Filmmaking / Directing : What's Your Filmmaking Origin Story? The Movie or Show That Made You Want to Pursue Your Dreams. by Ashley Renée Smith

It was a night at summer camp, and I was 15. Outdoors, under the stars, they showed us "Singin' in the Rain". I decided right then that I wanted a career in the movie business. A few years later, after I got my Film degree from NYU, I wrote to Gene Kelly, who was then about to start a new musicals unit at Zoetrope Studios. My letter to him was accompanied by one of my tap shoes, with dried flowers in it. Gene always answered my letters with brief notes of support, for the rest of his life.

this is a great question. For me, it wasn’t a specific movie but a culture that I grew up in. My dad was a Gaffer and my mom was a hairdresser and they both worked on big features. Whomever had the location, my sisters and I would go with them. Besides the regular kid stuff like going to school wherever we lived, we would also get to go to the set. I remember living for a few months on an island and going to visit the dolphins on ‘the day of the dolphin’. spending a summer in the Dominican Republic, We got to ride in a helicopter to go to the set on ‘sorcerer’ We were brought back in time on the Set in Louisiana on ‘Mandingo’. And on ‘Rancho deluxe’, they put a large bull in a hotel room In Montana. That’s how it all started. And I did think that this is what I want to do. But then my parents decided to move to New Hampshire and open a country inn. I finished school, College, and got a real job in Boston. I still would visit on the set because My dad would get a movie and leave for few months. After two years with the real job, I said. What I really wanna do is be in the movie business. I packed my car headed West and the rest is history!

Ashley Renée Smith This was a hard one for me... because I think it goes back to my childhood, when the idea of filmmaking for me was not even a thing, and on into the early period when I was actually starting to make films. For me, it started with action - Enter The Dragon, which came out when I was just a kid. I was an avid SciFi and fantasy reader, and was intrigued by the mechanics of storytelling - how simple things created complex effects for the reader. On to long, long sessions of Dungeons & Dragons, which intrigued me as much for developing what has been termed "emergent storytelling" as for the fun itself. Then, Blade Runner (1982) which captured my imagination. Finally, as I was already making movies the 1995 anime masterpiece Ghost In The Shell again informed me about how broad and many-layered a story can be. These influences all led to my first feature Bashing, and to where I am today with my films Nightcrossings and Eartha Kitt C'est Si Bon and Emeraude...

I had just finished my freshman year of college and I was back in NYC for the summer and I went by myself to the Ziegfeld Theater to see WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. I was transported to the most magical place in the most remarkable way and I walked out of that theater knowing that making movies and TV shows was the only thing that I was ever going to do for the rest of my life.

My interest in film arose from a combination of acting and writing aspirations; not necessarily from a certain movie. In fact some characters and stories that have iconically glued in my mind since childhood are from books not films moreover they contribute enormously to my love of storytelling be it through acting or writing.

So, Sound of Music is a favorite of yours you say, that interests me because it's my mom's favorite. I learnt of that musical film in my 90's childhood as mom had it on video tape and watched it frequently, I was mesmerized hearing her sing the songs. Anyways maybe I shouldn't deny Sound of Music had an impact on me because my feature screenplay Rappers & Toasters is an urban musical and comedy drama thriller.

In terms of screenwriting, Mr Mercedes. I gained so much enjoyment from the storyline, acting, and the humanity in the show, that I wrote, just a test, a 4th Series for my own consumption. I then decided to put it onto Greenlight Coverage and received a 99 percentile. Of course, I can't do anything with it, but I gained so much pleasure from the writing, that I have since written so much more.

My overall interest in film came when I was a kid and saw, as part of the 1970s "nostalgia boom", all those classic movies popping up on tv. Then, in third grade, I got a public library card and was able to check out Super8 prints of classic Keaton, Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy silent films.

