Meet Gary Goldstein | Screenwriter and author

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

Hi Gary, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
That’s such a great question and one that most screenwriters and authors (and actors, directors, etc.) always ask themselves at one point or other in their career. The short answer is that if you are committed to your craft you can’t give up. It’s hard enough to succeed on any kind of consistent basis if you keep going, keep creating and keep trying to find work. But if you give up, it will never happen, short of some fluky or unexpected occurrence. Also, we get better as we go–or at least we should–so there’s an inherent creative value to career longevity. 

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.
As I mentioned in an earlier answer, I think never giving up is key to success in most any difficult field (though knowing when it makes sense TO give up is also invaluable). Never giving up, even in the lowest moments of my career, is one of the things I’m most proud of. They say that screenwriting is a business in which you “could die of encouragement,” and that seems about right. But finding alternate ways to keep going emotionally and financially while trying to achieve some level of success as a writer, is also important. So I’m proud of how, over time, I’ve expanded my work outreach and supplemented my income while remaining creatively engaged as a screenwriter. Never giving up is crucial, but finding fallback or supplemental work when needed is enormously helpful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
L.A., for all its issues, remains a great city and one I’ve been proud to call home for many years. I’m a big walker and hiker so if my friend was into that I’d be sure to do a lot of exploring by foot as a way to see some of L.A.’s best views (and get fun exercise). I’m a fan of the new Motion Picture Academy Museum and would definitely want to include that, along with a performance at the Disney Hall, Ahmanson Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and/or Pantages Theatre, all beautiful venues. I like the beaches a bit south of L.A. in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, so a visit there (more walking and beautiful views included) would be a must. Hanging out at the Grove/Farmers Market and Century City shopping malls with their vast and eclectic food options is fun as well. If they were a car person, we’d also check out the Petersen Auto Museum which is a go-to for car lovers. Oh, and based on the season, a concert at the Hollywood Bowl would also be part of the L.A. experience.

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?
I always credit a major part of my success to a company called Writers Boot Camp, which has run a variety of screenwriting classes in L.A. for more than 30 years now. I took the class several times in my early days as a screenwriter, during which I wrote several scripts and really learned the basics of effective screenwriting that I apply to this day. I went on to teach the course for quite a few years and that also greatly helped my screenwriting knowledge and ability.

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