Hollywood writer/showrunner shares stories of opportunity and perseverance with 国标麻豆视频APP students
Matt Arnold 鈥96 thought his fight to transform from a physics major at 国标麻豆视频APP to an in-demand Hollywood filmmaker was complete.
He had been grinding away in a strange town far from home for years, working for free to get close to the filmmakers he adored and on set to learn the craft he dreamed of mastering.
Now, after all the work, begging, cajoling, flattery and trickery, his final thesis project at the prestigious USC film school was a rousing success. It drew the attention of studios and producers, opening doors he had been banging against for years.
鈥淚 had a huge line of people wanting to talk to me,鈥 he told students gathered in the Norton Center for the Arts鈥 Weisiger Theatre. They're all producers, and I had all these great meetings afterward. I go to the meetings at these film studios, and I was like, wow, I'm an overnight success.鈥
Except it鈥檚 never that simple.
The question he kept getting was, 鈥淲hat do you want to do next?鈥 A question he wasn鈥檛 really prepared to answer.
鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ell, whatever script you give me, sir, I will direct the heck out of it,鈥欌 Arnold said. 鈥淎nd they said, 鈥楴o, no. That's not how this works.鈥欌
So, he got busy writing, developing ideas and crafting pitches for future projects. But six months later, when he returned to the studios, they had moved on. That window of excitement surrounding his student film had passed.
鈥淎nd I slaughtered my opportunity. I never forgot that about being prepared, being able to know when you have an opportunity to be able to capitalize on it,鈥 he said.
Arnold shared his story of struggle and triumph 鈥 he has two primetime television series and a couple films to go with five projects currently in development 鈥 with students as part of 国标麻豆视频APP鈥檚 new Career Exploration Communities, which link students with a career coach and a network of industry insiders. The aim is to help students gain an inside look at their future and get a leg up on internships, graduate school, jobs and more.
The Columbia, Kentucky, native jumped at the chance to speak with students, considering a convocation he attended while at 国标麻豆视频APP had a profound effect on his own life path.
The speaker that day was 鈥70, who founded the House of Blues and Hard Rock Caf茅 after graduating from 国标麻豆视频APP.
鈥淚 don't remember anything the guy said, to be honest with you,鈥 Arnold said, 鈥渂ut I do remember that feeling I got when I left, which was this sense of possibility that if someone could 鈥 go on to live this big life and do amazing things, maybe I could, too.鈥
That鈥檚 what drew Arnold back to 国标麻豆视频APP to share his story of struggle and success with current students.
鈥淭he convocation I had with Isaac Tigrett literally changed my life,鈥 he said from the Weisiger Theatre stage after talking with students for nearly an hour after he concluded his talk. 鈥淚t was profound and gave me the encouragement I needed to leave here, go to a city where I knew no one, and start a career. Because I saw this guy who didn鈥檛 seem that different from me, and he went out and did it.鈥
It was Tigrett鈥檚 ingenuity and perseverance that struck Arnold and mirrored his own story of overcoming long odds to become a writer, director and showrunner living his Hollywood dream.
鈥淗e built these things with no help, no money, no nothing. He went out there and met people and built things,鈥 Arnold said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one kid in the audience who thought 鈥 鈥榃ell if that guy did it, I can do it,鈥 that鈥檚 totally worth it.鈥
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