I went to school thinking I might go into the field of film and video archival work, but got inspired to make my own films around 1990 during the first Gulf War. That's when inexpensive "prosumer" Hi8 video cameras started coming out and they were used for broadcast-level material in coverage by CNN field reporters. I could see that making my own work and getting it out there was within reach of my credit card. I made three feature-length documentaries that got screened in major cities around the US. My first doc was the very first feature-length video work totally edited in and output from Adobe Premiere.

Since then, I've focused on screenwriting.

I can't remember the first time i declared i wanted to make a movie. But I do remember that after my debut novel, SECRETS IN BETHLEHEM, a speculative thriller, was published, i had a lot of people tell me it should be a movie. I've read a lot of authors since that time and had the same thought. One of my favorites was The DeVinc Code. That was when I truly decided that I wanted to become a screenwriter.

For me, it wasn’t one movie or one series. It was the feeling they left behind.

The Matrix made me question reality. Saw showed me that stories can become moral dilemmas. Squid Game turned entertainment into a mirror of society. Power Book II: Ghost reminded me that characters are often their own worst enemies. Stranger Things captured the wonder and fear of the unknown, while Rick and Morty proved that even the wildest sci-fi concepts can explore loneliness, identity, purpose, and the meaning of existence.

Those stories made me realize that I didn’t just want to entertain people. I wanted to ask questions that stay with them long after the credits roll.

Growing up in Kinshasa, I also dreamed of seeing more ambitious science fiction from Africa, but my goal goes beyond Afrofuturism. I want to tell stories that use science fiction, thrillers, and mystery to explore every aspect of the human experience: identity, memory, power, free will, love, death, faith, and what it truly means to be human.

That’s when I knew I wanted to become a screenwriter.

My spark actually came from a very specific realization. I’ve always adored horror movies, but as I watched more and more of them, I started noticing things that didn't work—clichés, weak tension, or missed opportunities.

​That’s exactly where my passion caught fire: I felt a strong urge to "correct" those mistakes and do better. To bring this vision to life, I actively work with Artificial Intelligence, integrating it directly into my creative and filmmaking process. I want to be completely upfront and honest about this: I believe AI is a powerful tool to push past traditional boundaries and shape the exact dark, tense atmospheres I have in mind.

​Using this innovative approach, I created my own horror project. I am incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved and completely confident in the final result. For me, filmmaking is about embracing the future, and I’m excited to connect with you all!

I actually don't have a single film that made me decide to become a filmmaker.

I've been writing stories since I was a child. Life, however, took me through different countries, cultures, and the long journey of immigration before I eventually settled in California over twenty years ago.

Screenwriting became the medium through which I could finally bring my ideas and questions to life. Rather than being inspired by one specific movie, I was driven by a desire to explore the human condition.

One thing I've learned through living in different places is that ordinary people, regardless of their language, nationality, or culture, usually understand each other far better than politics suggests. Too often, divisions are created by systems, governments, and short-sighted policies—not by the people themselves.

That belief has become the heart of my storytelling. I write stories that explore human connection across borders, where complex political realities are ultimately about people, not ideologies.

Of course, many great films and novels have inspired and guided me along the way, but they didn't create my dream—they helped me find the language to express it.

For me, it was two television series: The Adventures of Sinbad and Nowhere Man. They couldn’t have been more different, but both had a huge impact on me as a storyteller. The Adventures of Sinbad showed me the excitement of building imaginative worlds, memorable characters, and stories that blended adventure with heart. Nowhere Man captivated me with its mystery and the way it kept viewers questioning what was really happening.

Looking back, I can see the influence of both series in my own writing. They’ve inspired me to create original television stories that combine strong characters, compelling mysteries, and worlds audiences can lose themselves in. Those two shows were the moment I realized I wanted to tell stories of my own.

1959 Stanley Krammer's "On the Beach". Was 7 when I saw it the first time and loved that movie. It was like a feature film length "Twilight Zone." Made me want to write. 1962 - David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" made me want to direct.

