We recently had the chance to connect with Evan Kilgore and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Evan, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Travel. I have an insatiable appetite for travel. I tell people it’s my drug of choice. I love National Parks and the outdoors — recently, I took a trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the first time, and it was fantastic — and also farther-flung adventures like Singapore, South Africa, and India. It wakes me up, opens my eyes, and enlivens me like not quite anything else.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have written published novels and sold screenplays and television pilots to studios and networks, where I have also rendered services as a producer/executive producer, and I worked as a development professional in the entertainment industry starting in college and for the next twenty years. 12pt. Courier New is an offshoot of that passion – a boutique gift shop, and a lightheartedly sarcastic tongue-in-cheek way to poke fun at the industry I love so much with merchandise that celebrates the challenges, victories, and bizarreness of Hollywood and the creative arts.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
I’m not sure there’s one single person – all work, every project, teaches me something new, and something to run with, the next time around. Internships in college and reading work after I graduated showed me the ropes of writing and producing in ways even beyond my classes at USC’s film school. Mentors and other creative people along the way have helped steer me and refine my craft and what I seek out. Every day is a learning experience in one way or another.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I mean, the entertainment industry can be a brutal one – but I think woven into that is something so deeply satisfying that it’s intoxicating. The rounds upon rounds of notes on a script or a pilot that grind, that clash with each other, that confound and frustrate – all in service of a project that might ultimately go nowhere. But even those failures, perhaps especially those failures – the duds that fizzle out, the creative differences that provoke conflict – lead to a stronger and more clear-eyed approach to the next endeavor, every time.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
There is a television series concept that my writing partner and I have developed out to an insane level. We have a compendium of characters, every episode outlined through multiple seasons, a research document that is hundreds of pages long. We sold it once, but the studio involved went under and it fell apart. But I swear, we are going to get it set up and made. It’s just too exciting to ever let it die.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I think I would stop deferring new experiences in favor of being responsible. As much as possible, I would say yes to everything, even if it meant letting some other things slide. Travel to places far and mysterious; drop everything and take the day to do something wild and fun. Whatever feels like it matters the most in the moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.12ptcouriernew.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/12ptCourierNew
- Twitter: https://x.com/12ptCourierNew
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/12ptcouriernew/?etsrc=sdt
Image Credits
Alan Weissman Photography.
