Is Your Story Hollywood-Ready? Here’s What It Takes—And How to Take the Next Step

Drawing from dozens of real development deals, this is your insider’s checklist for creating screen-worthy IP that sparks bidding wars and shapes culture.

Curious whether your true story has cinematic potential? I’ve adapted my own memoir piece into a television series developed with Warner Bros. and Robert Zemeckis, and have led dozens of other TV and film projects at Amazon, Universal, Sony and more. In my new masterclass, “Turn Your True Story Into a Hit on Screen,” we’ll unpack the exact tools and strategies to make your story break through. Starts September 11. Limited seats available—Enroll now.

Writers often ask me: What separates a powerful essay or journalistic piece from one that Hollywood wants to—no, needs to—buy? The answer? It starts with how you frame the story from the very beginning. Not just with larger-than-life characters or a completely original world, but with an awareness of how the piece will play on screen: how it will make the viewer feel, the themes it imparts, the tone, the wardrobe, the soundtrack—even how it might look on a billboard.

One story reads beautifully on the page; the other unfolds like a movie—or …