I saw Rocky, when I was in college, and I could identify with an Underdog.

I'm gonna out myself as an impostor here, but my origin story is just that I was blocked for novels but still wanted to write something and had very rudimentary playwriting experience in college so I decided to try writing a screenplay. And my Mum told me to either get into screenwriting or write a book so good that it becomes a film, because otherwise no one cares about novels lol. I still don't see myself as an eventual filmmaker, only a storyteller who's not bound by a single medium. I'm feeling a big writer's block looming right now as I work through my current slate for screenplays (the one for novels is still going -_-;), so after, or beginning with Only Rose-Coloured Kings, I'm going to focus on comics and pray one or both actual writing blocks lift in a few years' time ^^

In 1990 a mum at a friend's birthday party in McDonald's asked all the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. The previous August I'd watched 'Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade' in the cinema. This film had a massive impact on me because it was the first film I'd seen where I began to really understand what the movie experience is. So, mid-Happy Meal I confidently announced for the first time I was going to be a film director like Steven Spielberg and asked for an extra Apple Pie, which was bluntly refused...Now, jump forward to 2010 and whilst making my debut feature 'What You See Is What You Get', I randomly (after 19 years) met the younger brother of the friend whose birthday it was in the pub we were filming WYSIWYG in. He'd been in attendance at the McDonald's party and having not seen him since 1991 I was shocked to hear he'd tried pursuing acting for years but got nowhere and gave up. Physically, he looked like he'd walked off the set of Goodfellas and as I was making a mafia crime drama I needed a cameo in a key role and convinced him to shoot a scene for it. A few weeks later we did (he plays the character Jimmy De Luca) and I had my debut film. 25 features and 16 years later I haven't seen him since but I always felt that was a bit of a crazy connection to my filmmaking journey!

I just remembered that when I was in high-school ba k in the 70s, I wrote what would probably be called a "fan fiction" episode of The Partridge Family. That was my first attempt until about 10 years ago. Ow I have several feature scripts as well as a few sit com and 2 hour pilots.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H92CYNC4. Hope you enjoy this plywork, thanks

Ashley Renée Smith What a wonderful first film (and origin story)! I love that 5-year-old moment. I’m teaching my 5-year-old that movies aren’t real too :D As for what inspired me to create films recently, it was the short film RAKKA by Oats Studio. And before that, even though I took about a 10-year break, Limitless was a big inspiration for me as well.

this is a great post and I've enjoyed reading the responses. Thank you for highlighting the filmmakers club - good to learn why people are here and participating :) Thank you also for going to so much effort to keep us all engaged :)

That is so cool. Love that it sparked your interest! You made a clear distinction between the filmmaker/writer and writer.

I've never started with the desire to make a film, and as a writer, I'm so glad that filmmakers do!

That truly draws the line for me. I know what I am and what I am not.

Stories come to me almost like I'm watching a movie unfold but I have never opened to the idea of the one to call ACTION! :)

After losing my career following 9/11, I chose to serve my country, completing three combat tours—two as a Combat Medic and a third in Afghanistan as an Intelligence Officer. During that deployment, while battling PTSD, my wife was fighting thyroid cancer and my autistic son was struggling with severe anxiety at home. Writing became my outlet, and I completed the first draft of Over the Berm while deployed. Since then, I've written three screenplays and am developing my fourth. While serving at U.S. Space Command, on of them was optioned for development, giving me a firsthand look at the film industry's fragmented workflows. I recognized the same communication and project management challenges I'd solved in military and enterprise operations. That experience led me to create StoryXen—an end-to-end production intelligence platform that unifies filmmaking under a single source of truth and is now being evaluated by major studios under NDA. My family's motto says it best: Per Ardua Surge—I rise through difficulties.

The film The Wall is my escape from creative stagnation, the spark that brings back my passion.

