Thumbnail photo by James Weliver.
Grey’s Anatomy writer and producer Mark Wilding at UMass.
Video by Adam Coulter.
For any aspiring Hollywood writer, receiving expert advice from someone who’s actually succeeded in Tinsel Town is a dream come true. UMass students and faculty were treated to that dream when Mark Wilding, the two-time Emmy nominated executive producer and lead writer of Grey’s Anatomy returned to UMass after 30 years and revealed the ins and outs of making it in Hollywood. “You have to devote all your energy to it,” said Wilding.
Wilding, one of the forces behind the popular medical drama, a show watched weekly by 20 million people, came to share his experiences and insights of succeeding in Hollywood in a lecture titled “Anatomy of a Hollywood Writer.”
Wilding graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1979 with a degree in economics and has since woven together a successful career as a producer and a screen writer of many sitcoms such as Ellen, Dave’s World and Charmed. Wilding won the 2007 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for the Grey’s Anatomy episode “Where the Boys Are” and has also written and sold two movie scripts.
Mr. Wilding came back to UMass as the Eleanor Bateman Alumni Scholar to share his unique story from student to award-winning, nationally known writer and producer. The atmosphere was laid back and familiar in the nicely air conditioned Campus Center Auditorium which by showtime was packed with many fans of Grey’s Anatomy as well as journalism majors, faculty and people looking to discern from a pro how to get that all-important Hollywood break.
UMass journalism lecturer B.J. Roche and Wilding sat together comfortably at a small table in front of the stage as Roche interviewed the writer on topics ranging from the “writer’s room,” to how to avoid show spoilers.
Roche opened the evening by asking Wilding to think back to his last days as a Collegian columnist as he wrote his farewell column and got ready to leave UMass: “As you sit here today, back to that point, would you ever imagine you’d be back here the head writer of a successful television show?”
“No, I was looking for any kind of job after college and my first job was Stop and Shop – when I was putting Wonder Bread on the shelves I didn’t think so,” Wilding said to chuckles from the audience. “It’s been a great ride; I’ve had some luck along the way and some degree of perseverance,” he added.
Since returning to UMass as a Scholar in Residence, Wilding has lectured in journalism classes relating the myriad trials and tribulations of working as a writer — a topic of great interest to the audience. “How do you keep a writer’s life going in Hollywood?” asked Roche.
“I’ve been doing this now for 17 years and the challenge in Hollywood is A. finding someone to read your stuff and B. finding an agent,” said Wilding. He also stressed the importance and utility of writing no matter what. “At the same time, I was always writing because I knew whether I got paid or not, I was going to write.” Wilding imparted further wisdom for aspiring writers, offering two points of advice when attempting to get your work discovered. “To write something that people can not ignore and write with passion.”
One aspect of making television shows that people perennially seem to wonder about is where do those great (or terrible) ideas for your favorite episodes come from? According to Wilding it’s the “writer’s room.”
“In television the writer’s room is the creative engine for TV shows – it’s the absolutely greatest place you can be,” he explained. The environment he describes is one of the most “politically incorrect,” but also “geared to help us creatively come up with ideas for the show.”
According to Wilding a diverse group of writers sit around in chairs, eat lots of food and brainstorm ideas with 10 to 12 white boards serving as places to scribble character arcs and medical stories. “It’s sacrosanct,” he added.
Roche then led the conversation to producing Grey’s Anatomy and how a typical episode is completed. “First, there are 11 writers in the writer’s room; all with very strong opinions… we will discuss what we want to do with character arcs.” A specific writer will then be assigned the episode and will lead the discussion on various topics such as what kind of medical story they want to do. “An episode takes about a week and a half; an outline will be written and we will have a table meeting where the actors will come in, read it and weigh in,” said Wilding. Suggestions from the networks must be considered as well.
Besides taking corporate notes on the program Wilding said he goes online to fan chat boards and websites to satisfy personal pleasures but doesn’t necessarily us the fan suggestions. “Yeah, we’re interested in what the fans have to say.” Wilding also shared an industry tip on the topic of Internet websites and how Grey’s Anatomy prevents pesky show spoilers from leaking out. “We do the show in a six-act structure and if there is a particular story we don’t want people to see the end of we won’t print the last act.” On the actual day of shooting the final act is then handed out to the crew.
By the end of the lecture Roche expertly steered the conversation back to the art of writing and gently jabbed Wilding with the fact that he is working in an industry of young people (Wilding is 52).
“Well, when [the writing] dries up I may be back at UMass,” Wilding quipped to laughter from the audience and Roche.
He then answered numerous questions from the audience and prompted by a specific inquiry from an older woman with a “treatment,” offered to read the first 30 pages of any script he was given. After the lecture people then had the opportunity to meet Mr. Wilding and ask him any further questions about writing and Hollywood that he may not have answered during his talk. Ann Bae, a UMass student came to the event to gleam advice from the pro. “I am journalism major and I’ve always been interested in writing, so I wanted to find out where to get inspiration,” she said.
