Coming back to Madison after a long, hot summer, everyone exchanges stories of their time away- where they worked, what they did, and how much they missed the excitement of our beloved campus. “Oh, you were a lifeguard this summer? That’s cool.” “You worked at a summer camp? Legit.” “ You finally got that job at Express? Congrats!” Sorry ladies, all great opportunities, but I think Colten Zacharias really takes the trophy for this one. Over the summer, he was lucky enough to intern in Los Angeles, California with Escape Artist Entertainment in the Sony Lot and Walt Becker Company reading countless scripts and meeting endless amounts of people. As the President of the student organization Hollywood Badgers (UWHB), Colten shares his expertise in screenwriting and his knowledge of the industry with others interested in working in entertainment. Now, he gives us the inside scoop. Lights, camera, action!
You are currently a business major. Did you come here knowing what you wanted to major in?
I came into school not knowing what the hell I was going to do. English has always been my passion. I’ve always been a reader and have read pretty much everything under the sun…A lot of my friends ended up going the business route so I thought, “English is great but I can read whenever I want.” I was destroying all of those [English] classes and not really learning anything. I found business very practical, but I knew it wasn’t my end game so luckily I stumbled upon Hollywood Badgers. One of the members interned at Paramount and that got my attention which got me involved [in Hollywood Badgers] and it has become my goal to work toward.
What do you usually write about?
I started out in sci-fi, then I wrote some fantasy, and then I wrote pretty much about what I know. I was able to incorporate elements of sci-fi and fantasy into my experiences and create characters similar to people in my life.
As a kid, did you always dream of going to LA?
I’ve always loved California; I have family out there…Every time I’ve gone out there I’ve just had an absolute blast. Everything out there is kind of like a dream- I idolize it. But there are definitely some harsh realities you have to get used to. It was definitely a place I thrived and fit in more than anywhere else I have ever been. It was never directly what I aspired to do as a kid but I always first and foremost knew that I was going to be a writer. I actually started writing as a result of my parents’ divorce in 3rd grade and I never stopped. I wrote my first full-length novel when I was in 4th or 5th grade.
What were some of the harsh realities that you encountered in LA? How is it different than Wisconsin?
That is a difficult question to answer because I don’t want to offend anyone in LA. There are so many nice people out there. I would say the number one thing about LA is it forces independence on you. You absolutely have to be completely confident in who you are and what you’re doing…You can’t judge yourself based on other people’s opinions.
What was an average week like this summer?
I had one internship on Monday and Tuesday; Thursday and Friday I had another. Wednesday I had open, but I usually had 3-4 meetings booked. I was there with the mindset of wanting to meet as many people as I could, learn as much as I could, and forge as many strong relationships as I could. That social mindset was something I never had before and it’s something I want to bring back and incorporate into UWHB. Like in any industry, the community is the most powerful source of anything that you want to do…I think you need to shrink your network to people who are passionate about the same things as you so that you can help one another out and that is one of the essential goals of Hollywood Badgers.
You said that you got the internship by sending in a writing sample. What was it about?
It was actually a short story…very autobiographical and one of the only writings I’ve ever done that was so closely related to my own experience. It was about a college student- the classic freshmen frat guy who was stuck in that cycle of going out all the time and hanging with the same people. Then one night the kid goes sober to a party and experiences everything in a different mindset. I later turned this story into a screen play and we actually filmed it last semester through UWHB with some professional filmmakers in Madison.
So did you meet any idols or anyone of great importance in California? (a.k.a did you meet any celebrities?!)
The second week I was there I met Jennifer Lawrence [Katniss Everdeen, everybody!]; she just walked into the studio. The second day I was there Denzel [Washington] called me. I got to meet a big-time rapper RZA who collaborated with the Wu-Tang Clan…Kevin Sorbo went down with me to Comic-Con so I got to go to Zach Levi’s club, the guy from Chuck, and Julie from Entourage was there. It gets to the point where it just becomes normal- and I will always love meeting famous people- but I became less star-struck and more thinking how I can be useful to them. I’m not just a fan; I want to take something and bring it to the table.
Would you ever consider acting?
First and foremost writing is my passion and that is what I will always do. What I like about the industry is there are a lot of actors/producers/writers. You can do so many things at once. I would love to be writing a script while I have maybe a part in a movie while I’m producing a few others. That is the ultimate dream.
What do you think of the movie industry today?
I think Hollywood gets a bad rep sometimes. They put out what the consumer wants and what is marketable. I do think the sequels are getting out of hand though.
What are your favorite types of movies?
I have a pretty broad, eclectic taste, but I really like strong male protagonists with flaws. The Dark Knight Rises is one of my favorites. I like anything with Tom Hardy [from Star Trek] in it. I think he’s one of, if not the best, actors in Hollywood right now. Him and Michael Fassbender [from X-Men]. I also can’t wait for The Great Gatsby. I got the chance to read the script for Django Unchained. Watch out for Leo DiCaprio; he’s going to steal that movie. I think it will turn out really well! I don’t think Tarantino can ever make a bad movie.
You saw some of the scripts that you read be produced. Were they essentially the same?
The scripts go through so many eyes, and hands, and notes and they change so much. Sometimes you see the final product and it has nothing to do with the original script.
How can you tell if a script is good or not?
It helped that I came into it having read a lot. It’s a skill that you don’t really have right away but you kind of pick it up. You can tell based on the format of whether it will be good or not. The industry is basically all about networking; blind submissions almost never get read because there are too many ideas every single day to take all of them. As interns, we have to decide what is worthy enough to be read by the upper-levels…it’s a good practice to read not only the good stuff but also the bad stuff. I was able to compare some of the bad traits I saw to my writing to improve my own. I think the best way to write is to read.
In the future, who would you most like to work with?
I would have to say Christopher Nolan. Him and David S. Guyer who helped write for The Dark Knight Rises. Those films are the kinds I love because they’re entertaining, have great performances, great writing, and have a deeper message.
if you’re interested in joining UW-Hollywood Badgers you can contact Colten Zacharias, the President, at czacharias@wisc.edu.