by Angela Guess
Through constant dedication to his writing development, Rob Edwards has built an impressive career spanning some of the best sitcoms of the 90s to beloved animated features of today. He got his start writing for such shows as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “In Living Color,” and “Full House.” Since making the switch to film, he’s penned Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog, and he’s also had the chance to consult on such hits as Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen.
Rob made his way up the Hollywood ladder starting at the ground floor and pushing upward with hard work, determination, and dedication. Now, he’s helping other writers do the same through his website, robedwards.net, which features insightful articles full of practical writing advice. I particularly recommend his five-part series on how to break a story.
Rob and I recently discussed what it takes to succeed in the film industry, why it’s a bad idea to write an animated spec, and the benefits/banes of getting pigeonholed as a writer.
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LA Screenwriter (LA): You have a great story on your website about how you got your start as a writer. If you were starting out today, would you do the same thing?
Rob Edwards (RE): The first thing I did when I got to Los Angeles was grab the Thursday edition of The Hollywood Reporter. It had a section that listed all of the TV and movie productions in town. I’d call every office every day. When people answered, I’d either tell a joke or I’d have a juicy piece of gossip and then I’d ask if they were happy with their current Production Assistants. I figured, if I kept calling, somebody would eventually say yes but, if I never called, it would be the same as everybody saying no. After a few hundred calls somebody said yes and I was in showbiz.
