Hach screenwriting tip: Let your voice come out

Heather Hach offers advice to aspiring student screenwriters during the the Conference on World Affairs. Photo by Larry Harwood, University Communications

By Joanie Kindblade

Aspiring screenwriters take note: No matter how many show biz connections you have, if you don't have the writing skills to back it up, you're just another person living in L.A.

Screenwriter Heather Hach ('93) offered that advice along with other suggestions during her appearance on the CU-Boulder campus as part of the 58th Annual Conference of World Affairs.

"The film industry is an equalizing industry," Hach said. "If you don't have what it takes, you're going to be left behind. It all comes down to what's on the page and your talent as a writer."

Hach and Leslie Dixon wrote the screenplay for the 2003 comedy "Freaky Friday." Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan starred in the Disney remake, which raked in more than $100 million at the box office and earned Curtis a Golden Globe nomination for her role as a mother who magically switches lives with her daughter.

Although Hach has an impressive collection of screenwriting successes, including receiving the Disney Screenwriting Fellowship in 1999, she acknowledges that her experience with "Freaky Friday" was unique.

"I'm lucky because a screenplay I wrote ended up getting produced," Hach said. "I can't count how many scripts are written and pitched to studios, but only a small, tiny number actually end up getting made."

Given the odds, Hach admitted that some people are too intimidated to take the first step in producing a screenplay.

"Don't be afraid to share your ideas," she said. "Submit scripts to film festivals. Look what happened to 'Napoleon Dynamite.' "

Hach considers perfecting the product, or screenplay, as a critical component to success in the film industry and urged aspiring filmmakers to be true to their unique voice.

"So many movies don't have a discernable voice," she said. "Being true to your natural voice or tone will make your script stand out."

Hach attended the Writers Boot Camp in Los Angeles to hone her screenwriting skills and repeatedly recommended the program during her visit to CU. "Writers Boot Camp gives you the tools and formulas you need to make it as a writer," Hach said.

Hach credits her stint as a research assistant for The New York Times Denver bureau and her time at a Boulder sports magazine for helping her screenwriting.

"Spending a few years in another industry gave me some texture," she said.

While emphasizing that strong writing skills are essential to being a successful screenwriter, Hach admitted that good fortune does play a role.

"Luck finds the talented," she said.

Held every April on the CU-Boulder campus, the Conference of World Affairs is a weeklong series covering more than 200 nonacademic, cross-disciplinary panels, plenary sessions and performances. She also visited with students in the School during a brown-bag lunch.