Success Story: Bill Martell
According to Washington Post reviewer, David Nuttycombe, "William C. Martell is the Robert Towne of made-for-cable movies." But, that accolade doesn’t quite do justice to the multi-talented force of nature that is Bill Martell. Yes, he’s written nineteen produced films for HBO, Showtime, CineMax, USA Network and direct-to-video distribution.
But, he’s also author of the book, SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING; the West Coast Editor of Scr(I)pt Magazine as well as an editor and contributor to numerous other screenwriting publications; the creator of the lauded web site, www.scriptsecrets.net; and a screenwriting teacher famous for his successful, two-day Script Secrets Seminars.
Added to this, Bill is a card-carrying member of Scriptwriters Network and is often seen at its Speaker Series seminars. Bill says of Scriptwriters Network, "I sold a script to a production company at Paramount and moved to Los Angeles without knowing a single person here.
Then I joined Scriptwriters Network and had a room full of friends. Many of my oldest friends in Los Angeles I met through the Network. I always tell people who are moving to Los Angeles the first thing they should do is join SWN. You will instantly meet a bunch of people who share your interests."
Want a little more detail on William C. Martell?
On February 20th (2007) Bill had two films released on DVD, one from Sony and one from Lion’s Gate, and both landed in the Top Ten DVD Rentals (originals) in the USA.
His other films include three HBO World Premiere Movies: the Tom-Clancy style techno-thriller, STEEL SHARKS (filmed with full U.S. Navy cooperation); the submarine thriller, CRASH DIVE!, and the sci-fi actioner, GRID RUNNERS.
His Showtime Film BLACK THUNDER was about a stolen stealth fighter plane and he wrote a sci-fi film about robot hookers from outer space for Roger Corman. He has written a few CineMax Premieres like action-thriller TREACHEROUS and kung-fu vampire flick NIGHT HUNTER.
Bill’s noir thriller, HARD EVIDENCE, was a Blockbuster featured new release and beat the Julia Roberts film "Something To Talk About" in video rentals when both debuted the same week.
And besides being the West Coast Editor of Scr(I)pt Magazine, where he has written the "Independents" screenwriting column for over almost fifteen years, Bill is a contributor to Writer's Digest Magazine and was a columnist for The Hollywood Scriptwriter Magazine.
He was Entertainment News Editor for Dean (INDEPENDENCE DAY) Devlin's Eon Magazine, wrote the Screenwriting 101 column for the Independent Film Channel Magazine and was the only non-nominated screenwriter mentioned on "Siskel & Ebert's If We Picked The Winners" Oscar show in 1997.
He was a frequent contributor to Ebert's Movie Answer Man syndicated column and Ebert's annual YEAR IN FILM books.
You’d think with all this writing that Bill Martell would be chained to his computer, typing away at his keyboard 24/7. Nope. Bill teaches screenwriting courses. He’s taught at Sherwood Oaks and for Project Greenlight in Los Angeles.
Currently, he lectures at several film festivals and screenwriting conferences nationwide. And his Script Secrets Seminars have run across the country and around the globe in cities such as Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Denmark, and New York.
What’s more, Bill somehow finds time to write a daily tip on his website, www.scriptsecrets.net. Incidentally, Entertainment Today named this site "Best On The Web for Screenwriters."
Bill just finished two new spec screenplays: one about drug runners in Key West, the other about a man who wakes up from a bender with a bomb ticking away under his skin.
So you might say that on top of being a successful screenwriter writer who specializes in action, Bill Martell is a truly a "writer in action."