Ken Atchity Interview by: Kenna McHugh Reprinted from Screenwriters Utopia Ken Atchity was a professor of literature and creative writing (both at Occidental College and at UCLA's Writer's Program) for 17 years before he formed AEI as a production company in 1989 and as a literary management company in January, 1996. After undergraduate work at Georgetown and graduate work at Yale, Ken was professor of comparative literature, creative writing, & journalism at Occidental College and at UCLA Writers Program from 1970-87, and received major scholarly grants from the ACLS, NEH, and the Mellon Foundation. In addition to several books, Ken has written for major scholarly journals throughout the world, publishing books on Spenser, Homer, and Italian Literature. He was Fulbright Professor to the University of Bologna, Italy; founder and coeditor of Dreamworks and Contemporary Quarterly. He's published articles, poems, songs, book reviews (since 1972 for The Los Angeles Times) and made numerous radio and television appearances. KENNA: So we can get an understanding of how AEI works tell us a little bit about how you nurtured Steve Alten's MEG to a film and bestseller. How long did it take AEI to coach and hone Steve's concept and research to a bestselling format? KENNETH: Nine months for the Disney sale; two more months before the Bantam-Doubleday sale. We recognized Steve's concept and research as having bestselling potential (alone among the 39 companies he submitted his original manuscript to), then, through AEI's Writer's Lifeline, coached him through honing his techniques and structure to create a marketable manuscript. On AEI's web site, it says "We are a story company first and foremost." How does this relate to writer who has written a book, screenplay, teleplay or play and is looking for an outlet? It means a writer shouldn't worry about what form his story is in--we're interested in the story itself, whether it's ready or unready, script, novel, nonfiction, or play. How many story submittals do you get per day or week? Out of those, how many do you consider worth going through the AEI process? We get approximately 250 submissions, including queries, per week at this point. We reject 240 outright, and perhaps consider 10 for the AEI process. About once every MONTH, we find one that's ready as is and immediately sign it. Why? Do you look for "uniqueness" or "derivative" in a story idea? We look for familiar uniqueness, an old story told a surprising new way. An old myth in new clothing. Is there a formula AEI follows to put a package deal together? Or, is each "great story" formulated differently? The formula is the ancient formula of all effective storytelling described in A WRITER'S TIME under "Myth and Story" and "The Elements of Fiction and Drama." I was fortunate to meet you in Northern California to attend one of your talks. I was given the impression that you are more of a producer than a literary agent. What part of the business are you involved with the most? I'm equally involved in managing and in producing. That is exactly what distinguishes me and AEI--we do both. All the time. I'm in New York now, where I spend roughly half my time in the book world--the other half in L.A., where my partner Chi-Li Wong concentrates about 75% of her energy towards motion pictures. My son Vincent is exec VP of the Writer's Lifeline. How has your teaching and literary background assisted you in manufacturing projects? My study and teaching of comparative literature, myth, and the creativity of storytelling were the perfect preparation for what I do now--all focused on how humans weave and express their stories--from the oral tradition that produced the Iliad and the Odyssey, to the intricate novels of William Faulkner and the concentrically organized perfection of Dante's Commedia. Are you more concern with plot driven ideas than character driven ideas? No.They're equally important. What is the number one mistake writers do which impedes their chance for success? Expressing their distrust of themselves as distrust of the industry they're trying to be recognized by. You mentioned the one mistake writers do which impedes their chance for success is "distrust in themselves and the industry," how does AEI assist a writer through this barrier? We usually don't. That's one branch of creative psychiatry we leave to the psycho-therapists. When we sense the distrust, we say "life is too short," and move on.

page by Tapu