While this year has been a challenging one, it has also been very fruitful for me creatively. In the fall of 2019, my manager, Tarik Heitmann, introduced me to another client of his, animator Alex Orrelle, who had a fun idea for an animated feature he wanted me to write. Alex has worked at Pixar and Warner Bros., and his credits include films such as The Incredibles, Space Jam 2, and Klaus. We spent over a year developing his idea and writing the screenplay, and then developing a pitch, complete with Alex's incredible concept art. Alex's agents at Verve Talent have given us the go-ahead, and so they and Tarik are setting up meetings with studios, streamers, talent and producers.

If you've never worked in animation, you might be surprised to find out that the process is a bit different from the typical live-action production. In live action, a writer typically writes and rewrites the script for as long as it takes to get someone to agree to make it, then the script goes to a director, who will make their own changes, then sometimes to talent if they are big stars, who may ask for more rewrites, and depending on the project, the script may go through several more polishes even as production begins. With feature animation, the process can involve even more changes. The film is often made with