Interview (Part 2): Amy Berg

My Q&A with a top Hollywood TV showrunner.

Amy Berg is a writer and TV producer whose credits include Leverage, Person of Interest, Eureka, Caper, Da Vinci’s Demons, and the current hit STARZ series Counterpart. I crossed paths with Amy several years ago the way many writers do nowadays: via Twitter. In 2017, I reached out to Amy to do an interview and what followed was a months’ long back and forth via email.

In Part 2 of our Q&A, Amy goes into her time as a production assistant and how she parlayed some spec scripts landing a TV writing gig:

Scott: So after all of that, you wind up as a P.A. in Hollywood, which is pretty standard advice nowadays: “Move to L.A. and try to get a gig as an assistant.” Maybe you could describe what a P.A. does, specifically what your responsibilities were, and why is that such a good entry level position. And, of course, we’ve got to hear your “crazy story” about how you went from P.A. to writing for a Nickelodeon TV series.

Amy: I was a producer’s assistant. Which, in the traditional sense, usually involves a lot of answering phones and taking notes. I didn’t do any of that. I was never at my desk. The showrunner I worked for was a bit of a ball-buster. On my first day, he gave me a list of all the things his former assistant was unable to accomplish for him. He’s a guy who liked to test you, and one who had a lot of hobbies that had me running all over town to accommodate. What was great is that I knew nothing about Los Angeles and I had to figure it out real quick. Not just the city itself but also its people. It was on-the-job training to be a super independent and resourceful human. I should have kept better track of all the things I had to do for this guy, I could write a book about it… I remember buying bullets for him, tracking down odd toys from the 1970’s he was still obsessed with, cutting wood at a lumber yard, taking polaroids of every item in every box in his garage so he’d know what was in them. That’s just for starters. But I did all of it, with accuracy and expediency. And he loved me. But thankfully he moved on to a different show on a different network and I decided to stay at Nickelodeon.

Meanwhile, during my first few months in town, a friend and I wrote a spec for Buffy. I didn’t even know what a spec was at the time. All I knew is that I loved the show and wanted to write for it. Naturally I didn’t have a agent or even know how to go about getting one, so I thought it best to just send the script directly to Joss Whedon. Fortunately, the writers on the Nickelodeon show laughed lovingly at my naïveté and explained that he couldn’t read a spec of his own show for legal reasons. They also explained that I was nuts… it’s not that easy to get read by anyone, let alone Joss.

So I wrote a one-act play to send him instead. It featured Joss and the Buffy actors as characters sharing stories of the script’s epic awesomeness. The prop guys on the Nickelodeon show whittled some vampire stakes and I bought some fake vampire teeth and I tossed those in a box along with the one-act and sent it off to Joss Whedon’s office. Two days later his office called to say they wanted to meet. So there I was at 22 years old, sitting in the Buffy writers room pitching ideas.

Although I came close, I didn’t end up getting the gig. But the escapade did manage to get the attention of my bosses at Nickelodeon. They were also huge fans of Buffy and figured if Joss wanted to hear what I had to say, so should they. So I pitched some ideas for the show, they bought a few and ultimately brought me onto the staff.

This story scares people when I tell it. Nowadays what I did to break in could be modestly described using words like “stalker” or “creepy as fuck”. Which is why I can’t recommend that people take the same tact that I did. But I reject the notion that what went down was just dumb luck. It was my one-act that got Whedon’s attention, and it was the Buffy spec, which the Nickelodeon producers read, that ultimately landed me the job writing for them. Not to mention a ridiculous amount of gumption and the fact that I killed it as their assistant.

There are some people, especially those who are coming from other fields or out of film schools with industry connections, who might think they’re too accomplished to make coffee or, you know, go bullet shopping. Maybe they won some student awards for their films or what have you and they’re waiting for the phone call from a studio to tell them there’s a feature script they want them to direct. Does that happen on occasion? Sure. By and large, though, this is an industry where you have to earn everything through blood, sweat, and tears. Especially if you’re not privileged in the ways of being male and white. You have to write things and shoot stuff and work your ass off running errands that make you feel shitty about yourself. But I guarantee that the harder you work to get there, the more joyful and accomplished you feel once you do. And you’re less likely to take it for granted

Scott: So in between being an assistant, writing plays and spec “Buffys”, and corralling vampire stakes for a pitch package, what were you doing back then to learn more about the craft? Reading any writing books? Breaking down TV scripts? Analyzing TV episodes? Participate in writing groups? What were some of the keys you found to help elevate your writing?

Amy: I read Syd Field like everyone else because it was assigned in school, but really the only way to learn is by watching films and shows and reading scripts then writing your own.

My whole life I’ve been more of a listener than a talker and I credit my ability to write dialogue to the practice of people watching. Since high school I’ve carried a little notebook around everywhere I go and jot things down that inspire me. Things I see or hear. Ideas, chunks of dialogue, that sort of thing. I’d imagine backstories for strangers and use it as comic relief when I was uncomfortable in group situations. Being funny was always a cover for my own social awkwardness.

I was never in a writing group. I was more into independent study, breaking down episodes of TV into scenes to better understand act structure and learn how to build tension. I would track down scripts for shows I really liked, and then watch the episodes with the scripts in hand. Just following along on the page was incredibly instructive.

Tomorrow in Part 3, Amy walks us through her career as TV writer-producer on such series as Eureka, Person of Interest, Counterpart, and her original series Caper for Hulu and YouTube.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Follow Amy on Twitter: @bergopolis

For more exclusive Go Into The Story interviews with screenwriters, TV writers, filmmakers, and industry insiders, go here.