Matt Wolf: Hollywood Screenwriter on 20 Years in the Industry, Pitching Studios, and Building a Career Without Connections | Be Yourself Podcast

Matt Wolf

Hollywood screenwriter with 20+ years of experience and founder of Matt Wolf Marketing — on building a creative career without industry connections, the unglamorous reality of pitching studios, and why every business needs a story worth telling

Watch on YouTube Matt's Website
32 minutes
Hollywood · Screenwriting · Storytelling · PR & Marketing

About the Guest

Matt Wolf — Hollywood Screenwriter, Founder of Matt Wolf Marketing

Born and raised in Los Angeles, he studied journalism at the University of Arizona and spent the next two decades working in two industries most people would never combine — Hollywood screenwriting and public relations

He has written around ten screenplays across the $1–3 million feature range, several in active development, and runs Matt Wolf Marketing, whose work has placed stories in the AP, MSNBC, Wired, the LA Times and Good Morning America

What He Does
Hollywood screenwriter with 20+ years of experience and founder of Matt Wolf Marketing — roughly ten screenplays plus a full-service PR agency
The Dual Career
he chose not to pick one path — screenwriting is the passion, PR the stability, and both feed the same storytelling instinct that has carried him two decades
The Philosophy
nothing is done until it's done — stay patient, handle rejection, protect your work; you could be the best writer in the world, but if no one knows about it, that's all it is
Clients & Media
clients include Nestle and Freeform Channel; placements include the Associated Press, MSNBC, Wired, Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America

Key Quotes

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I didn't have friends or family really in the industry. I wasn't working for a large agency where I could take my work to someone. So I really had to build a network of people.

Matt Wolf
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That just goes to show you, you can make a living without having your work produced as well.

Matt Wolf
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You could be the best screenwriter in the world or have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, then that's all it is.

Matt Wolf

Episode Chapters

0:00 Teaser & Intro 1:25 Matt's Background 2:00 What Matt Enjoys the Most 6:32 Screenplay Writing Reality 8:42 Staying Afloat 10:10 Pitching Production Companies 12:39 Scripts That Await Green Light 16:19 Matt's PR Agency 18:20 Why You Need a Story 24:33 Matt's Principles 26:28 The Lesson in Gratitude 28:40 Get in Touch with Matt

