Kurt Voelker Speaks On Film, Directing, Screenwriting

Among the Literary Festival presentations was Kurt Voelker, who is 53 years old and is a film writer and director in Hollywood. 

Voelker had always had a passion for writing, and was lucky enough to be friends with someone who worked at CBS Films. The friend was able to get Voelker a job as an assistant at CBS, and during his time working he not only grew fonder of film, but his writing improved as a result.

“Advice that I would give to anyone pursuing film and screenwriting is to take writing classes, but don’t take too many because you will not only be repeating material that you already learned, but you will just be getting practice and not the experience you need,” Voelker said.

He feels it is extremely important to gain experience from internships and other direct work in the industry to be able to see first hand the creative process from other’s perspectives.

The filming industry is extremely competitive, and the process of selecting which movies play in theatres is just a small part. Having a successful film usually means spending a lot of money for production, advertising and casting while trying to keep room for possible profit. For being on set every day or even writing, it is vital that your cast is always punctual and reliable, because without a reliable cast the whole project can be set back. That being said, there are some lessons to be learned from when things don’t go according to plan.

“Rejection is what makes a good writer, because without it we will never be taught or pushed to the level we need to get to,” Voelker said. 

One of Voelker’s idols, David Mammoth, taught him a lesson for the film industry, which is “butt in chair.” This lesson is crucial in film, as Voelker has learned throughout his career. The idea is once you are in the figurative “chair,” you need to work as hard as possible to stay in that chair, because once you get up and leave someone better is going to take that spotlight and make it their own.