Meet Lila McLaughlin | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lila McLaughlin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lila, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
From a young age I was always drawn to stories; reading stories, telling stories, hearing stories. That, and also entertaining people. I loved being in front of crowds entertaining. These were things that I not only was passionate about, but also felt very natural to me and I was comfortable with doing. So naturally all through school I was involved in creative writing, theater, even acting and speechwriting just so I could continue talking and telling stories in front of crowds. I knew what would fulfill this creative need would be to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always been a storyteller, writing short stories or scenes all through my youth to teen to adult years. In college I went with a traditional major, political science, having no connections to the entertainment industry, I decided maybe I should become a political speechwriter, with visions of one day crafting influential speeches for the president. But after taking a few film classes, I added Film as part of my major. I was hooked on the idea of film not just as an art form, but also an influencing tool for storytelling. My focus quickly shifted – a speech is easily forgotten, a film is forever.

Consequently, I knew the route I wanted to go and sought out work in the entertainment industry. I landed a job at FOX Studios while finished college and that began my career in the entertainment industry. So far I’ve worked as a manager of programming for a TV network, attended the renowned Second City, wrote and directed 3 short films, was an Assistant Director on an independent comedy feature film and had a book, G.I. Hollywood, published.

I am happy that I took the risk and pursued something I really enjoy doing. I’ve had many mini successes thus far that helped me transition to a screenwriter full time. I love being a screenwriter, but it’s often not easy. It is lonesome work and often your working for months to years before a project you write gets off the ground. So it’s important to manage expectations and know that you really have to driven, passionate and not easily discouraged to stay at it. I’ve learned patience, discipline and also how to overcome challenges by reminding myself how far I’ve come, and having a strong support group of friend and fans who are there to champion me and my work.

Fast forward to today, my main focus is creating more female driven content. I’ve mainly written comedy, it’s what I’ve sold and optioned the most, but what also sets me apart is that I have recently written other genres (drama, thriller, horror, sci-fi) that have gotten equally praised. Which made me realize that it doesn’t matter what genre you may be good at writing, what matters is to just write a good story.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

As a writer, I would start a tour around Los Angeles going to Comedy Store or Laugh Factory to see a good standup show. There’s also Largo where lots of comedic actors or actresses host group stand up shows that are always amazing to see. I’d also take them shopping at two of my favorite book stores, Book Soup in Hollywood and The Last Bookstore in downtown L.A. I would also take them for cocktails at some cool places where iconic movies have been filmed at like The Dresden (Swingers), The Room in Hollywood (Swingers), The Prince (Chinatown). I’d also take them on the must-do hike to the Hollywood sign, then to the scenic Stahl House tour. Then to some very L.A. food spots like Dan Tana’s, Akasha, Polo Lounge, Casa Vega, Don Antonios, Gracias Madre, and of course some great Persian food at Shaherzad or Farsi Cafe. These are some of my go-to spots when entertaining friends, and I think this gives them a really exciting, fun, interesting experience in L.A.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many amazing people who have helped to either support or mentor or encourage my efforts in screenwriting. One of those people is my brilliant friend David Filmore, a narrative and animation filmmaker, who has been a great believer and supporter of my work. The other is of course my favorite person– my amazing, kind, husband Cole, who continues to encourage me, roots for my creative efforts, reads all my stories, and I constantly bounce ideas off of. There are many more awesome people and friends, including a tribe of badass women that I collaborate with and who continue to inspire me. I just also want to mention that, it is truly important to surround yourself with positive people who champion you and truly want to see you thrive and succeed.

Website: https://linktr.ee/lilamc

Instagram: _mclaugh

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lila-mclaughlin-144a599/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lila_Writes