Interrogating Josh Katz
YOU’RE A SCREENWRITER? PROVE IT, NERD!
You prove it! I wrote my first script when I was twelve. Where’s your preteen movie epic?
OH. CAN I READ IT?
No. Unless you’re interested in making a Boogie Nights spin-off? Then let’s talk (to P.T. Anderson and New Line so we don’t get sued).
YOU GO TO COLLEGE FOR THAT (WRITING, NOT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT)?
I did. Got my BA in English & Creative Writing from the University of Richmond. A little while later, I earned an MA in English - Research from Virginia Commonwealth University.
“ENGLISH - RESEARCH”? IS THAT A FANCY WAY OF MAKING AN ENGLISH DEGREE SEEM LIKE A BIGGER DEAL?
Pretty much, yeah. But I am good at both English and Research. VCU, ya done good!
HAVE YOU ANY WRITING THAT ACTUALLY GOT PUBLISHED/PRODUCED?
Ouch. Breaking into screenwriting is hard.
YOU’RE STALLING.
You’re not incorrect. Let’s see: I’ve written DVD reviews for CHUD.com, film & food reviews for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and an indie-film column for the Portland Press Herald. I’ve also covered interviews, Blu-ray reviews, and set visits for Blu-ray.com. In my spare time, I log and review my weekly viewing habits on Letterboxd.com.
INTERVIEWS? ANYONE I’D KNOW?
John Landis? Peter Bogdanovich? Disgraced almost-Star Wars director Josh Trank? Those names ring a bell?
HOLY CRAP? WHAT WERE THEY LIKE?
Landis loved talking about classic movie monsters. Bogdanovich held court like he was teaching a film class. And Trank couldn’t have been lovelier - seriously.
I’M INTRIGUED. WHERE CAN I READ THIS STUFF?
Funny you should ask! Check out the Writing Portfolio links at the top and bottom of this page - I’ve curated a whole series of my different writings. You can even read two full-length screenplays, free of charge!
JEEZ LOUISE - ALWAYS WITH THE “SCREENPLAY” PLUGS. WE GET IT ALREADY!
Well, excuse me for having pride in my work! If you’re not going to read the scripts for me, how about for my co-writer, the wonderful and talented Josh Thorud?
YOU SURE HE’S A REAL PERSON? YOU SURE HE’S NOT NOTHING?
This real enough for you? My boy also has his own IMDb page!
I’M STILL NOT CONVINCED THIS ISN’T SOME SORT OF BIT. ANYWAYS - YOU DO ANYTHING BESIDES WRITING?
I’ve been a high-school English teacher for five years, and a climbing coach for four on top of that.
DO YOU BOULDER OR TOP-ROPE?
Both! And I’m learning how to lead.
I KNOW I’LL REGRET THIS, BUT DO YOU HAVE, LIKE, AN ETHOS? A REASON YOU LOVE WRITING?
Buckle in: writing isn’t a hobby for me: it’s an obsession. I’m obsessed with subtextual film criticism, with burrowing into the how’s of why movies do what they do. I’m obsessed with rhetorical structure, with clean grammar and purposeful arguments—I’m sure my students would tell you likewise (and then sigh deeply as they did). And I’m obsessed with story: how to create my own while still reflecting sturdy narrative devices.
OH, BROTHER…
But I’m not done! Writing affords me nothing less than a more authentic engagement with the world around me. If I can use language to create the same effect within others…
PLEASE STOP.
…well, that’s the dream, isn’t it?