Marry Me webcomic creator Bobby Crosby achieved something few have accomplished — he turned his original story into a blockbuster starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Speaking to ABC Audio, Crosby offered advice to his fellow creatives who also dream of turning their work into a movie.
“My main advice is to be original. It’s all about the concept,” he stressed, “The cheat code is an original concept. If you have something that, when people hear it, they laugh or they’re intrigued, you [want them to go] ‘Wow… I want to read that.'”
Crosby also dismisses the principal of “write what you know,” saying, “That’s not writing. That’s transcribing your life. Write an autobiography if you want to write what you know, otherwise make something up. Be a writer… Write whatever you want all day long and have fun with it.”
The best way to create a movie-worthy story, says Crosby, is to “take a lot more time on that concept and make sure it’s very intriguing.” The creative confesses, “I don’t really want to write something until I have the idea.”
Crosby adds his journey in turning his story into a movie is on the unconventional side because he didn’t pitch it to production companies — they “came to me.” In that case when the studios aren’t making the first move, Crosby advises, “Get an agent. He also stressed the importance of making one’s work as visible as possible to grab attention and encouraged, “Put it out there.”
For Crosby, he increased his comic’s visibility by hiring Malaysian artist Remy “Eisu” Mohktar to illustrate it. Crosby chose Mohkhtar because his style complimented Marry Me‘s vibe. “It’s clean and solid and fun,” said Crosby, adding he knew it would also “make the readers smile.”
Marry Me is in theaters now.
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