Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy McCreery.
Hi Cindy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I feel very lucky because I have always known what I wanted to do with my life. I have been in love with the movies since I can remember – The Muppet Movie and E.T. completely blew my mind! Steve Martin and Gilda Radner were my heroes (they still are). As a family, we would go to the drive-in theater every weekend, and our plans always revolved around what new film was being released. I was the youngest in a big family, and we would see everything. I remember one summer my mom taking me to an old arthouse theater every Saturday afternoon for a matinee of a classic film – some scared me to death, like Rosemary’s Baby and the original House of Wax, but others blew my mind, like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. I would ride my bike to the video store, watch a film, then watch all of the other films that the director had made, and then watch all of the other films that the actors were in. That was really the beginning of my film school, where I discovered Neil Simon, Nora Ephron, Spike Lee, Frank Oz, and so many other writers and directors. In high school, I worked at the local movie theater, and I told my parents this was my first step into “show business.” I loved it, and I remember standing in the back of the theater and watching the reactions of the audience members, thinking it was magical! When Jurassic Park came out, I loved watching everyone jump, and I remember when Sleepless in Seattle was playing, watching everyone tear up at the end when Tom Hanks took Meg Ryan’s hand. There’s something so special about how impactful a movie can be on an audience. The summer I graduated from High School, I decided I should be a movie extra even though I didn’t really think acting was my path, but figured it’d get me on set and one step closer to my dreams. One day, while on set for Judd’s made-for-TV movie, I read an ad in the LA Times for a UCLA Extension class in Screenwriting at Universal City Walk, and I immediately signed up for the class. I was the youngest person in the class, but the other students were so encouraging, and the instructor, who I didn’t know at the time was a screenwriting guru of sorts, took me under his wing, and I wrote my first feature screenplay. That was it; I was hooked. I went on to UC Santa Barbara for Film Studies won a screenwriting contest there, which led to my still manager and then after graduation, I got my first industry job working for Director Ivan Reitman, who I was a super fan of and his producing partner, Tom Pollock, who had been the President of Universal Pictures making so many of the films that made such a huge impact on me as a kid. I kept writing and was lucky enough to get into the ABC/Disney Feature Writing Fellowship, and at the same time that I was accepted into the UCLA MFA Program in Screenwriting. The folks at UCLA were amazing mentors and told me to go to Disney – I was ready, UCLA wasn’t going anywhere! I did, and I ended up selling two feature films straight out of the gate, and I became a member of the Writers’ Guild of America. All of my childhood dreams were coming true, but then something really unexpected happened. I was asked by the Department Chair at UC Santa Barbara to teach a Screenwriting Workshop. I did and continued to teach this workshop for eight years. I loved teaching. I loved working with students who shared my same passions, and I felt like I learned from them every week as well. I began to realize that I now had two loves – working in the movies and working with students. So many of my teachers and mentors changed my life by believing in me, beginning in junior high, and I really believe having a teacher who mentors you and believes in you can make all of the difference in the world. I was very fortunate to continue to make a living as a writer in Los Angeles, but another unexpected (very unexpected) opportunity came up – a tenure track position at UT Austin to teach screenwriting. Long story short, I’m realizing it’s too late. I’ve made this long. We moved to Austin to try out academia. My husband (who has been my biggest supporter) and I made a pact, if I wasn’t able to continue my writing career in Austin, we’d go back to LA. Fortunately, I have been able to do both and also, ironically enough, have been able to also work in television. Last year, I wrote and produced a feature film independently that my colleague at UT directed and also produced. Most importantly, I have now worked with hundreds (maybe thousands) of incredibly talented students who have been able to go on and live their dreams that I also share. I have recently been promoted to full professor and the Chair of the Department of Radio-Television and Film. I have two television projects and two feature screenplay projects moving forward with studios. The film I produced, I’LL BE THERE, has found distribution and will be available on platforms in the coming year.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say the road has been more like a rollercoaster – not smooth and with some incredibly high highs and some very low lows, but I think when it comes to my career, even the hardest days, I’m so fortunate. I really have two careers – screenwriter and professor. Both have very different challenges, but I am so lucky to have both. I have always been someone who likes to go on walks – since I was a kid. I go on really long walks and think and work things out. And I remember so many walks when I would think to myself, “Why can’t I just want to do anything else with my life? Why can’t I just want to live a normal life in a normal job?” Only because the movie business can be so hard. But then, I’d be reminded that I loved it all so much, and normal is overrated anyway!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Professor of Screenwriting at The University of Texas at Austin since 2011 and a professional screenwriter since 2003. I have sold feature films and television pilots to Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon/Paramount, NBC Universal, National Geographic Films, Netflix, AMC Shudder, TNT, Lionsgate, Televisa USA, and Disney Channel. I have recently produced an independent feature film that I also wrote called “I’ll Be There,” which is being distributed by Buffalo8.
I would say that I’m most proud of my students. I have several students who have found success, and I’m proud to have been a very small part of their journey. I think I’m good at helping writers find and hone their original voices and guiding them through the creative process.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Always working on new things and not expecting anything to be handed to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @illbetherethefilm
Image Credits
Lizzie Chen
