Interviewer: Hello, everybody. Today we continue our series of radio programs about successful people. How can you become successful in the modern world? Peter Green knows that, he is one of the most successful TV and film script writers in the USA. Hello, Peter!
Peter: Good afternoon! Thank you for inviting me here today.
Interviewer: So, Peter, as far as I know, your parents were not very well off. How did a young kid from Minneapolis end up being scriptwriter and executive producer of Hollywood blockbusters?
Peter: Well, I had an intense desire to be successful, even though, to be honest, I had no idea what any of this entailed. I always had a fascination for movies and television. I was teaching English to junior high school students in Minneapolis and was in my mid-twenties when I decided I wanted to try writing for TV. It was an exciting time for television, Saturday Night Live was the newest show and there seemed to be a lot of opportunities. I was so naive and ignorant. I came to Los Angeles not knowing anyone or anything, never had written anything. I still thought if I didn't do it then I would never have a chance to do it, so I immersed myself in the learning process. I took extension courses, I studied other scripts and just sat down and wrote.
Interviewer: Did it take you long to get noticed?
Peter: In fact, I wrote 25 screenplays before I got my first job. I sent a spec script to Remington Steele. Lots of people say "Don't send spec scripts of the show you want to pitch to", but sometimes it does pay to break the rules. They not only accepted that spec script, they eventually hired me to be on the staff.
Interviewer: Do you remember your first day in a film studio?
Peter: I remember going to the set on my first day, and the crew was readying a huge billboard for an actor to climb up. I turned to him and asked if he was excited to do it, and he replied matter-of-factly "If it's in the script, I'll do it". Then I realised it's in the script because I wrote it that way. It was absolutely thrilling to see and hear that first script come alive on television. Even when it's a last minute change in a script that's requested for the film and we stay up late at night, get it down, send it up to San Francisco, and meet the next evening to watch it on the screen. That level of thrill has never left me.
Interviewer: So you gave up teaching. Do you ever miss the classroom?
Peter: The teaching profession left its mark on me. The staffers call me teacher man, because every single day for the last 15 years, I feel I've been a teacher to staff writers. I'm very good at what I do. Lots of writer producers are just writers with another title, without the necessary management skills it takes to work with writers. Learning how to manage junior high school kids was great training in managing, teaching, inspiring a writing team.
Interviewer: What is your philosophy?
Peter: I believe in raising people up to do the level of work they can do. I feel strongly that the best writing today is on television. We do nearly everything in the house with just a few guest freelancers that we know. It's been very gratifying to give a number of people breaks on the show. I really enjoy my job. TV is a highly collaborative medium. We have six writers on the current show and we team up on every script. It's faster that way, easier to bounce ideas off one another, and that's the way I love to work. Commuting is tough, but for now I can honestly say about my work - I love it!
Interviewer: Thank you for talking with us today, Peter.
Peter: Thank you!
