Success Story: Charles Horn
Exactly how did an electrical engineer with some heavy-duty degrees and a great gig as a software engineer in Silicon Valley end up writing for ROBOT CHICKEN? It wasn’t easy.
And though at first glance Horn’s two career paths seem totally unrelated, dig deeper and you’ll see the connections.
Along with his love for math and engineering, Horn always had a passion for comedy. Growing up, he couldn’t miss an episode of his favorite sitcoms and would love to quote dialogue.
Horn even acknowledged Homer Simpson and the gang at CHEERS in his doctoral thesis. And he believes that brains and funny bones are linked. Horn remarks, “There’s definitely a logic component to comedy and constructing jokes.”
Taking a leap of faith, Charles Horn moved to Los Angeles to pursue his screenwriting career. With no ties to the industry, he took classes at UCLA Extension and joined the Scriptwriters Network.
Also, Charles won several screenwriting contests. He was even a finalist in the ABC/Walt Disney Writing Fellowship. Yet, it was the Scriptwriters Network’s Carl Sautter Memorial Screenwriting Competition that made all the difference.
Horn says, “The Carl Sautter win was key and it was instrumental in finding me a William Morris agent.” And certainly in Horn’s case, persistence paid off. He was a finalist in the Carl Sautter and the Network’s Producers Outreach Program competitions many times before finally winning.
Later, Horn landed a staff spot on ROBOT CHICKEN. One of the sketches he worked on featuring STAR WARS garnered a cult following after fans put it on the YouTube web site.
Eventually, the sketch caught the attention of George Lucas’s people. And so was born the full-length, half-hour ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS episode that earned Horn his Emmy nomination.
In addition, Horn wrote on a pilot for HBO and freelanced writing jokes for Jay Leno at THE TONIGHT SHOW. But, he’s not resting on his laurels. Especially, since the industry is in such a state of change, and the old rules no longer apply, he feels that writers need to be open to new thinking and a new mindset. He says, “It’s scary but exciting at the same time.”
He urges all writers to diversify, become their own brands, and explore many different avenues for their writing, all while still pursuing traditional Hollywood options.
Something will take off, and ideally, these writing projects will work together, one thing leading to another. For sure, the Internet’s opened up the world to everyone and Horn’s tapping into that opportunity.
For example, he’s building a comic strip online, which you can see at www.yayrobot.com. He’s also working on Sketch Toons, his animated web series for www.Strike.TV (the web site created during the WGA writers’ strike, in which screenwriters own their material).
Horn has also just authored a book based on his test prep know how and comedic talents. Horn had been tutoring high school students in preparation for the SATs to support his writing. Then inspiration hit. He thought, “What if THE DAILY SHOW and THE TONIGHT SHOW teamed up to teach an SAT course?”
That’s how his book, “The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam Without Boring Yourself to Sleep!” came into being. Hey, research shows that humor helps people remember things, so this SAT study guide might very well be having kids laughing their way to higher test scores. His book is available in bookstores and here on Amazon.
Basically, Horn feels that diversifying, thinking like an entrepreneur, and building one’s brand equity affords writers more control of their material and gives them more options. Most importantly, this self-sufficiency empowers them.
And isn't it about time writers got a little more empowered?
For more on Charles Horn, visit: www.charles-horn.com
Visit Horn’s comics web site at: www.yayrobot.com
For more details on Horn's book, visit Amazon at www.amazon.com/gp/product/0740777106?ie=UTF8&tag=charhorn-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0740777106">here</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=charhorn-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0740777106" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;"