Currently, I am in a self-imposed isolation to focus on my hybrid documentary; I stay disconnected from the outside world, completely absorbed in the story of my film. In this quiet space, my mind is incredibly focused, and my sleep is often interrupted by scenes I am trying to piece together—which sometimes find their flow in my dreams.

The process is demanding. I recharge by watching deep, reflective cinema and raw documentaries about human struggles; letting myself feel their heavy emotions helps fuel my own creative drive. I work slowly, constantly rewriting and re-editing for hours just to perfect ten seconds of footage. It is a slow and intense process, but it is the only way I know to build a story that feels completely authentic

I've been a writer and very imaginative since I was very young. I often thought I'd write books, but my careers always took me away from creative fields, not towards them. I did some of the most dangerous jobs on the planet, and many things in between. I didn't have the spark for being creative after.

I think I've also always appreciated films more than most people around me. While they could be entertained by it, I would watch it differently, looking for a glimpse of real humanity or meaning in it. It made it hard to watch films with some people, who just wanted to watch flashy cut scenes and big fights, instead of what I was into.

Eventually, after a very difficult time, I sat down and wrote a novel. When it was done I thought "it's a mediocre novel, but would be a good film" since it had a lot of very visual elements in dream sequences. So I started learning how to write for film & TV, taking full-time schooling while working as an ER nurse.

Four or five years later I am on disability from PTSD due to my job. Writing has taken on a new meaning in my life, as has working to produce and possibly direct some of my own scripts. I've created my own Production company (Clearwater Productions) and am spending my time writing, putting together arts grants applications, and doing many other things to try and turn this hobby into something that pays.

I always admired the movie Citizen Kane as I studied it multiple times during my filmmaking education. It wasn't a hit with the audiences (or executives), but it was a marvel to look at to explore filmmaking style.

I worked as a projectionist in an art house theater in Stamford CT when Ameddeus (Milos Forman), Return to Oz (Walter Murch) and Paris Texas (Wim Wenders) were released. Need I say more?

Ashley,

My story is probably a little different from most filmmakers because there wasn't one movie that flipped the switch for me.

Film found me before I even knew what filmmaking was.

Before I was four years old, I had already lived in fourteen foster homes. At the time, I didn't understand what that meant. Neither did the people around me. I simply knew I struggled in ways that other children didn't. Looking back, I understand that the instability of those early years, together with what was later recognized as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), profoundly affected my development.

I was slow to speak. I struggled with learning and everyday routines. School often felt overwhelming. No one was feeling sorry for me—we were simply trying to understand what had happened and how to move forward.

One day, while sitting in class, I began drawing little stick figures in the corners of my schoolbooks. Then I started flipping the pages.

The drawings moved.

Without realizing it, I had discovered one of the basic principles of animation. I wasn't trying to become a filmmaker. I was trying to stay connected to learning. Those little flipbooks taught me that still images could create movement, emotion, and story.

As I grew older, that curiosity evolved into psychedelic paintings and black-light presentations inspired by the colours of the late 1960s. Then came drama. In Grade Seven I had one line on stage:

"A lonely, mournful sound."

It was only one line, but I discovered that even a few words, spoken truthfully, could carry emotion.

By Grade Nine, I was performing the role of an elderly female violin teacher, and to my complete surprise, I received a standing ovation. For a young Métis kid who had struggled so much in childhood, that moment changed something inside me. It gave me confidence that storytelling could connect people.

Music lessons followed, and then, in my twenties, life took some unexpected turns.

People often ask me which movie inspired me. The truth is, for much of my childhood and early adulthood, I wasn't thinking about movies—I was thinking about survival.

The first film that made me think, "Hey...I could do that," was Shampoo (1975). I saw it in Hinton, Alberta, and Warren Beatty's portrayal of George—along with all his hilarious antics—made filmmaking suddenly feel accessible to me.

At the time, I was a high school dropout working in a pulp mill. Not long afterward, I apprenticed at Keith of London, where I trained in the Vidal Sassoon method and worked as a hairstylist until 1978.