Full Transcript

BTW: This episode of the Be Yourself Podcast is produced by Beverly Media. Also on the show:
Pia Silva — How to Make 30K a Month Without Employees: Selling Outcomes, Simplifying Delivery & Scale Solo →
0:00 Teaser & Intro
Sergey Today I have another guest from Hollywood. Matt Wolf is a screenwriter with more than 20 years of experience.
Matt I didn't have friends or family really in the industry. I wasn't working for a large agency where I could take my work to someone. So I really had to build a network of of people.
Matt I mean this is just an eternal debate of when and if we can turn our passion into our occupation.
Matt I've been hired to write projects recently, which they're now working to get funding for and attach a director to. That just goes to show you, you can make a living without having your work produced as well.
Sergey Hey everyone, welcome to the Be Yourself podcast, the podcast on expressing our true selves. Today I have another guest from Hollywood. Matt Wolf is a screenwriter with more than 20 years of experience. He's also an owner of Matt Wolf Marketing. So, Matt, thank you for joining the show.
Matt Thank you for having me. It's an honor.
Sergey Is this your first podcast, Matt?
Matt I've been on a few others. Yeah. But, uh, you know, not not too many.
Sergey Yeah. Well, that's cool. I like to kind of tell untold stories. So yeah, you're you're a screenwriter, content writer, someone who's been um living your entire life in Los Angeles. Can you tell a little bit about your background?
1:25 Matt's Background
Matt Yeah, so born and raised here. Um and I, you know, still still live in the area. I went to college in Arizona for four years and afterwards came back. Um long story short, I I majored in journalism. I've always had a love of writing and storytelling and uh after college I kind of fell into PR and marketing as well as screenwriting. So I've I've basically been working in those two industries for the past 20 years simultaneously.
2:00 What Matt Enjoys the Most
Sergey Wow. And uh what is your most favorite thing to do, Matt, if you were to pick?
Matt I mean look, I I love I love helping people in general. Um, and so I think I do more of that with the PR and marketing work. However, um, you know, writing is is is a huge passion of mine. I think there's nothing more interesting and exhilarating than kind of creating something from nothing. So, coming up with characters, uh, an idea, plot, and and putting it all together into something that's a completed screenplay. Obviously, you're able to use your imagination, your experiences, and so, you know, there's nothing really more special than that in my opinion.
Sergey And how did you get involved with doing exactly that, writing scripts that will then become films or short feature films or documentaries and stuff like that?
Matt Sure. So, I've always had uh an interest in film and TV, you know, ever since I was young and was fascinated by the idea of how, you know, these programs or films are made. And then after, uh, you know, graduating college, I, you know, I had I've always had ideas for for movies in my head, um, but never actually, uh, understood the process that is writing a screenplay. And having been a huge fan of certain, you know, comedy movies uh here in in the states, I decided to, you know, go off and write my my first one. And before I did that, I I read a ton of screenplays. I read a few screenwriting books that kind of uh gave me a road map as to how to begin, you know, breaking down um you know, uh plot and character, building out characters. And I kind of just self-taught myself in that way through reading other people's work too and just really started and you know ever since then I've probably written about 10 screenplays uh to date. You know some I did on on my own others I was hired to write and that's kind of how it started for me.
Sergey But you didn't go to the arts school.
Matt No I didn't. I went to University of Arizona. I majored in journalism at the time. I I you know I've always been obsessed with sports. So, I thought that maybe I'd be a sports journalist or a sports reporter. Um, then, you know, while going through that process, I I just never um fully saw it through and and decided that that was indeed what I wanted to do. I just knew that I I loved writing and and telling stories. And so, it was kind of a natural progression to then uh, you know, write screenplays because I could develop characters and and starting out, you're writing for yourself. You're not you're not getting paid. So, it's really what you want to do. And so, I just decided why not why not give it a shot. So, it kind of just happened. It kind of just sparked in me and I kind of ran with it.
Sergey So, you were just writing for yourself and you were publishing it somewhere?
Matt No, no, not not initially. Um, I you know, kind of the process is you write it. Um, if you're fortunate enough to have people around you, whether it's family, friends, or other writers, I recommend uh trying to network. And these days, you know, there there are multiple platforms that you can use. Obviously, you can use, you know, LinkedIn as well, but using your own network uh to find, you know, like-minded individuals who who would be willing to maybe give you, you know, honest feedback and and even when they do, right, it's subjective because someone could read something and think it's it's amazing. Another person could read it and not really, you know, fully understand it. But I think um you know for writers who are just starting out if they're able to share their work with other writers and it's a process you keep working on it and it's one of those things where at the end of the day you need to decide when you think it's ready to then approach you know people in the entertainment industry because ultimately that's the goal if you want to make a career is get your material into the hands of you know managers, agents, production companies, you know producers, directors but but admittedly admittedly there were times uh first starting out where I probably sent out my material too early. You know, the more you write, the the more understanding you have of of when you think something might be ready to share with with people who can make something happen for you.
