Meet Ryan Manley | Screenwriter

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

Hi Ryan, how do you think about risk?
My thoughts on risk are to throw caution to the wind every chance you get and follow your heart. I know that may sound corny but it is the only way to avoid regret. I found a place in California online near the end of July 2019. Three weeks later I was living here and have been here ever since. Every cautious sign in the world said this was crazy and outlandish to do, but if I listened to that I wouldn’t be where I am in my career today or living my dreams.

When I was ten I spent eight hours a day in the summer watching movies with the commentary tracks on taking notes. Because I was determined to be a great screenwriter. For a kid in small town Pennsylvania, the chances of that coming true were very slim. It was a risk to dedicate that much time to something that might not come to fruition. But again, I did it anyway. In life I have found that you should do whatever makes you scared. Because nine times out of ten it leads to you achieving your goals. Every day that passes is one I will never get back, so I refuse to waste any.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from other writers is that my scripts feel less like fiction and more like listening in on strangers’ conversations. A big specialty of mine is character work. My characters will stick with you because they feel like real people. You understand their dynamics and relationships just through dialogue. This level of realism is what I pride myself on. I am most proud of writing for Kolorful Kids Productions in 2019 and writing a comedy pilot for Digital Wizards Studios in 2020 and I’m excited for my next collaboration with a studio.

I got to where I am today through connections. I have lost track of the amount of people I have met at coffee shops, grocery stores, and movie theaters who I happened to be next to at the right time. I have also met a lot of people by reaching out on Twitter. My path definitely wasn’t easy though. Out of all these people, maybe a handful turned out to be genuine. But that is why they call it a numbers game.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned on my journey is to avoid name droppers. I learned this the hard way. There are many people in this town who will claim to have connections with powerful people, but when you sit back and look at where they are it is pretty easy to poke holes in their stories. Unfortunately, you have to go through a lot of rotten apples to get to a shiny red one.

Challenges in the film industry are unavoidable, but you can overcome them. You’ll be knocked down more often than not, but it’s how many times you get up that defines you. Roll with the punches is what I always say. So my advice would be to not only have a plan B, but a plan C through Z when it comes to this field. That way you never feel like you’re at the bottom when things don’t go your way, you’re simply pivoting.

I would like the world to know that I don’t look like what I write. Most people see me, a black man, and expect me to only write gritty stories about racial inequality. When in reality I write very female driven stories like Pretty In Pink, Mean Girls, Clueless, Booksmart, Better Things, and Bring It On. I like to think I am the personification of you can’t judge a book by its cover. It has always been a goal of mine for people not to be able to guess what I look like based on my writing. Hopefully, I can teach people that they are not limited to only writing what they look like.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If friends and family were visiting, I think the first place I would take them is The Hollywood Walk of Fame, just to experience that sensory overload again through their eyes. It encompasses so much. First of all, you’re literally standing on history. I’ve been here almost three years and I still get goosebumps every time I drive past the place. You also get to see the iconic Chinese Theatre at the same time. It’s like having two experiences all rolled into one. I think more than any other location, it represents the heart and soul of this city.

Next, I would take them to Mel’s Drive-In to get a bite to eat. My personal favorites there are curly fries, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, cheesecake, and a strawberry milkshake. Seems like a quirky combination, but I’m a quirky guy. My itinerary, my rules.

They would be so full from all that goodness that I’d roll them all the way across town to the Academy Museum of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Every room is a time capsule of your favorite movie era. All of the different costumes and memorabilia makes you feel closer to your favorite movies and filmmakers than ever before.

If it was February/March we would travel just a couple miles down the road to the Samuel Goldwyn Theater for Oscars Week. A week devoted to all of the nominated films. Each day is dedicated to a different category and you get to sit with all of the nominees and hear them talk about their art before introducing their films. It gets you closer to the stars than ever before and for the creative, being that close is the most inspiring thing ever.

We would cap off the week with a hike on Runyon Canyon. Not only would we work off all of those carbs from Mel’s, but we’d get to see the Hollywood Sign too!

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 would like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents, Christopher Manley and Charlotte Wilson-Manley.

My dad introduced me to screenwriting when I was three years old. He took me to the movies three times a week no matter what. He would spend days asking me about details from the films and their significance. He taught me about story structure, visual language, and character arcs. He would quiz me about these things after every movie, taking me to see the same film multiple times to gain new perspectives on it. These were all conversations during the most impressionable years of my life, and they always stuck with me. It is why until this day I call him my screenwriting Yoda.

It is because of my mom that I fell in love with words on the page. She always stressed the importance of reading and it is because of her that I always had a book in my hands. The bigger it was, the better. It was because of her that I got into authors like Tom Clancy, Stephen King, and JRR Tolkien at a young age. She promised me one thing that she would never do is lie to me, even if it was something I didn’t want to hear. When I finally told her about my screenwriting at seventeen, she would let me know when my scripts weren’t good and needed improvement. She could have sugarcoated things, but she knew it wouldn’t help me in the long run. She knew I was capable of greatness and wouldn’t allow me to settle for less. For that I’m forever grateful.

I have been blessed with the best parents a person could ask for, they have always been in my corner and supported me through any endeavor I chose. I’ve never doubted their belief in me for a second.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-manley-9224bab2/

Twitter: @SuburbanRyan