Tracy Charlton
Tracy Charlton
Screenwriter, The Building (2009)
DG: What is your name and company name and URL?
My name is Tracy Charlton. No company at this point!
DG: What is your specialty…filmmaking or screenwriting? If filmmaking, which aspects?
I’m a screenwriter.
DG: What are you currently working on?
I’m revising my screenplay NANO with my friend and co-writer Martha Chang. It’s a sci-fi thriller that takes existing nano technology and runs with it. I’m really excited about its potential!
DG: Who do you consider your mentor and why?
I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of the inaugural Meryl Streep/NYWIFT writing lab 4 years ago. There were 12 writers — chosen from over 3,500 scripts! — and we became good friends. We read each others scripts and try to help each other in any way we can. I consider all of them to be co-mentors.
DG: Why do you think the horror/scifi genres have such a large following?
They take you to a different place from the ordinary world in fun and scary ways. Horror is so primal — it’s like when you’re a little kid and you’re afraid there’s a monster under your bed. And with sci-fi you can just let your imagination run wild. I love all the crazy stuff you can play with in a sci-fi script.
DG: What do you love most about this business?
Telling stories and getting to work with other creative people.
DG: What do you dislike most about this business?
Pitching! I’m the worst.
DG: What career accomplishment are you most proud of?
My spec thriller script THE BUILDING was made into a TV movie starring Erica Durance.
DG: Any advice you’d like to give to newbies?
Find your tribe. This is a tough business and it makes all the difference in the world to have a group of people who have your back.
DG: Anything else you’d like to say?
Never stop learning, revising, trying to get better. Those little moments of perfection we’re all trying to create in film only come from a lot of hard work.