Becoming... Screenwriter Karen McCullah ("Legally Blonde," "10 Things I Hate About You," "She's the Man")

Karen McCullah has written the movies LEGALLY BLONDE, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, ELLA ENCHANTED, SHE’S THE MAN, THE HOUSE BUNNY and THE UGLY TRUTH. She also did uncredited work on GIRLS TRIP which was the highest grossing comedy of 2017. Her novel, The Bachelorette Party was translated into 12 languages. She attended James Madison University, in VA. In this episode, we talk about: • How she and her writing partner started working on their first major film, the screenplay for 10 Things I Hate About You • Being pitched twice in the same day to write Legally Blonde and the changes they made from the original manuscript • How she taught herself to write screenplays and 3 tips she would give to ANYONE starting right now • The viral Legally Blonde theory: was Elle and Vivian supposed to get together in the end? • Helping out on the screenplay for Ella Enchanted • Pushing for Channing Tatum's casting after watching his self tape before he was famous • How The House Bunny with Anna Faris came about, starting with a billboard and a coffee date • Who she is still in touch with on The Ugly Truth and how delighted she was to make the movie Rated R • What's next for her and how many projects actually get picked up Book recommendations for new writers: Save the Cat books by Blake Snyder How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method by Viki King Making a Good Writer Great: A Creativity Workbook for Screenwriters by Linda Seger Resources to read scripts: Outstanding Screenplays WGA Karen: “Read as many scripts as you can!” Twitter : https://twitter.com/karenmccullah1 Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/karenmccullah Host: Instagram: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneMiller Twitter: @MentorsontheMic @MichelleSimoneM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mentorsonthemic Website: www.michellesimonemiller.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/24mmichelle