In an interview with Loeb, he stresses that screenwriting isn’t an easy field to make, and that working in Hollywood isn’t what most think it is like.
“It took me a very long time to get to the place I am at, and it has not been easy,” says Loeb. “If you want to go into this field, don’t expect it’ll be easy… you need to have the talent, but you also have to be at the right place at the right time. You get one shot at a good first impression, and it’s important not to waste it on a weak script.”
Loeb certainly didn’t waste his first impression. After years and years of struggle, he was entering his last option.
From the age of 10, Loeb was a compulsive gambler. Before his screenwriting career, Loeb was constantly in debt, having an array of different jobs trying to make something out of nothing. At 25, Loeb moved to Los Angeles hoping to pursue screenwriting, taking classes at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Loeb’s gambling addiction played a huge role in his career. In fact, Loeb mentions one of his first scripts, “21”, a film centered around gambling, would never have been so well-made if it wasn’t for the experiences he went through.
“If you want to be a screenwriter, you need to tap into your personal life,” says Loeb. “Without my film, ‘21’, I would never have made it this far. But without my experiences, ‘21’ would’ve never been made. With each character I write, they are inspired by someone I know or have known in my lifetime.”
Loeb’s statements about the screenwriting field aren’t far-fetched, being that they support the data. The Writers Guild of America stated that approximately 48 percent of their writers are working, while 52 percent are not. This means that about half of their writers are unemployed.
“My job doesn’t run from nine to five,” says Loeb. “Screenwriters work on our own clock, we choose when we work and choose where we work. But that doesn’t mean we don’t work a lot. We are constantly trying to write a script, constantly getting asked to rewrite scripts… not working isn’t an option in this field as every script sold is our version of a paycheck.”
The idea of being a screenwriter is a hot commodity to many. The Hollywood Reporter suggests that a screenwriter who sells a draft to a major studio can earn about $100,000 or more. However, the odds that someone sells a script to a major studio are very low. Hundreds of thousands of scripts get written worldwide, and about 50 are made each year, so the chances of selling a script to a studio lies at about one percent.
For Loeb, he knew he could be an outlier, he was willing to take the risks of moving to Los Angeles to “make it” in Hollywood.
“I have always been a highly creative person, yet personal issues always got in the way,” says Loeb. “For a long time, I wasn’t chasing careers that I thought I could excel in, I was trying to be someone else. When I moved to Hollywood, I knew that this would be my last chance to make it not just career-wise, but as an individual.”
Throughout his whole life, Loeb has been a movie-goer and film fanatic. He often references films like Francis Ford Coppola’s, “The Godfather”, and Mike Nichol’s, “The Graduate”, and how they have inspired him to become a screenwriter.”
“When I was just a little kid, my parents would show me films that most adults couldn’t even comprehend,” says Loeb. “I’d watch ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Graduate’ on repeat almost every weekend. These films are the reason why I became a screenwriter. Starting at just nine years old I’d go to my desk and write spin-offs to these films. It was my favorite thing to do.”
Writing a script takes lots of time and effort, especially for someone like Loeb who’s a so-called “perfectionist.” Yet his perfectionism and neuroticism has been a large factor in why many of his scripts have been made into movies.
“Whenever I write a script, even since I was a young boy, I’d re-read each monologue or paragraph I write about one hundred times,” says Loeb. “I am a perfectionist, always have been. But I think that has truly made me a better writer because whenever I officially finish a script of mine, I have no regrets. I’ve already thought of basically every alternative to the script possible.”
Considering screenwriting can be such a brain draining profession, Loeb makes sure to live his life to the fullest. He spends lots of his time in his New York apartment and his Los Angeles house, and travels often as well.
“Many other screenwriters I know will write scripts back to back to back, and that’s not at all what I do,” says Loeb. “Since screenwriting can be so exhausting, I make sure to actually live my life after each script I write. That is the only way my mind will be fueled… travelling is really important when wanting to refresh my brain.”
After creating 12+ blockbuster films, Loeb is still hustling. He is currently working on three projects, two of them being horror films. He also hopes to dive into television, as he strives to become prominent in that field of entertainment as well.
“I am working on two horror films right now, and it’s interesting because I have never written horror films before,” says Loeb. “I am also working on writing for television, which I have never really done before as well. But see that’s the thing, if you want to be a screenwriter, you have to evolve with the times, and you have to have a work ethic. Without those two in mind… I’d say you’re pretty much screwed.”
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 T-R 