Zimran Jacob is an aspiring screenwriter currently attending Chapman University. He’s studying screenwriting at NYU for the summer and he has written multiple screenplays, some of which he has filmed himself.

1) What influenced you into developing a passion for screenwriting?

Zimran: Well, when I was a sophomore in high school, I was watching 3 movies a day, so I developed a hobby out of it. I contemplated career ideas and never really thought about film as a possibility. One summer, I was taking SAT classes and my teachers were from Berkeley. They said that the film program there wasn’t that good and that I should try a production film school like USC or NYU.

Sometime during that period, I watched Chinatown for the second time and I was completely entranced by the depth of the plot as well as the overall cynicism of the attitude. I was inspired and my friend Michael Abrams and I began to write a script. It was primitive and we didn’t finish it, but it got to be about 40 pages. I really wanted to harness my talent so I went to USC that summer to take classes, I’m here at NYU now trying to turn my ideas into feature screenplays.

2) Can you explain to our readers what the difference is between screenwriting and directing?

Zimran: Well screenwriting is the preliminary process in which the story and the dialogue are drafted. It can be done independently but when it’s finished, it goes through a series of drafts until it becomes the final script.

The director looks at the script and decides if he will direct it and how he will be responsible for every aspect of the creative process including acting, editing, cinematography, set design, etc…

3) Who is your favorite screenwriter and what about his/her work influences you?

Zimran: I have a lot of favorites but maybe the screenwriter who is most consistent in impressing me is Billy Wilder. He wrote strong films such as:

Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, Witness for the Prosecution, and The Lost Weekend.

4) Can u describe the program you are studying right now at NYU and what you love about it?

Zimran: It’s called Introduction to Screenwriting. What’s so great about it? Well, there’s movie screening and writing EVERY DAY, which means I’m constantly watching and learning. The teacher’s really professional and she will often criticize you, but your writing always gets better.

5) What advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters?

Zimran: Watch movies and it will become intuitive. You don’t have to write every line because subtext will explain more for you.

I would say, “You don’t need that much training. After the basics, you can wing it. John singleton got nominated for an Oscar for Boyz in the Hood, which he wrote when he was 17. Just go for it and put your soul into it.”