Matt So, the biggest tip of advice is to stay patient for those who who start out right now. It's just stay patient.
6:32 Screenplay Writing Reality
Sergey And you said you want to approach. So does that entail the necessity to pitch producers on your own and show them that you you know what you do?
Matt Yeah. So I kind of took a different path in the fact that you know I don't have I didn't have friends or family really in the industry. I wasn't working for a large agency where I could just take my work to someone. So I really had to build um a network of of people you know in the industry. I also decided to write features. Not that they were super high budget, but they were probably in like the 1 million to $3 million range. So, while I did shoot some content myself, such as a proof of concept video and other stuff, I didn't necessarily create something that I could go shoot on my on my phone. Not only that, up until fairly recently, like there wasn't a lot of stuff at your disposal to just go out and and shoot. But now there's kind of no excuse for anyone who wants to create a piece of content, whether that's a trailer or a proof of concept video regarding their project. There are so many different avenues you can take now if you want to um you know actually produce a piece of content and attach it, you know, along with your your screenplay. So I took a kind of different route where I I created something that I knew I was going to need the help of others in order to to make happen. and and then yeah, you kind of just have to go for it. But to your point, you really do have to be patient. You have to be able to handle rejection because it's constant constant rejection. Um a lot of times people who even say they will get back to you never get back to you. And so you really just have to stay open, adaptable, flexible, and be able to hear no a lot. I also recommend having another, you know, a day job because, you know, until you get to a certain level, you know, it's not like people are going to be knocking down your door looking to, you know, pay you, you know, x amount of money for it. So, you know, you need to be um I think, you know, if if you're in that position where you need to earn money, you know, you need to hustle, you need to be writing, but also, you know, working until you get to a point where you can make a living as a screenwriter.
8:42 Staying Afloat
Sergey I mean, this is just an eternal debate of when and if we can turn our passion into our occupation, full-time occupation. It seems like it took a fair amount of time for you to do that, right?
Matt Absolutely. And look, it's still still to this day, I mean, the reason, you know, not only do I love PR and marketing, but I have I have two kids now, you know, and that I think having that having that company is is huge because, you know, even if you have representation, even if you have a manager agent, there's no guarantee that they're going to bring you work or they're going to be able to sell your projects. And so there's there's, you know, A-list writers and and and writers who do very well one year, but maybe the the next year not so great. The industry is always changing. And so it just seem it's it's a profession that unfortunately it's very hard to rely on year in year out. Obviously, if you get to a certain level where people are knocking on your door, it's a lot more um you know, practical. Um the reality is it's just a very difficult profession to make a consistent living in. That being said, you know, there's always going to be uh obstacles, hurdles, challenges. So, I would never discourage someone from pursuing it. I would just try and be as practical as you can about it.
10:10 Pitching Production Companies
Sergey So, can you can you let me get it straight. How does it actually work in Hollywood? Because I had Kelly Price, our mutual friend on my show and he mentioned that he's he he he like got the crew. He knows who we want to work with when he creates or launches the project. So my question to you is do producers knock on your door or you can flip this around and offer a unique story for the production company to consider.
Matt I think especially when you're starting out, you're always knocking on doors, you know, trying to get people's attention. Um asking for for favors if you can, trying to return the the favor, you know, wherever you can. Um again I think there's a point where you know if you have some successes or you you know there there's a buzz that begins to um happen around you then more people will start coming to you but because they know that you are great in creating or writing this type of stories correct you have a track record like anything else perception is reality right I mean I think people are always looking for the next hottest uh you know writer actor director someone who's had success someone who whose work is close to as undeniable, you know, as possible. Um, and so it's a mix. You really do have to network and find people that you like working with that you believe are trustworthy because the reality is there's so many people from all over the world that are trying to be in the entertainment industry. And most um, you know, I would say some at least are not ethical. Uh, they don't they represent themselves as someone someone they're not. I think that until you really get to a point where you feel you can trust someone um you know any anything kind of goes and so uh that that could take time and sometimes you're you know I think every person who's ever been in the industry has been in a situation where they thought a certain project or deal was going through only for it not to happen for you know an infinite amount of reasons. So nothing's ever done until it's done and you have to do your best to to to kind of protect your your work. Um you know whether that's copyrighting it or you know etc. But at the end of the day you also need to get your work out there. You you do need to have some level of trust in other people and surround yourself with people who are on the same page and that are actually really you know hustlers too working that that get stuff done essentially instead of just talk.
