Meet Hilliard Guess | Writer/Producer/Podcaster

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

Hi Hilliard, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?

This is kind of a hard question, but to sum it up… when I started my company Hilldog Productions back in 2009, the plan was to produce my own projects from script to screen. But what happened was, my first film “Troublesome” amazingly became Critically Acclaimed, which meant, more eyes were on me right out the gate. Writers began to ask me to help produce their works, so my own mandate quickly changed, so I had to pivot. I became known as a producer who can really help filmmakers complete their projects from script-to-screen and was able to bring production value and sometimes, product placement to certain films to really help them stand out and shine across the festival circuit.

I got so busy becoming a strong producer, that many years went by before I pivoted back to doing both Network and indie projects and staffing/producing on TV series. By the time I got staffed, I was far beyond a lot of my peers because of all my Production and Development experience. I could be an asset to any room and bring value to showrunners or producers creatively and technically.

Best move I ever made…

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am a writer/producer here in Hollywood, CA. I grew up in a grimy city in the Bay Area called East Palo Alto/Menlo Park and have been an underdog since the day we moved there in the late 70s. Bullied as a kid, I quickly found myself escaping to the Children’s Theater where I realized I had a skill beyond most of my peers. I was naturally flexible and could already break dance and learn choreography. I loved it, but it was hard (at first) to admit to the ‘hood what I was doing every weekend or why I couldn’t go out to do dirt cuz I had dance class or rehearsal for some musical that’s come to town. I’m telling you this cuz it’s what made me who I am. I am an underdog, an outsider. A weird 80s style Afro Punk/Rudeboy. I love that about myself and would never take that back. So, to this day, I write underdog stories in the murder-death-kill world that deal with overcoming adversity where someone weak becomes strong… Like I did!

I have several passion projects: Tulsa, Sylvester: The Queen of Disco and I’m so excited about a new coming-of-age film that I produced on Cape Cod called MERMAID. I just saw a first assembly last week and myself and the other producers were blown away. I cannot wait to share this film with the world and am super proud of writer/director Fia Perera and the amazing cast & crew we put together to make it happen.

It wasn’t easy, it’s been a long road here. I’ve learned that if you say YES, you’d be amazed by the things that will come your way. Projects you might not normally be passionate about become some of the favorite things you’ve ever worked on. That’s happened to me so many times on the 34 projects I’ve been blessed to work on thus far. Because of that philosophy, it allowed me the opportunity to produce in nearly every genre. By keeping my mandate, “the underdog” is still at the helm of every project I involve myself with – if I can.

I am a natural giver. I can’t help it. I hope that I never lose it. But I have decided that 2025 is my year for me. I still help plenty of filmmakers through my podcast and such, but I really am trying to focus more on what I want to do going forward, cuz I feel like I have a ton to offer, and I don’t want to play myself short.

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

Well, I’m a pretty chill person and a creature of habit. I like to start the day off with a nice breakfast. My favorite spot is CJs on Pico cuz I love their pancakes. It just feels like home to me. So that would be where we’d start.

Then, we’d hit Gold’s Gym Hollywood, cuz why not. We just ate pancakes for Godsakes!

Depending on who it is, say it’s one of my old Rudeboy friends from way back. We might go back to my house, put on something stylishly MOD, hit the garage and jump on one of my vintage Vespa/Lambretta Scooters and go tooling around Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Mulholland Drive. There’s just nothing like having the wind blow on your face or have folks give you a fun Honk cuz they see guys dressed hella cool representing the vintage style of the 60s and doing it well!

That night, after a bit of rest, we’d then switch to my 1975 Gran Tornio (Starky and Hutch car) and hit Hollywood Blvd, Melrose, Sunset with windows down, blasting The Specials or Fishbone while getting looks and thumbs up from passersby. We’d probably grab a bite at Shake Shack on Santa Monica Blvd before heading back a few hours later to retire for the night. Real chill but a lotta laughs to us!

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 lots of deserving people in my life who should receive flowers for some or part of my journey. I will list a few names here and then tell you about the organization that changed it all for me.

I dedicate this to Paris Barclay, Donald Martin, Pamela Azmi-Andrew, Ben Watkins, Aaron Rashaan Thomas, Glen Mazzara, Jeff Melvoin and I can’t forget my husband Scott Campbell, to list a few. Every one of them are a piece of pivotal moments in my life and career that helped me become a better artist because of their mentorship or relationships. I always say, having access to your mentors is more important than them hiring you on a job sometimes. Picking their brain when you’re in a crunch can be even more helpful in my opinion. The fact these people are there when I need them is everything to me and I’ll never forget them and will always give them flowers.

The organization I’d like to mention is OBS (Organization of Black Screenwriters). They’ve been around for decades, and I met some of my closest friends there who are still a big part of my life. It’s where I met some of the dopest writers in the world. People who looked just like me and it’s where I discovered that I have a way of talking about screenwriting that others love to hear… OBS is also where I started teaching/presenting screenwriting workshops and developed my voice – dropping game to a live audience of filmmakers. I began to teach and present workshops and decided to speak to them from by using own experiences and by sharing my own works (in production, in development) to show them the good-bad-and-ugly of the industry. I felt that was missing. Most weren’t keeping it 100! So, I made it my goal to always tell the truth and be my authentic self.

The voice I use today on my own long-running podcasts Screenwriter’s Rant Room and WGAW 3^rd & Fairfax, I developed back at OBS, and I thank them (especially President Jennifer Williams who let me do my thing at the podium every month for years).

I have to list just a few supporters/friends who deserve to be mentioned as well: Christopher M. Barclay, Rashidi Hendrix, Lisa Bolekaja, Quentin Christopher, Tracy Grant, Rich Redlo, Douglas Hardy, Doreene Hamilton, Kimberly Allen, Tash Gray, Rene Rawls, Willie Davis, Ron Covington and many others who know who they are!

Thank you.

Website: https://www.screenwritersrantroom.com

Instagram: @HilliardGuess

Twitter: @HilliardGuess

Facebook: @HilliardGuess

Image Credits

CROSS: AFTER HOURS

MERMAID

DEADLY CLASS

TULSA

SYLVESTER: THE QUEEN OF DISCO

TICKER