Meet Hilary Helding | Writer / Producer

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

Hi Hilary, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
As a writer/producer, my entire job is about risk. Whether it’s getting a big studio to invest in one of my projects or if I, in turn, should invest time and energy into a project someone else has asked me to be a part of. Every decision is either asking someone to take a risk on me or my taking a chance on them.

When the film and TV industry began to shrink, this only got harder and harder. Nobody wanted to take risks anymore, myself included. There is not only less money to invest now, but there are less studios and streamers than ever before. And here I was, still asking for them to gamble on me. Sure, I knew I was a safe bet and that I could deliver, but I had to convince other people that I could do that. A fancy slide presentation and a few clever words weren’t going to cut it anymore.

Finally, I got tired of waiting for other people’s permission and I decided to take a risk on myself. Or at least a bigger one. I started investing in my own projects. And I’ve definitely seen it creatively pay off. I’m getting more meetings, have more business confidence, and can now say that I’ve not only written my own projects but produced them as well – including my first self-funded feature film.

Do I still have to convince people to take a risk? Sure. I have to convince talent and crew that my project is worth their time, I have to convince distributors that my end project is worth streaming, and I have to convince my wife and cat that I can still cover my share of the bills. But it’s gotten a lot easier and I honestly can’t wait to risk it all again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My favorite thing in the world is to make someone laugh. Once I figured out that I could do that for a living, everything took off from there. While I’m not a traditional comedian, I infuse comedy into everything I work on. My favorite thing to do is to blend different genres I love with comedy: historical comedy, horror comedy, sci-fi comedy. The more challenging, the better! Some of my most successful works have been things that I pitched to people and they said, “That’s never going to work!” And then I wrote the script or shot the film, and 9 times out of 10, I’ve been right and it worked (we don’t need to talk about the times it didn’t…).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Driving is my least favorite thing to do, so I’m probably not leaving the Valley. I love to start a day at Artelice Patisserie in Burbank with a croissant and a latte. There are also some great bike rides on either the Chandler Bike Path or the LA River Bike Path that I would hit up. Stopping at Tony’s Darts Away for a Darts Away Jr Burger is a must. And I always take visitors to Geeky Teas & Games because it’s insanely cool inside, even if you don’t like teas or games. Of course, I’m ending the night at my very own backyard Pirate Bar: Helding’s Hideaway, where I’m always experimenting with new seasonal cocktails.

If I must leave the Valley, I’ll probably track down the Shorebird Coffee Van (shorebirdcoffee.com) and see what cool location it’s parked at- probably the beach or a fun trail head!

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?
My awesome collaborator Sara Werner who hears my wild ideas and always says, “When can we shoot it?” And my extremely talented wife, Rachel Helding, who illustrates any book I write and will always help with concept art even if it requires her staying up all night to hit a deadline.

Instagram: @theHH

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaryhelding/

Image Credits
Sara Werner, Rachel Helding