One day, my son's mother looked at me and said, "Donald, you're not making enough money. Find a better job."

So I did.

I went to work on the oil rigs.

Two years later, my relationship was falling apart. In September 1980, my twin brother said, "Come to Vancouver."

So I packed up and went.

Within days, I was cutting hair again, this time at Holt Renfrew, managing the Glenby Hair Salon. While I was there, I enrolled at the Barbizon School of Modelling and Acting and started doing extra work in film and television whenever I could.

Then another film changed my thinking.

When I saw Tootsie, I once again thought, "I can do that."

That eventually led me to Simon Fraser University's Contemporary Arts program, where I immersed myself in film, music, theatre, and later modern dance. Music was a challenge at first, but I never gave it up. Today, one of my music sites has accumulated more than 11.7 million plays, proving to me that every artistic path eventually connects with another.

Looking back, I realize there wasn't one defining movie.

There were defining moments.

My inspiration came from discovering movement by flipping notebook pages, from trying to understand the world through drawing, music, performance, and eventually film.

I've been flipping pages ever since.

The only difference is that today those pages have become feature films.

Thank you for inviting me to share my story. My you tube channel has many streams. Excerpts of my final student film at SFU, plus many other shorts, songs and things lol. take care Image is part of my proposal and current film project I am working on "AS A Koden, Talking Story, Who Is Your Name."

Miigweech.

— #donaldmorintheartist Donald Morin https://www.n1m.com/donaldmorin

Ashley, what a great story, your innocent confusion birthed a lifelong passion. Love that.

(My Fair Lady, and, The Sound of Music, are all-time faves, movies and plays!)

That moment and film for me was watching, Peter Weir’s, The Year of Living Dangerously, by myself, in a crowded movie theater.

Was in a P.A.T (professional actor training) program in college at the time, convinced I wanted to be an actress, but that night my true passion was born. From that moment on, I wanted to be a storyteller. To create honest stories, that had depth, performed by actors who shared my goal of authenticity.

That movie changed my life.

I made 4 student shorts on no budget and 3 of these were before YouTube, so they got uploaded well after. One was a class final project, "The Paycheck" that had a small crew and collaboration, however, my camera was stolen after a break in and my DVCs were damaged and/or also stolen. This was disheartening as I didn't have the money to replace the losses, so I became a vengeful super-villain.

Well, not really. I did eventually post the short to YT (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE985F7E2475E88AC), but that was well before getting back into the film world via screenwriting.

"I simply want to share my inner world with people who truly understand it. Filmmaking is the language that allows me to do that."

For me, it wasn't just one film—it was many stories that showed me how powerful storytelling can be. Series like Avatar: The Last Airbender and epic historical and fantasy stories inspired me to create my own worlds. Today, I'm developing Zamora: Sons of the Black Buffalo, and my goal is to tell stories that celebrate African history, culture, and imagination. Thank you for starting such an inspiring conversation!

My world as a child was surrounded by horses and dogs. Watching Black Beauty on TV made a huge impact on my young life, as did Lassie too. I’m proud to say I’ve loved and owned seventeen different horses and ponies - so animals always feature in my novels. My stories bring back memories of being with these magnificent creatures, and as my novels are leaning towards part-bio, it’s easy to explain what happens with them.

A friend of my husband’s family used to work as a cook for Catherine Cookson - and I am told she said to always remember 2 things …. Carry a paper and pencil in your pocket at all times to write down ideas you will never remember - and to ONLY ever write about what you know. I have ideas in the strangest situations… and never have anything to write on, at the time!

