KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010 / NEWS
23
PROFILE
Making it big from KU hill to hills of L.A.
BY CARLO RAMIREZ
cramirez@kansan.com
Mike Quick's mind can't stop running. He is a creative writing major and inspiration is all around him. He has to finish a script but needs just the right scene. He leans back and draws from personal history and experience.
"I believe you can only write about what you know." Quick, a senior from Chicago, said.
So Mike does exactly that, drawing from a melting pot of ideas and separate stories from different people to conjure a script of what he hopes will be considered genius.
Quick discovered his passion for writing while interning in the summer of 2008 for a Los Angeles-based literary management agency called Kaplan Perron Entertainment. The company represents multiple writers and pitches their work to different studios. He credits Aaron Kaplan, co-owner of the company and the man who gave Quick the opportunity to intern at his office in Los Angeles, as his biggest influence.
He said the experience there was invaluable.
"I knew working for a star like J-Lo would expose me to so many different projects."
"It was an incredible experience because it exposed me to what comedy or drama or suspense looks like on page and how it is most effectively conveyed," Quick said. "I read four scripts a day and would take scripts home
he was invited to Los Angeles for a face-to-face interview. The job was perfect, Quick said, and whoever was chosen would have the opportunity to work for an A-list celebrity. The applicants were not told which A-lister they would be working for until they were hired. Mike returned to Chicago and eventually was called and invited to intern for Jennifer Lopez in 2009.
with me because I enjoyed reading screenplays and they benefited me greatly."
When looking for his next internship, Mike responded to a post on a Web forum for "aspiring industry professionals." Based on his resume,
MIKE QUICK Chicago senior
"I knew working for a star like J-Lo
would expose me to so many different projects," he said.
Quick got his wish and was able to read every project sent to J-Lo. He said many of the scripts he read were good and a
few are expected to be released as movies in the near future.
"A lot of writers come from USC, UCLA, and NYU,but I feel that my different perspective coming from KU will help distinguish me and my style."
The internship with J-Lo gave Mike a sneak peak on just how the industry works.
"It made me recognize the high level of professionalism that goes on in order to produce a script," Quick said. "There are just so many people who must read the same script and collaborate with one another."
Along with reading scripts, Mike
MIKE QUICK Chicago senior
such as "Modern Family."
was in charge of answering and "rolling" calls sending them to cell phones when someone was out of the office.
The opportunity to work a coveted internship position has given Quick all the motivation he needs. Every day, he spends at least two hours locked away in his apartment writing and he can rarely can be found without a pen and pad for ideas. He is currently writing a spec — a sample episode — for the NBC show "Community." He said he hopes this will pave the way for opportunities with other comedies,
After he graduates in December, Quick will pack his bags and head to Los Angeles. He intends to work as a production assistant on a television series while working on his portfolio and writing samples. If that doesn't work, he said he planned to do work similar to what he did as an intern.
His ultimate goal is to be a writer on a network sitcom, where he'd work with eight or more writers sitting around a table, collaborating and then breaking into smaller groups to write particular scenes. There is no doubt Mike will be competing against some of the best writers in the industry to make a name for himself, but he has a quiet confidence.
"I have a sketch comedy background and improv, collaborative work," Quick said. "A lot of writers come from USC, UCLA, and NYU, but I feel that my different perspective coming from KU will help distinguish me and my style."
CRIME
Husband of slain Ohio marriage counselor arrested
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — A Cleveland man whose wife was a marriage and family therapist has been arrested as a suspect in her stabbing death.
4-year-old son at a street corner Sunday night, and he told social workers his mother had been stabbed and was lying in a garage. Her body was found early Monday in the garage behind her house.
Tonya Hunter had founded Success 1 Services. Its website says it offers marriage and family counseling.
Police Sgt. Sammy Morris says someone dropped off Hunter's
Morris says Hunter's husband, Maurice Lyons, was arrested and that charges of aggravated murder and domestic violence are pending. Court records don't list an attorney for Lyons.
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