Introduce Yourself : John M. Light screenwriter/author by John M. Light

Very cool John... Sounds great!... By any chance did you happen to do any work on Army of Darkness?... I believe that was a Dino Delaurentiis production?... I worked as an Extra for almost 2 months and it was one of the most Memorable times of my life. I was just curious. Good Luck with your projects, Craig Amabello

Thanks. Actually I worked on the early drafts of 'Evil Dead 2'. It seemed that I was the only one at the time who had seen the first film because virtually everyone in the department was horrified by Sam Raimi's notes, usually reacting in disgust or with various exclamations like 'You can't put THAT in a movie.' or 'We'll never get an R rating!' JML

hahaha... Yes John... I know exactly what you are talking about!... The tender TREE SCENE! Mr Raimi sure has a wild sense of imagination... Seems like his brother does most of the writing on many of his projects. I of course do not know the man personally but he sure is fun to watch work! And Mr Bruce Campbell is a blast to watch as well. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment John. I'll be moving back to LA in a month and I actually can't wait to get back to working there. I'm just going through the horrible process right now of finding a place to live in the valley... I used to live in Tarzana... I'm open to any suggestions if you happen to know any place or anyone that might be renting a Guest house for a single guy. Thanks again John for your reply. Craig Amabello

LOL! Awesome ED and ED2 were some of my favorites! I honestly can't watch very much horror (unless it's comedic) and those still have NOT been outdone by any comedy horror writers and directors! Ha! :D

Aleisha... I had the privilege to spend almost 2 months in the DESERT watching them make Evil Dead III (Army of Darkness)... It was a real eye opening experience that is forever burned into my mind! As John has already mentioned... Sam Raimi is quite the character!

Sorry Craig, I haven't lived in L.A. for a while but when I did it was on Olive Drive off Sunset right behind the Mondrian. Great area.

Aleisha, I agree. I made sure that 'When Darkness Falls' had plenty of comic relief moments. I think horror movies are to be enjoyed, not endured.

I want some Dino stories, John! Perhaps a guest blog one of these days?

Why thank you John... Now I'm curious and I will most definitely CHECK OUT That area for a place to rent and how expensive it might be for a single guy to live... And of course the SAFETY FACTOR... It's ALWAYS nice to live in a place where you don't need machine guns, hand grenades, and a flame thrower just to cross the street!

Richard, I'm tempted to tell the story of how I met Dino and what transpired after I went to work for him but I fear it might turn into novella. I will say this, when he hired me after our second meeting, I lingered outside the doorway and overheard him talking with his secretary. She asked if he would ease me into my new position and he said to her, in his unique Italian accent, "No. His will be a trial by fire." It was - and an interesting one.

And you think I can leave that hanging?! Would love to learn more and hope you will reconsider. These slice of life stories are always extremely insightful for the nearly half million creatives from all over the world.

haha! Great stories from both you and Craig. :)

Love the cover! Don't have time to read the whole post now but will return.

Here's a rather long-winded account of how I began my association with Dino De Laurentiis. When I was 20, one of my scripts ‘Art’ was pulled from the slush pile at the Dino De Laurentiis Corporation and after a glowing review from his story editor, Doris Cerea, it was given to Dino. Naturally I was floored when he called, even more so when he said he wanted to meet with me and flew me out to the New York offices. I was shown in, asked to sit down and after staring at me for what seemed a long time, passed me a script entitled ‘Red Sonja’, told me to read it and write him a new outline. Not a word was spoken of my script and I was dismissed. I read the truly woeful draft on the flight home, managed to write a rough outline with a completely different take on the film and sent it to him. It was rejected almost immediately and that’s when I realized the purpose of the trip was so that he could meet me face-to-face and size me up. Nothing more. About a week later, I received a letter with a $5000 offer for my script which I arrogantly rejected and that was the last I heard from him for four years. Flash-forward and from out-of-the blue I get a call from Dino’s secretary who tells me he is setting up a new company - DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) - and he wants me to join the development staff. Although I had no experience of any kind, I said yes, gave my salary requirements and she said she would get back to me. Half-an-hour later, I get a call back with an offer of half the salary I requested with the condition I be at his new studios in Wilmington, North Carolina in one week. This time, I agreed. I packed up everything I could carry, drove straight down and settled in at the beach side hotel they had reserved for me, an overpriced place where I found I was expected to pick up the tab. The next morning when I reported to work, I was surprised to find that even though several films had already been made there, the studio still under construction. But I was even more surprised when Dino’s secretary told me that I hadn’t actually been hired yet and was on a 90-day probationary period to see if things worked out. Like years before, I was shown into Dino’s office but instead of being offered a seat, he merely looked me over again then passed me a script, told me to read it and report back in two hours. I wasn’t sure where to go and so I wandered the halls, going in and out of a maze of offices, all with handwritten cards listing the name of the film they were working on, until I found a metal folding chair to sit down and read. Two hours later I returned, he asked me what I thought about the script and I replied, “It’s terrible.” At this, he shook his head, waved a hand and told me he didn’t want to hear terrible but “How do we fix?” I admit I was completely at a loss for what to say and seeing my confusion, he told me to come back tomorrow. And as I was leaving is when I heard him tell his secretary, I would have a trial by fire. I was to find out what that meant when I spent the next three days locked in Dino’s smoke-filled office with Dino, his story editor Sergio (Alan) Altieri and screenwriter Norman Wexler trying to fix what I believed to be an unfixable script. We poured over every page and when we were through, we went back and started over again, an often confusing process since Dino couldn’t read English and everything had to be translated into Italian by two full-time staffers. And during the entire process, Dino would take call after call from a variety of producers, finalizing deals while setting up new ones, handling whatever problems presented themselves on his concurrent productions and all without ever missing a beat as to where we were on the rewrite. The film was whisked into production a very short time later and released as ‘Raw Deal’ with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was only later that Dino broke down his philosophy for me: If he believed there was a story in there somewhere, he was going to make the movie no matter what anybody else said. From then on, in his presence I kept my ‘It’s terribles’ to myself. Over the next three months, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although there were no more a marathon story conferences, I read dozens of scripts, made voluminous production notes, wrote a horror script that Dino needed in two days, screened movies he feared might be in competition with his own productions and performed various duties on a wide range of films while interacting what I can only describe as Fellini-esque characters. I remember trying to concentrate while Isabella Rossellini practiced singing ‘Blue Velvet’ for hours in the room next door for the movie of the same name and chuckling when I heard through the paper-thin walls producer Fred Caruso on the phone haggling for a copy of Dennis Hopper’s ‘head’ from a rival studio. In one of my many temporary offices, I would occasionally get a visit from Stephen King who would lament about his decision to direct ‘Maximum Overdrive’ while at the same time gleefully recounting some of the disturbing personal habits of his cast and crew in typical King fashion. I was even called into Dino’s office to pitch possible storylines to Michael Cimino, something I suspect Dino had me do so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the director’s abrasive manager. At the end of my 90 day trial, I hadn’t heard a word from Dino and just as I was anticipating a long ride home, I was called to his office where his secretary told me – in a very matter-of-fact tone - that if I wanted to continue to work for him, I had to be at the Beverly Hills offices in one week. So I again packed up everything I owned, used the $500 my grandmother had left me in her will to fix the transmission to my old Delta 88 and headed alone cross country to L.A.

Whoahow, John! This is crazy and funny and too much! PLEASE keep going!?! What happens next?

I gotta agree. This is fabulous. I want more!

HAH!... WOW! Sounds like some WILD TIMES! :)

It was quite a change for a boy straight out of Northville, Michigan.