Atlantica - 01.11.2000, Side 16

14 A T L A N T I C A
Mike Rich named the lead character of his movie after his high
school English teacher, Sharon Forster. She was his inspira-
tion. So, to honour his former teacher, Rich used her last
name. However, while labouring over his screenplay during
the afternoons – after his morning DJ stints at KINK FM – Rich
imagined the title of his film under the bright lights of
Hollywood and altered the spelling to the smoother sounding
Forrester.
One must always think about the marquee.
It appears Rich knew what he was doing. His first script,
Finding Forrester, caused a major bidding war between
studios and captured the attention of Sean Connery.
Overnight, Rich went from being just another scribe receiving
rejection letters to a Hollywood darling whose screenplays
now sell for seven figures.
When I arrive at the radio station to interview this newly
successful writer, the receptionist smiles and tells me to wait.
After about ten minutes she calls me to the desk, handing me
a phone. Rich is on the line. “Can we reschedule for another
day?” he asks apologetically, telling me that he’s at home and
the studio’s pressing him for rewrites. “Well,” I mutter.
Moments of empty silence pass. He agrees to meet me in an
hour’s time. The rewrites can wait.
At the station
An hour later Rich walks through the door, dressed casually in
slacks and a charcoal-coloured sweater. He is tall, and his
stride is long and lanky. Rich introduces himself, apologises
again for his oversight and we step up the stairs into one of the
cramped sound studios that he has called home for the past
seven-odd years while working the morning shift at KINK FM.
He gets up around 2.30 a.m. every day. Logically, he positions
himself behind the microphone, then jokes about the precari-
ous nature of his passions. “Radio’s not very stable and neither
is Hollywood. I figured two instabilities might make one stable
career,” he says with a laugh. “But I really enjoy radio. Not many
people are blessed to do what they love. I’m blessed twice. I
have no plans to give it up.”
Although Rich stands to gross over a million dollars for his
script, an unwillingness to quit his day job seems plausible
because at this point – December of last year – he’s still smooth-
ing out a few kinks with the characters, and he understands that
the film’s not on the screen until it’s on the screen. However,
Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) is
aboard and Connery is executive-producing and plans to star in
the movie – a film that Rich believes will require Connery to
explore new levels as an actor. “William Forrester is a character
that’s going to challenge Sean to do things he’s never really
done before,” Rich says, his voice tailing off into a soft, easy-
listening radio drawl. “We’re going to see his vulnerable side.”
Connery’s vulnerable side was displayed the first time he read
the script. He cried, so goes the rumour.
The fact that Connery even saw the script is surprising con-
sidering Finding Forrester was rejected numerous times by
numerous studios, including Columbia Pictures, the company
producing the movie. What changed Columbia’s mind? The
Nicholl Fellowship competition.
After Rich had received multiple rejections, a friend suggested
that he submit the script to a few contests. Rich didn’t expect
much to happen. “It was my third attempt at writing a screen-
play. I didn’t finish the first two, so I never expected to sell this
one. Writing it was a release for me. I just wanted to get to page
120.”
He did more than finish. Out of 4,500 entries, Finding Forrester
was selected as one of five winners of the Nicholl Fellowship, a
competition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences – the friendly folks who vote on the Oscars.
Suddenly, Rich’s answering machine, ignored for so long by
Hollywood players, buzzed with messages.
Twice Blessed
Mike Rich is living a dream. He went from being a popular DJ to a sought-after screenwriter whose
first movie, “Finding Forrester”, is set to premiere on Christmas Day and is already generating an
Oscar buzz. Edward Weinman chats with the former radio personality and discovers that Rich’s
current success enables him to stay up late and push the snooze button a few more times.
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Photos by Ty Downing
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