Ep464 - George Olson, Creator SyFy’s ’Surreal Estate’

“I spent most of my career in advertising,” says George Olson. “I had always wanted to write for movies and television, but I live in Colorado, not exactly the screenwriting mecca of North America, so I started reading scripts, screenplays, and just started writing.” As a former copywriter and creative director, Olson his start really came from “writing bad screenplays.” He continues, “That’s the only way to eventually write good screenplays.” He read all of the big books on the subject and many interviews from Creative Screenwriting as a foundation. “I started entering some competitions and I won a couple of screenwriting contests. There was just enough encouragement. It’s like playing golf. You can hit terrible shots the whole day, then hit one beautiful shot, and then you love the game.” Thanks to these early wins, Olson was on a path to meet producers and pitch ideas. He eventually developed a project with Barry Sonnenfield (Men in Black) and John Turturro (The Big Lebowski). “For an advertising writer in Colorado, it was fairly heady stuff.” One particular idea gained some traction, but Olson’s reps told him to transition it to a television idea. “I read every pilot I could get my hands on, starting writing television, and found that I loved it.” The screenwriter is best known for creating the series, Surreal Estate, a series about Real Estate agents who deal with haunted houses. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

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