12:39 Scripts That Await Green Light
Sergey What are the stories and what are the films that you're been a part of that you can tell us about?
Matt Yeah, I mean look, so to be completely transparent, I've written a lot of stuff and and and uh it hasn't been produced yet. So I've been really far down the line with with a bunch of different scripts. Um and I've been hired to to write projects recently, which you know they're now working to get funding for and and attach a director to. So I'm really close on a few projects. And that just goes to show you you can make a living without having your your your work produced as well. Ultimately, that's like the name of the game. I would love for, you know, my work to get produced and it's certainly possible. I think um you know, it's it's incredibly difficult and there's no like one path. There's no one reason why certain projects get made. At the end of the day, if you're someone like me who's written some stuff that cost a few million dollars to make, you're going to need to find the money somewhere. And you know, that's the name of the game at the end of the day. And so I'm always having conversations, getting my material read, you know, working to make it happen. But I think when you get to a certain level, you do need help, too. Unless you're going to go shoot it yourself and then present it to people. And even then, you're going to need someone to say, "Yes, I want to do that. You know, we need to, you know, add funding here. We need to change things here." So, I think if you're a creator, no matter what you're doing, you need to be collaborative. You need to be flexible. Um, but you also need to stand by, you know, your work.
Matt And it's, yeah, I mean, it's not for it's not for the faint of heart. It's not for people who think, you know, oh, I'm going to write one screenplay and it's just going to happen. It's that's that's highly unlikely.
Sergey And you have to be patient in also in this respect. You you said that you're waiting for some of your screenplays to be produced. So I assume that you get the payment or the bonus of some kind when it's actually released, right?
16:19 Writers Guild of America
Matt Sure. Yeah. For someone who's I'm I'm non-WGA. WGA is Writers Guild of America here here in the States. Um so I'm not a member of the guild. So So I basically can strike whatever deal I can with a production company or a producer or a director. Um, a lot of times you'll get some money. You will get some money up front. Sometimes it's paid out in steps. So, as you deliver uh certain certain parts of of the screenplay, you get paid out and then yes, if it does go into production, if you negotiate a production bonus, you then receive additional money. So, it's all about the type of deal that you can strike. If you're a member of the guild, there's there's more protections for you. Everything is outlined a little bit more clearly with in terms of dollar amounts, that sort of thing. And usually you become a member of the guild by getting something um produced or by selling uh you know a screenplay. It just depends. You then have to apply in order to become a member.
Sergey Interesting. Like the higher echelon of of writers.
Matt Usually. Um it depends. I mean I think there's writers of all levels. Again, I think there's a lot of writers who, you know, they write um lower budget stuff um or again, similar to me, you've written a lot of stuff, but it hasn't been produced yet. So, on one level, you're not uh technically eligible yet. And that's the thing. I mean, look, you can be any sort of writer, a content writer, whether it's screenplays or otherwise, and uh you know, negotiate whatever deal you can for yourself. It's just you have better backing once you're part of the guild.
16:19 Matt's PR Agency
Sergey Okay, fair enough. Let's talk about your business entity then that you've mentioned a couple of times and uh you said that you're happy that you you always had something to back you up in terms of you know an income. So tell tell us a little bit about uh your agency. Uh it it says on the front page, elevate your brand with Matt Wolf marketing. What do you do?
Matt Yeah. So, uh PR marketing services. I offer a lot of different uh types of marketing services, but primarily offer public relations. So, if you're a business, an individual, or you have a service that you want to publicize or promote, I work with you to um get, you know, that information out in the mainstream public uh as often as possible. Being seen and heard, that's kind of the name of the game.
Sergey How do you do that? Do you have connections with different media outlets? Do you have like that?
Matt Yeah, absolutely. throughout the world. Everything from, you know, uh, you know, broadcast programs, radio, podcasts, uh, you know, digital and print outlets. Um, these days there there's a whole host of, you know, media that can offer coverage, um, you know, of a client. I work with nonprofits, tech companies, consumer products. really it runs it runs um across the spectrum and my job is to help tell their story and help guide them through the process and get as much exposure positive exposure for them as possible.
Sergey And I see among your clients pretty big names like Nestle, Nutella, Freeform Channel. Um, and I see that you wrote for also pretty big names like uh Associated Press, MSNBC, uh, Wired, Los Angeles Time, Good Morning America. So, this is exactly what you you just described. This is the way you bridge the gap. You help this these brands to to spread spread the message.
Matt Yeah.
