Screenwriter Paths w/ Sam Boyer

Show notes

Sam Boyer is an Indonesian-American writer who won the Nicholl Fellowship in 2022, was featured on the 2023 Black List, was a 2020 CAPE New Writers Fellow, and has twice been featured on the Black List's CAPE List. He earned his MFA from UT Austin’s Michener Center for Writers and his BA from USC's film school.
In this episode, Sam dives into his process in landing a spot in each of these programs, how to face and overcome rejection, tips for making time and space to write, and why his hypothetical presidential platform would include free chips & salsa at every restaurant.

Breakdown

1. 3:35Getting on the Black List
2. 7:24Black List 2023 script - “Foragers”
3. 14:00Getting the NIcholl Fellowship
4. 25:25CAPE Writers Program
5. 31:17Getting into Michener at UT Austin
6. 36:09Becoming an Academy Gold member
7. 40:05Balancing work when you start out with a day job, making time to write, getting past writers’ block
8. 50:57Tips for general meetings
9. 55:43Getting initially rejected from SCA
10. 1:00:26Rejection is normal
11. 1:09:55Personal connection to stories
12. 1:12:33Navigating management / reps
13. 1:19:25Advice for people starting out / pivoting
14. 1:26:39How he persevered through hard times
15. 1:32:27The myth of the Overnight Success
16. 1:34:19TIME CAPSULE

Connect With Sam

IG @samboyer