Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Klug.
Hi Michael, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in South Dakota and arrived in LA fifteen years ago via stops in Minnesota (for college) and a ten-year stint in Chicago.
I started acting when I was around eight years old, in a stage production of Pinocchio. I played a candlestick. And I started penning stories around age ten, with my first tale, called “House of the Dead”.
I attended college at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, where I majored in Theatre Arts. I earned my BA with a focus on acting and directing.
And I’ve been writing and acting all of that time. I recently completed my 15th feature spec script (A Stench in the Nostrils of God) and am close to completing my first novel. I am also thrilled that a feature film I starred in (Blood Covered Chocolate from director Monte Light) is making the festival rounds right now.
And a short film I wrote and produced (as well as acted in) — Immolation — is also currently on the festival circuit.
Acting and certainly writing have become more than just creative outlets for me. I see them as therapeutic. My first novel is called “What the House Saw” and is autobiographical in many ways. It’s been quite a journey to hash out many of the events in the book, taking a long and undiluted look back to the state of my family prior to my parent’s divorce when I was five years old.
Storytelling — in its many forms — is where I’m most comfortable. I’ve so often quoted the late Ray Bradbury: “You must stay drunk on writing, so reality cannot destroy you.” With the world in the state it’s in and my sometimes debilitating anxieties, it’s refreshing to be in a world I have created and can ultimately control.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s never been particularly easy. I’ve always been my own worst enemy. I’m notoriously hard on myself and rarely allow any “pats on the back” when I accomplish something. Perhaps it’s my small-town upbringing, but other than playing Monopoly with my brothers growing up, gloating over a win was never something we did. I suffer from anxiety and many times, if I have an unproductive day, I’ll deal with not only the incomplete work but the disappointment in myself as well. Even when I now have a success, the high lasts but a day or two, and then I tell myself that it’s time to get back to work. I can rarely bask in any completed creative task, as I know how much more there is to do. And let’s face it, I ain’t getting any younger!
I’ve been blessed to not need a “survival/day job” for the past seven years, and so I’ve been able to pursue my art unencumbered by a set schedule. But that’s also a challenge in itself. Structuring my day to get my own work done has never been as easy as I’d like. I never, ever want to take this freedom for granted, but self-imposed deadlines don’t always work. Give me a deadline from a client or a producer, and I’m golden. It’s still a learning process, how to best manage my time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
While I’ve had no formal training in screenwriting, I’ve been doing it for close to twenty years and with a good deal of success (close to 50 wins, official selections and placements at varying festivals/contests). My scripts are very character driven and generally very personal. I am a horror guy, so that’s the genre where most of my writing happens. I have a keen eye for detail in screenplay formatting (which serves my clients in my screenplay consulting business) and a good ear for organic dialogue. I offer kind but constructive criticism.
I’m most proud of my writing output. As mentioned above, I’m not kind to myself generally, but objectively, 15 completed scripts (that’s not counting hired gigs) is no small feat, right? So I’m thrilled to have a nice catalog of titles available.
I think what sets me apart in my writing is that I make my horrific situations (in my horror scripts) almost incidental. They are important, but it’s always been more about how my characters handle these horrors. Character is key in my writing, and in my opinion — there’s nothing more important. If an audience doesn’t care about who they’re watching, then the writer/filmmaker has failed.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My focus has been more on writing over the past decade or so. So I’m not super-charged as far as pushing ahead on my acting. While I love that work, I’m satisfied to be contacted by filmmaker friends who know me and trust me and could use me in their projects. I’m not pounding the pavement so to speak but would love to offer my acting chops to folks who could use them.
I spend a great deal of time working on my own scripts, but have been hired for a number of screenwriting gigs over the years and am always looking for those collaborative (and paying) opportunities. And I’ve collaborated with several gifted folks over the years on spec scripts. I love nothing more than brainstorming with fellow writers and hashing out problems to get the best final product. I’m currently at various stages on three different collaborations!
Also, with my screenplay consulting business (www.klugulascreenplayconsulting), I enjoy offering feedback/notes/editing on features and short scripts! So hit me up for pricing and package details!
I love working with fellow movie-making nerds, who just appreciate the process and the gift that a good collaboration can be!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.notmymess.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klugula/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.klug.98
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/klugula
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@klugula/
- Other: www.klugulascreenplayconsulting.com
Image Credits
Vanessa Puopolo.
