Meet Jeremy Palmer | Screenwriter

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

Hi Jeremy, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was raised in Denver Colorado in a couple of lovely middle class areas. But it matters less where I was brought up then who brought me up because my family was just wholly supportive of all of their children’s pursuits. I was really the only creatively inclined child as my family was more of a sports family overall. My father was a nondenominational minister, but fortunately, that really didn’t impair their encouraging me to pursue artistic endeavors, starting with acting in theater, and now having extended to screen writing and filmmaking. I really value having been brought up by people who practice what they preach, literally in my father’s case, which is why my faith is still a big part of my life. I think of myself as someone who uses art to ask questions, but still finds answers in religion.

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 have been pursuing a screen writing career in Los Angeles for the last seven years. It began when I started studying for my masters degree in screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. I write across a range of genres, but a very common feature in much of my writing pertains to disability. Being part of the disability community has shaped a lot of who I am as a person, and as an artist, and I believe in calling attention to, and normalizing the presence of disability as a normal part of life. Although my disability itself has not been a barrier to pursuing my career, it is still an infamously difficult path to start, and to continue. Four years after leaving film school, I finally had my first movie produced last fall, but having made a film, there are still struggles to get that film finished and seen, which is an ongoing pursuit at the moment. Then drumming up the next job presents a whole other challenge that I am also currently facing. It’s definitely not easy, but my experience on my first film definitely assured me that it can be very creatively and personally rewarding to have an idea from your head make it all the way onto a set where talented creative professionals translate it into a living, breathing thing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A lot of that time would actually be spent within the community theater scene in the South Bay area. Partly, because that is just the basis of my wife and my social existence, and partly because it is full of wonderful, exuberant, fascinating artists and creative people who both put on wonderful productions, and then can get very crazy afterwards (2 words: Nerf War). A lot of people don’t think about LA as a theater town, but there is a vibrant theater community in certain places, composed mostly of people who have regular jobs as lawyers and teachers and engineers, who then let loose on stage when work is done. They are not trying to make it big, they are just doing it for the sheer enjoyment of performing. Seeing these shows and interacting with these performers is an experience not to be missed, and I love sharing that with other people. Then, because we are kind of cheesy people, my wife and I would have to take our guest to Disneyland. I know that’s unoriginal, but it’s what we do.

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?
The many members of Phamaly Theatre Company in Denver Colorado deserve a lot of credit for making me who I am. Outside of my family, it is the most influential presence in my life because it is a disability positive Theatre Company, composed of people with disabilities from across the spectrum, like myself. It is where I found a huge part of my identity and formed a lot of my artistic voice, especially in the writing realm. It’s also how I came to be with my wife.

Website: JeremyWritesWordsGood.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/jeremy-palmer-18802a86

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.palmer.75?mibextid=LQQJ4d