Uncover the Untold Secrets of Screenwriting with Jack Epps in This Exclusive Go Into The Story Interview

Scott: You made your way after Michigan State out to Hollywood and you said you did some internships. Do you remember what those were?

Jack: I was very lucky. This was a very different time, not a lot of people wanted to get into the movies. It wasn’t like it was today. No one really knew what a screenwriter was at that time. Nobody had much interest in it. Everyone wanted to be a director, so the door to screenwriting was pretty wide open.

I learned that the American Film Institute had an internship program. I went by and said, “I’d like an internship.” They set up an internship at MGM on a movie called Hearts of the West with Tony Bill producing. Tony had just finished The Sting so it was like stepping into a fantasy. I wasn’t enrolled in the AFI, but they helped me and a lot of others.