Today we’d like to introduce you to David O’Leary.
Thanks for sharing your story with us David. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Manhattan, and loved film and TV from a very early age. My first memory in a movie theater is the pink library ghost in GHOSTBUSTERS. It scared me right out of my seat in 1984. I was 4 years old. My Dad used to always take me to the movies. I’ve probably seen two hundred films in theaters with just my Dad. I also remember sneaking into all the great R-rated thrillers and action movies of the early/mid-90s with my friends – THE FIRM, THE FUGITIVE, BRAVEHEART, THE ROCK, TERMINATOR 2, etc.; I was absolutely hooked.
I was a Film and Cognitive Science major at Vassar College and was divided on which path to choose – Entertainment or Psychology. But, I distinctly remember opening up a huge file cabinet of scripts at my internship at New Line Cinema in NY. Staring at all those scripts, I had this powerful feeling like I was going to be around screenplays for a long time. I guess you can say I listened to that voice.
After graduating, I drove across country and moved to Los Angeles. New York City was such a big part of my identity, and I couldn’t imagine leaving (I didn’t learn to drive a car until I was 22, the year I left). But, I also knew Los Angeles was at the center of what I wanted.
I began my career in film development with assistant stints at Industry Entertainment, Warner Bros. and Rogue Pictures (Universal), before becoming a development executive at Kopelson Entertainment, Valhalla Motion Pictures, and then Bellevue Productions.
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a while to find the courage to pursue it. Once I did, as I honed my craft and built my career, I secured a job as a film professor teaching at the film school, the New York Film Academy in LA. I taught for 7 years, as I soon secured literary representation at Zero Gravity Management and Paradigm, and began optioning feature scripts and being hired on independent film writing assignments.
However, my big break came when I pivoted to TV and sold my spec TV pilot script “Project Blue Book” to A+E Studios/HISTORY. Executive Produced by Robert Zemeckis, the project went into development, and eventually got a 10-episode straight-to-series order. Starring Aiden Gillen (GAME OF THRONES) and Michael Malarkey (VAMPIRE DIARIES), its first season began airing in January 2019 and was the #1 New Cable Series Drama of the 2018/2019 season. Season 2 began airing January 21st, 2020 on HISTORY and can be Tuesdays at 10p/9c. Viewers can catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 now with the History App, or by purchasing the season on iTunes, Amazon, Roku, YouTube, etc.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I moved to LA with ambitions of becoming a film studio executive and ended up becoming a TV writer. Along the way, I worked all types of jobs to figure out where I fit in and what I was passionate about. But first I had to make money. Generally, one has to start at the bottom. And I was no exception. I was an intern three times – first in New York City – interning at New Line Cinema (twice) and then for producer Lee Daniels and then in LA at Village Roadshow Pictures.
I was also an assistant three times and an executive three times. But in between those jobs, I had to hustle and work all types of other jobs to make ends meet. I’ve been a script reader for countless production companies, and a freelance copywriter for movie trailer production houses, I’ve taught online writing classes and been an independent script consultant. I think the struggles along the way are valuable if you can turn them into opportunities. I always figured if I was being paid to do something creative, anything creative, and working in the business I love, then I am succeeding. That was my mantra: keep working in this business, keep learning, but also keep moving — don’t get comfortable and don’t settle.
One piece of advice I give people is ‘always have a secret’ — a project you know is special that you’re working on and can’t wait to show the world. Let that secret empower you. But also remember, you can’t keep it a secret forever. Hone it until it’s ready, but then spill that secret to absolutely everyone you can. My second piece of advice is to ‘acknowledge your breakthroughs’. This business is virtually impossible. If you’re making progress, big or small, you’re winning. Getting a script finished, or read, getting a rep, getting your first option, etc. — be happy for the progress you are making – and reward yourself. Celebrate it. You have to. It will fuel you to keep going. Don’t focus on what others are doing or where they are; focus on your own scoreboard. And cheer your lungs out every time the ball goes in the basket.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a television and film writer and producer, who also runs his own small production shingle Omen Entertainment. Omen Entertainment is a TV and feature film production company which aims to produce high-quality and elevated stories, across genres, for the worldwide marketplace, particularly specializing in grounded sci-fi and supernatural thrillers, world-building action epics, and psychological-driven horror/thriller films and TV series. I think what sets our company apart is our knack for story development and deep respect for writers and the writing process, with 15 years of experience on both sides of the aisle, as a writer and an executive.
In television, I am most known as the Creator and an Executive Producer of “Project Blue Book”, a scripted television series, airing on HISTORY, based on the eponymous real-life top-secret U.S. Air Force program that investigated reports of UFOs in the 1950s and 1960s. In film, I am also known as a Co-Producer on Netflix’s hit supernatural horror movie, “Eli”, which began streaming worldwide in October of 2019.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I had a lot of help along the way. First and foremost, were my parents, Renee Cherow-O’Leary and John O’Leary, who are deep lovers of the arts, and supported my career path and creative interests, so long as I could find a way to put money in my pocket, haha.
Of course, there were the producers and executives I interned for early on — Meredith Finn, formerly at New Line Cinema, who introduced me to the film business. And particularly Fred Klein, a former studio executive at Village Roadshow Pictures; Klein was immensely helpful in that he ran an intern alumni group for his interns so that they could build a network with each other and help one another as their careers grew. I am still friends with more than two dozen people in that network, many of whom are still in this business. Klein remains a close friend too.
At each job I held, I learnt from my colleagues and employers: producers Jeff Sommerville, Nick Wechsler, Polly Cohen Johnsen, Adrienne Biddle, the late Arnold Kopelson, and Gale Anne Hurd. All highly successful, all with very different styles of getting it done. At Bellevue Productions, I also had the pleasure of working with my close friend producer/manager John Zaozirny. We developed projects from the ground up, often from original ideas we’d come up with, and got two movies made — Bellevue was my grad school in story development for sure. Of course, I am still learning, especially from my colleagues like our showrunner Sean Jablonksi on “Project Blue Book”.
Lastly, and most importantly is my wife, Ashley Bank, who’s been my longest and loveliest champion. She was the one who encouraged me to pursue writing, and to this day, is the first person to read any of my work; she has great taste and ideas, and most importantly, knows me better than anyone and understands my work and what I’m trying to say with it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @davideoleary
- Twitter: @davideoleary
- Other: Project Blue Book – @historybluebook
Image Credit:
Kirby Dixon
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