Today we’d like to introduce you to Evette Vargas.
Hi Evette, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a first-generation Puerto Rican Latina, born in the Boogie-down Bronx. I witnessed my first dead body, at the age of five, outside my grandparents’ bodega. Two years later, my parents moved my family into our first house, in New Jersey. I was a Latina growing up in the heart of white suburbia and I wanted my name to be Jenny. I wasn’t white enough for my white friends, and after losing my hood accent, I wasn’t Latina enough for Latinos. But my drawing, painting, writing and dancing talents made me stand out. I also played the violin. And I learned to tell stories loudly at the dinner table, where the imagination ruled. I became a graffiti artist and deejayed at local clubs. I studied graphic and fashion design at FIT in New York. I also spent a semester in Paris and began a long-distance relationship with a French pastry chef. I then worked as a fashion designer for Calvin Klein and Donna Karen but yearned to tell stories. That’s when I attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts on a scholarship. I directed music videos, commercials and worked as an advertising art director before my senior thesis film won the best of NYU, got me a lot of buzz and got me to LA.
In Hollywood, I worked for the digital departments at the studios — Universal, Disney, and Sony. I then started an award-winning digital production company with my fabulous husband. Madonna, Snoop Dog and Wu Tang Clan, among others, were our clients. But I can’t really talk about it; the NDAs are very thick. The work was great, but I didn’t have time to tell my own stories and I wanted to write for television. So, I decided to go back to school and earned my MFA from UCLA in Screenwriting and Television Show-running. At UCLA, I wrote, directed and produced a digital series, starring Henry Rollins, which was nominated for two Emmys. I lost to GAME OF THRONES, but I can live with that. Since then, I’ve set up and sold shows to TNT, MGM and Entertainment One.
I’m currently producing my series, CONFESSIONS, writing a feature film for Reyes King Productions, developing a series for Shout! Factory and Twentyone14 Media, and developing the television slate for Hidden Empire Film Group. I have recently launched, Verses Studios, a Metaverse Production Studio, taking 2D intellectual property into 4D. I am also the creator and host of the New Hollywood Movement Clubhouse Podcast, a weekly award-winning show, exploring New Hollywood paradigms and empowering storytellers through community. I wrote The Current War VR Experience, a companion piece for the film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. As a result, I was commissioned by Final Draft to create the Evette Vargas Immersiveplay, the professional script writing template for VR, AR, XR writing. A staunch activist of inclusion and equity, I founded, The Writers Room 5050 Foundation, to mentor underrepresented storytellers. I collect action figures, typewriters and shoes.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working in entertainment certainly has had its challenges. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Success is the result of a tremendous amount of work, dedication and hustle and being ready to take advantage of the opportunities that you have created for yourself. Early in my career, learning the business was certainly something that I realized was important. Therefore, becoming a student of the business became a focus. Forming authentic, organic relationships was something else that I quickly realized was essential to succeed in Hollywood. Coming to relationships with the mindset of being in service to others provides the foundation to establishing real, long-lasting human relationships.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a writer, director, producer and entrepreneur. I develop intellectual properties and franchises, which span across different mediums and platforms. One of the things that sets me apart is the ability to tell a story across different mediums and platforms. For me, it’s about story first — medium and platform second. One of my superpowers is world-building, which I bring to developing stories.
I am currently the Head of TV Development at Hidden Empire Film Group, on the heels of beginning a film festival run for my film, CONFESSIONS, and dropping a New Hollywood NFT Collection in a few months.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I collect action figures, typewriters and shoes. That I have past lives as a DJ, a fashion designer, and am a recovering New York City advertising Art Director.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.writersroom5050.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewritersroom5050
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersroom5050
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TRoom5050
- Other: https://www.newhollywoodmovement.com
Image Credits
Charles Benoit, Carlos Arriaga
