Meet Noah Griffith | Screenwriter & Producer

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

Hi Noah, do you have a budget? how do you think about personal finances?
You can’t live in LA without a budget! Full disclosure: up until just a couple of years ago, I was awful at managing my personal finances. Thanks to a string of poor spending choices in my early 20s, I ended up even more broke than most people at that age. For years, I was so terrified to check my bank account that I adopted an ultra-frugal lifestyle to avoid facing it altogether. But eventually, I realized that this extreme frugality was holding me back. That’s when I decided to learn more about budgeting, and to my surprise, I discovered that budgeting, when done right, can actually be a creative and rewarding process.

These days, while I’ve held on to my frugal habits, I’ve learned that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed–only the present moment is. So, I try to live in the now as much as possible, which sometimes means allowing myself to splurge here and there.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a screenwriter and producer for film and television, primarily in sci-fi and horror. But that wasn’t always the plan.

Early on, I actually wanted to be a film composer, dreaming of becoming the next Jerry Goldsmith. In film school, I scored a lot of my peers’ short films and had an absolute blast doing it. But when I moved to LA to pursue it as a career, I quickly realized how daunting it was to make a living as a composer. The biggest challenge? Most of the filmmakers I worked with, frankly, weren’t great storytellers.

As a composer, you’re the last person on the project—you’re at the mercy of everything that came before you. You can pour your heart into a score, but if the writing and performances aren’t there, your music won’t save it. No one walks out of a terrible movie saying, “Well, that sucked… but man, the music was amazing!” What stood out most to me was how much the writing suffered in these projects. That’s when I decided to try my hand at screenwriting—something I’d always been interested in.

My first few scripts were absolutely terrible. But I loved the process—starting from the foundation rather than coming in at the end like a composer does. Eventually, I teamed up with my writing partner (who I mentioned earlier) and started cranking out scripts. We had day jobs, writing nights and weekends, chipping away at it year after year. Finally, after seven years of rejections and meetings that went nowhere, we got our first big break as staff writers on a TV series.

That’s a long way of saying: No, it was not easy. In fact, landing the first gig wasn’t even the hardest part—getting the second one was even tougher. That’s because you have to prove to yourself (and everyone else) that your first success wasn’t just a fluke.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned? Talent has its place, but consistency and perseverance will always win. Talent is subjective. But showing up, putting in the work, and honing your craft every single day–that’s undeniable.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live on the East Side, so my itinerary leans more that way…

For food…

Koreatown Plaza in K-town is one of my favorites. It’s a shopping mall frozen in the ‘90s, and the food court on the bottom floor has some incredible Korean and Japanese joints.

For Persian, Raffi’s in Glendale is hands down the best I’ve ever had, and the service is incredible.

For Chinese, anywhere in the San Gabriel Valley is a win. Some incredible restaurants out there.

For Peruvian: Don Felix in East Hollywood. Amazing, unique food. Well priced too.

For Mexican, CaCao Mexicatessen in Eagle Rock. If you like Mole, go here. But honestly, in LA you can’t go wrong anywhere for Mexican.

As far as where I take people…

Union Station in Downtown: this place is so beautifully designed and feels like you’re stepping into old, art deco LA. There’s a nice bar in there as well if you want a drink. People watching is great as you see every single tax bracket walking through here.

Boyle Heights. This is a true LA neighborhood with deep history, and Mariachi Plaza is at the heart of it. Per the title, there are Mariachi’s hanging out. Seriously cool spot.

Elysian Park is another spot I love. Maybe not as polished as Griffith Park, but it feels like an actual LA park, not a tourist stop. Great for a quiet walk with great views of downtown.

San Marino is a bit further out, but I like taking people too because you get to see serious wealth there—like, tycoon wealth. The Hollywood Hills and Bel Air have nothing on the kind of estates you’ll see there. Just amazing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Hands down, my writing partner, Daniel Stewart. We’ve been working together for over a decade, starting with reading each other’s scripts and giving feedback, then writing together on nights and weekends while juggling day jobs, and eventually writing full-time as we navigate the incredibly challenging world of Hollywood. Through this partnership, I’ve learned so much about myself, the art of maintaining relationships, and so much more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahwhatithink/

Image Credits
Wenting Deng Fisher