ABOUT
SCREENWRITER PHIL PARKER
While waiting outside at 5 am in -70°F weather to catch a bus to work in Chicago, Phil asked himself, "What the heck am I doing with my life?" Just two months earlier, he had been working as a Dive Master on a cruise ship in the South Pacific. Before that, he'd been an actor at the world-famous Sydney Opera House. Now, he was freezing his balls off and working on the trading floor at the Chicago Board of Exchange. WTF!
Phil searched his soul for what he truly wanted to do. It was then, out of nowhere, that two different people told him about a summer course in filmmaking they took at NYU. Coincidence? He thought not.
It was time to go.
After a long, strange trip following the Grateful Dead through the northwest of America, Phil spent six months in New York. There, he attended the NYU summer boot camp for filmmaking and got his first experience on set. The short films he made helped him get into the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, where he earned his Master of Arts degree. While at USC, an early iteration of his first screenplay took shape. His teacher, Mardik Martin (one of the screenwriters of Raging Bull), considered the script a professional-level concept and encouraged him to continue.
Meanwhile, Phil crewed every conceivable position on films before settling down at BBC Worldwide back in Sydney, where he wrote, directed, and produced promos and original short content. Along the way, that first screenplay that Mardik had liked so much (The Third Bomb) earned Phil multiple awards, including a win at the NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL SCREENWRITING COMPETITION. He also won a GLOBAL EXCELLENCE AWARD at the BBC, beating out competitors from around the world for his promo FRONTLINE WAR.
Soon after, a BAFTA-winning producer optioned Phil's script, and from there, his screenwriting career took off. Today, Phil continues to write for producers, directors, and production companies worldwide.
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For those who want to hire a screenwriter but are unsure of the process, check out the tips and resources I put together in my article, 'How to Hire a Screenwriter'.
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For those with film industry experience who want to learn more about me, please check out the links below.
