What we cover: Reinvention.
I have been calling myself a writer since I was 5 years old. I've had a fun and memorable career as an ad copywriter in agencies in Vancouver, as an editor, as a features writer for various magazines. I've written my one-woman show and am currently working on the sequel. I wrote my own comedy material in the days I did standup. But for me, the dream is to one day get that screenplay written – that's the dream. I'll be honest, though, for some reason, it's scary to me. It's a new format, and a new thing, and despite the fact that I've read countless books on screenwriting, and have taken half a dozen screenwriting courses, I continue to fall into the category – in this one area of my life – where I talk the talk, but I don't yet walk the walk. That is my thing – my block. What's yours? What's that one thing you want to rock on, but instead you continue to stand in your own way? Because that's what it is – it's just ourselves -- getting in the way.
Terri Tatchell, of course is the Oscar-nominated writer of the 2009 blockbuster film District 9, which was directed by Neil Blomkamp, who also happens to be her main dude in life – her husband, in fact. So this is a woman knows a thing or two about filmmaking. I re-watched District 9 to prepare for our chat, and if you haven't watched it lately – do so. I'm not sure how it's possible, but its themes are somehow more relevant today. I actually felt sick to my stomach watching – themes of oppression, poverty, segregation. It's all just a little too close to travel bans and walls and terror.
However, this isn't just a talk about writing, and it's not just a talk about filmmaking, it's a talk about reinventing -- because she wasn't always a screenwriter. She wasn't one of those 18 year olds, fresh out of high school who makes a bee-line to LA. She was on another track altogether. She was a corporate gal, when she made what was arguably a 180, even going to so far as to both metaphorically and literally purge her closet of 33 of her office suits… knowing that in her new life as a writer, she would no longer be needing them. She made a fresh start. She hit the reset button, which is actually something we can all do. It just takes guts. And commitment. It takes what she calls: Hand-cuffing herself to the process.
The reason I started this series, is so that my two daughters, Majella and Burgess will have an inventory of inspiring conversations with paradigm-busters to draw upon for those times in their lives when they feel stuck. Each conversations give me the gift of at least one perspective shift – a new way of looking at the situation. And I want to thank Terri for reminding me that committing to a do-ever, throwing our proverbial hats in a whole new ring, is entirely our own choice. That we can get rid of our own version of our 33 suits – when we take the steps to make the decision to get to the heart of the answer to the question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
MJDionne.com
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.