Expert Spotlight

Name: Mike Rich

Title: Screenwriter

Professional Resume: Mr. Rich started on this trek just five years ago. A radio news reporter for a Portland, Oregon rock station, he itched for a creative outlet. Screenwriting seemed a natural fit since his on-air beat included Friday movie news. He squeezed out his first script from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day — after his radio shift and a power nap, and before his three children returned from school.

The script won him the Academy of Motion Picture’s Nicholl Fellowship and began a bidding war among Hollywood studios. In 1998, Sony/Columbia Pictures bought the 125-pager for a whopping six-figures. It became 2000’s Finding Forrester, an Oscar-buzz movie that grossed $53 million domestically and starred Academy Award-winner Sean Connery.

Soon after, Rich quit his radio day job, and began penning screenplays full-time. His second script, The Rookie, was snapped up by Disney, which brought in The Big Easy’s Dennis Quaid as the star. The film hit theaters March 29, 2002, grossing $66 million in the first month alone. Production on his third screenplay, an ice hockey drama acquired by Disney, is expected to begin this fall.

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