18:20 Why You Need a Story
Matt these days you have to have some kind of story that resonates with people because there's so many not only in the industry there's so many people trying to you know break in and and and be and create content and be a part of the industry but especially in the media landscape. Um there are so many different types of businesses, services, individuals who maybe they're doing similar things but uh they they got ahead of the game somehow. And a lot of that is they invested in marketing themselves and their businesses. You could be the best screenwriter in the world or have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, then that's all it is. So, you do need um I think to invest in publicizing or promoting whatever it is you're doing in order to separate yourself from the competition.
Sergey So, tell us a little bit about storytelling. You say that and maybe I say uh and you you can back me up on this that people create connections among each other uh with the help of stories, right? So um how do we tell better stories? Maybe you can give us some examples from your uh agency uh business.
Matt Yeah, from my experience, I mean, look, you go to a party or a dinner or you're just hanging out with your friends, everyone's got a story or stories that that they tell. Sometimes it's the same one. Other times it's it's a it's a new one every single time. But inherently, yeah, people love to tell and and hear stories. And I think if you're someone who is trying to either sell a product or service or just get more notoriety for themselves, I mean there's many different ways you can go about it, right? I mean, you've got reality television and uh certain programming that I would say, you know, um you know, people are not necessarily sharing the most positive messaging out there. And then you have people who are really affecting change, positively changing people's lives throughout the world. And at the end of the day, I think you need to figure out what is most interesting about yourself or your business as well as what you think will resonate with with uh you know, people and generally speaking, people like positive, heartfelt, um you know, stories uh stories of uh you know, overcoming obstacles, redemption, um you name it. There there's a lot of different paths that you can take, but these days I think most people value uh honesty, transparency. If you're selling a product or a service, they want to know that, you know, they want to be able to take you for your word. They want to be able to know that what they're buying is indeed, you know, what you're selling. And if there's a unique story attached to it, that's all the more better because there's kind of the story behind the story, the people that are involved. um you know it's kind of the why you know why why are you doing this and why should I be a part of it you know why should I spend my time uh you know either purchasing your product or or listening to to what you have to say and so it's really coming down to you know mining mining the most interesting uh aspects and qualities um of what it is you're you're trying to convey.
Matt Um in terms of my clients you know again they they run the gamut. They all they pretty much all have positive stories. Uh anytime, you know, impacting communities, you know, the nonprofits I work with, all the all the work that they're doing to affect positive change and help people out and relieve suffering. Um I think is always important. Uh I have some clients in the food space and how, you know, food is kind of brings people together and um is very community and and cultural uh oriented. And so again, what what what is your message? Are you bringing joy? Are you bringing value to people's lives or or are you not really, you know, doing that? And so that's what I help people discover and and share with others.
Sergey I think I don't remember who was it who said maybe Vincent Churchill or someone that like the death of 100 people is like an event and the death of one person is a tragedy. He meant that like through a story of one person, you can feel more compassion towards him than just seeing on the news, you know, that 100 people died in some some kind of an accident, you know. So, it's interesting how we always try to convey the emotions through the lenses of this one individual.
Matt Yeah. Well, especially with uh the explosion of media and social media and certain events that have happened not only here in the states but around the world, I think oftentimes we are desensitized because we see so much of it. And I would just encourage people to, you know, constantly, you know, think about that how how, you know, on one level we're separate, you know, human beings and on another level collectively we're one. you know the suffering of a hundred people or one person is still you know suffering. I think to your point I think when you break it down and share the story of one person sometimes in a way it does carry more weight than than than a hundred people you know because with a hundred people it becomes more of a concept with one person it becomes even more personal. So I would I would encourage people to keep you know you know thinking about that that you know on one level there is no there is no difference and between one and 100. I mean, I I would argue it's obviously more terrible if a hundred people are experiencing the same thing than one person, but it's terrible, you know, regardless. And so, you try and be empathetic and compassionate and put yourself in the situation of those of that one person or of those, you know, 100, you know, regardless because it's still it's still a human life.
24:33 Matt's Principles
Sergey What are some principles, Matt, that you live by personally and professionally?
