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.