While I was in college, a long time ago, I had completed the Pre-Veterinary Medicine curriculum, did not get accepted into Vet School and was burnt out, in a state of malaise. This time frame was well before personal computers and news was still in print. I was casually looking through the employment section of adds one day and I ran across this tiny want add, "Want to be in a movie? Call such and such phone number." I got cast as an extra in the Oscar winning feature "Norma Rae". With absolutely no idea how movies were made, it was a fascinating three days on set to watch the behind scenes work and I was smitten. I knew filmmaking was what I wanted to do but it was totally impractical at that time in my life. After graduation, I went on to nonrelated careers but the bug never left me. As a means of nurturing my passion, I taught myself the basics of screenwriting and devoted after hours to adapting a Hemingway novel into a feature screenplay. In 2012, nearly a dozen B features were filmed where I was living, and I was cast as featured background in most of them. That opened access to step into the world of my passion. By 2014, I went fulltime, into acting. When COVID came along in 2020, I stepped away from the camera began writing again and that's what I do today.

Casting my mind back, I think that may actually be the key point. Although I've been deeply influenced by many films and series, the stories I truly wanted to watch simply didn't exist. I could name countless productions that left a lasting impression on me, usually for technical reasons, but experiencing those stories never gave me the feeling of, "I could do this."

Adventure films such as Ray Harryhausen's work, or small movies like "The Land That Time Forgot", cultivated in me a love for a kind of adventure storytelling that wasn't trying to be an epic blockbuster. Instead, it aspired to be exactly the size it needed to be—a self-contained adventure, comfortable within its own scale.

The first season of "Space: 1999" gave me a sense that drama could be richer and more thoughtful than straightforward adventure without sacrificing its sense of wonder. It felt much like the science fiction short stories of the 1950s and 1960s, all achieved within an entirely analog world of practical effects and visual trickery.

Perhaps the only real exception was the animated series Famous Classic Tales (1970–1984). Watching adaptations such as "Journey to the Center of the Earth", it dawned on me that the technical means behind those productions were actually within my reach—that it was possible to tell stories with nothing more than paper and painted acetate animation cels.

Later in life, almost as if I had overlooked it before and was now seeing it from a different point on the spectrum, I became fascinated by the way John le Carré's novels were adapted for film and television. I realized that it was possible to tell a compelling story in virtually any genre with little more than people talking in a café or speaking on the telephone. Yet it never felt like filmed theatre; it remained cinematic, tangible, and profoundly engaging, despite its apparent simplicity.

I'm a movie buff, but for me it's the writing. That level of storytelling and the craft of the people bringing them to life always made me awestruck. That level of storytelling is what made me want to write. To create emotional characters and situations. Then, place them in a folder on my computer and write something else. I think this time is different because, for the first time, I wrote something I want to share, and I'm hoping someone else can help with that.

Victor Campudoni, that is pretty much my own experience. I have 15 published novels and have only recently started promoting my screen plays. It's exciting and terrifying. I have such awe for the actors who can bring my stories to life on film.

Although I've always watched a lot of films and series, the "click" came with a relatively young format: the short documentary.

I particularly like Philip Bloom's films, and one of my favorite titles is "Felle Vega: Portrait of a Percussionist," but in general, I've always been fascinated by this genre's agility and ability to synthesize. Obviously, the "DSLR evolution" had a significant impact on me back then, so much so that years later, the short documentary is still my favorite genre to work in.

Ashley Renée Smith that's a cool story, you started very early. For me I think it's divided into two the setup and the incising incident. Sorry had to do that joke. I remember when I was a kid, about 10 or 11, at a birthday party a friends friend was a son of a movie director. So we were having fun and shot a film on an old VHS camera. Which got me interested and at the time I really loved watching Star Trek movies, which then made me want to make my own Star Trek films. So I got my dad's Sony camera and we started shooting the classic running and feet shaky cam stuff, but noting ever came out of it.

But I started watching films more and more. One of my favorite to this day is Back To The Future.

Then years later I was at university and we had this class about multi media and we started watching movies and playing around with equipment and software.

But still nothing, until years later when I was cast as a dancer in a commercial and I walked on set of the commercial. I remember getting stuck, just stopping cold under a camera crane with an Arri Camera and a huge hmi light. So that evening I went home and told my partner Leya about it and I said that I wanted to make movies and she replied "So od it, make movies!".