Matt I think it's very easy to fall into the trap of I have to be doing more. I have to be working quote unquote harder. I have to keep up with everyone, you know, business-wise or social media wise. I think it's important to at some point um really feel as though, you know, you're doing the best that you can do. You know, whatever that means to you. my best may be different than someone else's best and it may take someone longer to get to that point where they really believe that you know what they wake up every day and they try and be the best person they can be uh the best uh you know employee or business owner they can be and only that individual I think can can figure that out for themselves. I just think that um you know waking up and doing your best personally and professionally is always is always the goal and in order to do that you have to really look at yourself in the mirror and be as self-aware as possible and honest as possible you know with yourself and out of that I think you know comes everything. It's a huge weight that's lifted off your shoulder and you no longer feel that you always have to compete with other people personally and professionally. Once you get to a point where you really feel good about yourself and what you're doing, it opens up a lot of doors because you're just focused on doing your best. And with that, I think it leads to to um kind of organically and naturally helping other people, whether that's through your work or in your personal life. And I think the best thing you can do for other people is to work on on yourself.
26:28 The Lesson in Gratitude
Sergey I think Tony Robbins constantly says that gratitude you cannot be angry and grateful simultaneously. Right? So it it heals us from within to be grateful for what we have and to actually serve other people. But like you just mentioned, we can only help someone when when we first help ourselves.
Matt Well, it's so interesting because a lot of the time I think people are so focused on helping people, but yet they struggle themselves. And so I think that's the that's the most difficult thing about life is first being able to fully you know love yourself and you know in a non-egotistical way you know yourself accept yourself for for everything the good the bad and just realize that we're all works in progress and I think you bring up uh you know the best point of all which is gratitude you know and I know that there's certain people who are going through horrific situations you know you yourself are are in a very unimaginable difficult situation. And yet at the end of the day, I think we still have a choice. Even if you're in the most horrendous situation possible, you still have a choice. Is there something I can do to possibly improve my situation or or or quiet my mind enough so that I can get out of this or improve the situation or or or or do I spiral and um you know or or am I someone who's kind of half glass empty which again can always be worked on you know and having gratitude for just you know being given this life and and seeing what comes out of it is is a first step and to your point yeah it's like people who are angry protesters They're protesting for peace, but they're incredibly angry at themselves. I think if they've gotten to a point where they fully understand the circumstance and they realize that all they can do is their part, you know, individually, which hopefully leads to collectively, then it's kind of called empty anger where you may have some anger, but you're not um you're not uh putting it on other people. You're not adding to the suffering. You you can still relieve the suffering even though there's a part of you that is upset, angry, frustrated, etc.
28:40 Get in Touch with Matt
Sergey Let's wrap up this conversation uh by telling the folks where how they can partner with you, what partnership you're interested in, and uh where they can find you.
Matt Yeah. So, um, you know, obviously the screenwriting work, if there's anyone out there who, you know, has a a project that they're thinking of getting off the ground or maybe they need to, you know, revise it, um, redo it, um, you know, I'm I'm available to to help uh, you know, bring that bring that to life. Um, fictional, right? Or whatever. Yeah. I mean, look, I I I can write, you know, pretty much anything. For example, I just uh you know helped uh edit a non-fiction book, you know, so someone has already written something but needs it to be in a better space or is stuck. Um I I work in both non-fiction and fiction, primarily fiction. Um but I'm a writer at the end of the day. Uh you know, obviously I I create materials for my my marketing company. So, if you're if you're a business owner and are struggling to convey your message, um that's something I I help with. Um my my website is mattwolfmarketing.com. Um I'm on LinkedIn as well and I I do have Instagram. It's uh hungry like the wolf uh with two Y's. And you know, that's where, you know, you you can find me. But if you're someone who maybe is having trouble, you know, telling your your story or a story and and needs some help, I'm I'm happy to, you know, uh contribute.
Sergey Yeah. Cool. Well, Matt, I I I I I can uh only imagine what what type of weather you have in LA because in in K in Lviv where I'm at in Ukraine, it's uh snowing like crazy. So, what's what's the weather in LA right now?
Matt Right now, it's 65 degrees and sunny. So, I I don't know what that is exactly in terms of Celsius, but it means that it's pretty, you know, for for this time of year in in in the winter, it's pretty warm. Uh we did just go through like a week of of rain which is very rare. Um usually it rains just one or two days and that's it. So we've had had some storms recently but yeah at night time it doesn't get you know lower than like you know 40 something degrees.
Sergey So, I I hope that someday someday we'll meet uh somewhere in uh in Santa Monica or wherever.
Matt It's not that far from me. It's beautiful. Santa Monica, Malibu, uh anywhere near the beach. It's it's so beautiful and definitely fortunate to have grown up here and live here.
Sergey Great. Well, that was Matt Wolf, everyone. Thank you, Matt.
Matt Thank you so much for your time. It was a real pleasure.