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Recently, our Creative Producing class had the kind of opportunity that you can only have access to when you’re in film school: our Story Development professor set up a visit via Skype with Danny Rubin, an established Hollywood screenwriter who is perhaps most well known for writing the screenplay for “Groundhog Day.”

Danny, who recently wrote a book about his journey in writing “Groundhog Day,” was completely candid about the experiences he’s had as a working writer.  It was refreshing to be able to talk with someone who has such clear firsthand knowledge of what to prepare for and what pitfalls to try to avoid in Hollywood.

He came up with the concept for “Groundhog Day” before he had even written his first movie script: one day, living in Chicago, he decided to come up with a bunch of script concepts in case he wanted to take a crack at writing a feature screenplay.  A week later he had 50 ideas.  He then whittled those down to the 10 best ideas.  He picked one of them and wrote the script, which he said was a good experience that affirmed for him that he did truly enjoy writing feature films (and which he later successfully sold).  The second concept he took a shot at writing, about a man who relives the same day over and over again, would eventually become the movie “Groundhog Day.”

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When the floor opened for questions, I asked a few that focused mainly on the writer-producer relationship.  Because Danny had worked with a fair number of Hollywood producers over the course of his career (many of whom left a bitter taste in his mouth), I wanted to know what he thought a producer could do to foster positive collaborations with writers.

According to Danny, the most common mistake that producers make is that they simply don’t take long enough meetings when they begin the creative process.  While producers are insanely busy by definition, if we don’t allow for enough time for a thorough exchange of ideas when we initially work with a writer, it’s much more likely that the writer could create something that does not match our vision.  In many cases, this can be avoided simply by making sure there is enough time early on in the development process for the producer and screenwriter to hear each other out.

It was wonderful to be able to speak with Danny, and to learn from his perspective on working in the film business.  It’s not every day that we get to talk to a professional of his caliber, but it’s an opportunity we always appreciate!