Meet Robert Solana Taylor | Screenwriter/Professor/Volunteer/Film Historian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert Solana Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
It’s taken so long to find a balance in my life that brings me happiness… but I think I’ve finally gotten there. The key is that, whatever I’m doing, there must be some element of joy in it.

With my screenwriting, the joy comes from creation. In finding the voice of the world and characters and personalizing it for myself. I did with “Spirit Riding Free” during my eight seasons on the show, and have continued to do it as I develop new projects.

With Young Storytellers, the joy comes with helping the kids discover their own voices as artists and encouraging them to tell stories only they can tell. Being part of that process for all these years has truly brought my soul to life.

That extends to my teaching work at the New York Film Academy — seeing a student challenged and succeeding is an incredible feeling, and using my own knowledge to help them makes me so happy.

Finally, all the YouTube work I’m just diving into brings me a whole lot of love, because I am a huge film buff. Chaplin, Kurosawa, Hawks, Whale, Welles… these are the foundational voices of the movies. More than that, I’ve been writing about film noir for seven years now, and so doing deep dives into the making of classic films for YouTube has been hugely rewarding. It seems like a natural extension of everything I’ve already been doing.

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.
Well, I’m one of those people who is never happy unless I’m doing five things at once.

Growing up, I always wanted to be in the movies. I used to force my mom to take me to the local library where I would borrow a bunch of VHS tapes of classic mystery movies and became obsessed with filmmaking. A big moment for me, believe it or not, was borrowing AFI’s Alfred Hitchcock Lifetime Achievement award from the library. During it, Hitchcock points out students (they call them fellows) from the AFI conservatory, and in that moment I knew I had to go there to be a filmmaker. Ten years later I was accepted into the screenwriting program and haven’t looked back since.

I got my start on a series called “Grace and Frankie” for Netflix before joining the hit animated DreamWorks series “Spirit Riding Free” as a writer for its first eight seasons. It was a great show — shout out to creator Aury Wallington — and there was nothing cooler than seeing action figures of characters from episodes I wrote! Since then I’ve developed with people like Dan Lin (the “It” movies, the LEGO franchise), Kiri Hart (the “Star Wars” movies, “Soul,” “The Creator”) and Glen Mazzara (“The Walking Dead”). I’m currently attached to develop a remake of a hit Australian series that I can’t say anything more about… but I’m having the time of my life doing it.

While attending the AFI Conservatory, I heard about this nonprofit called The Young Storytellers Foundation, and I have been a volunteer there for over a decade now. We go into schools in the LA area that have had their arts programs slashed or eliminated. I’m a head mentor and, along with 6-7 mentors, each are paired with a fifth grade student and, over the course of the eight week program, the kid writes a 5 page story. The story can be about anything, and by the end of the process the kid has found his voice as a storyteller… and there is nothing better in this world to see that happen. Then I bring in a bunch of awesome film and television actors like Tony Hale, Jimmy O. Yang, Nathan Fillion, Alexis Bledel and Finn Wittrock to act the stories out for the entire school… turning the kids into rockstars.

As I said, I’ve been doing this for over a decade, and last year I was chosen by my peers in the program as Young Storytellers’ Volunteer of the Year. I got to give a big speech in front of 500 people in the Theater in the Ace Hotel about the importance of arts and how it can change a child’s life. It is one of the proudest moments of my life.

That love for teaching and helping others find their voices extends to my teaching work at the wonderful New York Film Academy, where I’m a professor of Screenwriting.

Finally, all those years of being a film buff and studying filmmaking has made me so excited to launch a YouTube channel called The Cinema Odyssey. The channel spotlights classic movies from the ’30s-’60s… movies that are fantastic but may have been lost to the passage of time, and finally gives them the platform they deserve. Before screening the film, I introduce it by doing a deep dive into its history, production and what makes it special. It’s been a total blast doing the research and even moreso picking which movies to do this deep dive on. It’s truly a labor of love and I’m o excited to see what the world has to say about it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course, no trip to Los Angeles would be complete without going to the movies… but I’m not talking about AMC or Regal. I’m talking one of the classic revival theaters in the area. The Egyptian was my favorite, though I’m devastated they took out the balcony during the Netflix remodel. Tarantino’s New Beverly and the Vista are also fabulous, though I prefer the latter because it has better sound and aesthetics. Then the Aero in Santa Monica if you want a drive… and there are so many others. Look up revival screenings before you go so you can figure out the perfect old movie to enjoy!

As far as restaurants, my favorite is Carousel in Hollywood. Not the Glendale one, which is fine, but the Hollywood one. Tucked away in a strip mall, the food is everything good about everything, and the staff are incredible. A couple back-ups if they are too packed: Bacari W 3rd, which has such good small plates and a fantastic location, and Gol Tong Chicken in Koreatown, which has some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.

Also you must drive up into Griffith Park one night and see the city’s twinkle and glow from the Griffith Observatory. Absolute must.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been so many people who have helped me along the way, but I want to give a special shout-out to my dear friend Jack Kasprzak. I met him when we were both working on “Spirit Riding Free” together and, I think, recognized a yearning to create within one another. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

He’s been my biggest cheerleader for the past decade — he’s volunteered with Young Storytellers when I needed an extra person or a last minute hand. He’s always willing to sit down and talk about a project or idea I’m having, and has been a part of launching The Cinema Odyssey on YouTube. I wouldn’t where I am without him.

He’s also an incredible artist in his own right, publishing books, comics and making some of the coolest pottery you’ve ever seen.

Website: https://theroberttaylorodyssey.wordpress.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-taylor-7b1a04aa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobTaylor/

Other: The Cinema Odyssey on YouTube will be launching in early September.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14593874/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_in_0_q_robert%2520solana

Image Credits
Photographs by Santiago de Alba