David Silverman, Screenwriter-Producer-Therapist-Session-2-Episode #401
The prolific screenwriter, David Silverman, is back on StoryBeat for the second time. David has written for stars like Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Rosanne Barr, Drew Carey, Sarah Silverman, Pee Wee Herman, and others. David has co-created 5 TV series and written and produced on more than 30 different series, including hugely popular shows like Newhart, Roseanne, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Alice, Dilbert, and South Park. David co-created The Wild Thornberrys, which spawned two feature films: The Wild Thornberrys Movie and Rugrats Go Wild. Other feature films David has co-written include Stepping Out, Purple Haze, and The Flintstones Movie. As a Stanford-educated psychotherapist, David’s treated and coached aspiring writers, many of whom have gone on to sell their own feature films and TV shows. David and his wife Rogena, who is also a writer and editor, recently collaborated on their excellent book, How to Be a Rockstar Screenwriter, which contains some of the best advice I’ve read on the mindset that ambitious screen and TV writers need to succeed. Unlike most books on screenwriting, How to Be a Rockstar Screenwriter is filled with solid advice for those dealing with the challenging psychological issues facing writers who wish to work in Hollywood, as well as for those who are already successful screenwriters. I urge anyone hoping to make it as a professional writer in Hollywood to check out this very wise book. For the record, David and I have known one another for many decades, connected by our mutual friend, the late, great Steve Sustarsic. David and Steve were a well-known, highly successful sit-com writing team. They wrote and produced hundreds of TV scripts together.