. Today, we chat with Milan Tomasevic about how The Black List has affected his life as a screenwriter, and how the past, present, and future shape his writing process. The Past:. What was the first film that had a major impact on your life? It was blurry and I was about to eject it when De Niro, Pesci and Liotta showed up on screen right when they hear a strange sound in their car trunk.
Was there a single film that made you want to be a screenwriter? How else did the decision to pursue that career evolve? I thought a story had to unravel a crazy twist ending or be a sprawling epic, but it was the distinctly contained worlds that excited me. From that, I felt I had my own specific stories that I wanted to tell while still remaining inspired by high concept movies.
My learning curve revolved around the basics and still very much ongoing; I read more, watch more and write more. You should keep doing this. What was the strangest job you ever had before becoming a writer?
I worked at a pork processing plant during the summers. The Present:. How do you find ideas and how do you choose which ones to work on? Other inspiration stems anywhere from an obscure personal interaction to classic genres reinvented in different contexts.
Walk us through a normal day of writing for you. Any special habits to keep the muse happy? I down a coffee before writing four to five hours. Afterwards, I run and have an inner monologue on everything I did wrong then tackle it again at night.