Ten years later here we are making films.

Watching Christopher Nolan's following and Breaking Bad.

Hi Ashley!

I love this question because it made me realize my filmmaking origin story didn’t begin with a movie.

It began with storytelling.

Growing up in Jamaica, I was always making up stories and jokes to make my family and friends laugh. I remember one day being so hungry that my stomach started rumbling while I was waiting for dinner. Instead of complaining, I announced that the noise was actually two worms trying to climb a very steep hill, and I became the live commentator.

“Ladies and gentlemen… the first worm has almost reached the top… the second worm has stopped for a rest… no, wait… they’re moving again!”

My family was laughing so hard that, for a little while, everyone forgot I was hungry.

Looking back, I realize I wasn’t just telling jokes—I was already creating scenes, characters, and turning ordinary moments into stories.

Years later, films helped me realize that the stories I loved creating could become a career. They showed me that the imagination I enjoyed as a child could grow into feature screenplays and novels.

Today, almost every story I write still begins with two dangerous words:

“What if?”

Looking back, I think my filmmaking origin story started long before I ever opened screenwriting software.

It started with curiosity.

It started with making people laugh.

And it started with discovering that sometimes the best stories begin with the smallest moments.

Thank you for asking such a wonderful question. It reminded me that our first audience is often the people sitting around our dinner table, long before we ever dream of writing for the screen.

I think it's fair to say that, as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a filmmaker...

For me it was always watching star wars, star trek, jaws Indiana Jones aliens the thing which incidentally terrestrial tv would put on every year that really did make me think i would like to be involved. back then it was an ambition now it is a reality. the TV series at the time saw fame magnum pi Miami vice to name a few. little did a relise i woud eventually look after a distribution site that sold DVDs and cds to retailers that printed those film and TV series. now times have changed in the space of the last twenty years.and eventually distribution .shall move on.

I want to be a writer......Nah! doesn't work because it never happened.

Of course there was the whole "I love stories" thought process as I slowly changed from being a child to being a man, but those processes never pointed at being a film writer. They started with looking at all the options available to me as a teenager.

My mother wanted me to "Get a trade!" simply because that is where her world functioned. The whole "teach a man to fish" story-line and of course, she would force me into that eventually because she could not afford to send me off to finish my last year of high school.

During that final year I spent in school, I wrote my first story and got an A+. A little tale of alien tech finding it's way into a sorry little hominid half a million years ago. This story became the foundation of the great work.

Also in that time I realised that if I studied theatre arts and became an actor, ALL trades and more could be within my grasp. So, by the end of the 1970s I was a qualified actor and electrician.

Within three years, I would transfer to the east coast and a thriving film and television industry where I could practice my new art.

Then one night as I leaned on my windowsill listening to the sounds of a sleeping city, I realised that the one thing that appeared to be missing from the Australian film industry was original science fiction. Even though I was wrong in the thought, it still prompted me to start writing and writing I did. Making film? NOPE!, but I did plenty of writing. I wanted a story that NO ONE had ever though of writing. Something that could be a one off, or an ongoing series that would outlive me.

It took forty years for that fist screenplay to win an award for the best science fiction screenplay, but has never been optioned or considered.

What has come out of this has been a series of books that I've been putting down on the computer over the last twenty years. The great science fiction saga that encompasses the entirety of human existence and continues through millions of years into the future. Not one single story although there is that, but the hundreds of stories that are part of that single story. "The Immortal's Tale"

Of course, with that much story, you'd better have some research to back a lot of it up, so there are a couple of technical non-fictional books in there as well. A lot of my story passes through now and I have four books on today called WW3 almost ready to go to the publishers and the technical book already with the publisher and soon to land on the shelves. The tech book is called RIGHTS-NO RIGHTS. Look out for it. If all goes well, the other books should land one a month over the next couple of years.