Anatomy of a scary scene, the screenwriter of Leatherface takes us inside a horror franchise and shares what got him the job. Seth M. Sherwood

Seth M. Sherwood is a Los Angeles based screenwriter, director, designer, and producer. He is a credited writer on Leatherface, and Hellfest and is serving as Co-Executive Producer on season 2 of Light As A Feather for Awesomeness TV & Hulu. He has feature and television projects in development across town.

Sherwood’s tale of the son of serial killer hot on the trail of a copycat killer, Interstate 5, appeared on the list, bringing him to the attention of industry execs looking for the next hot genre writer. Seth has penned a prequel to the original 1974 classic horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a highly anticipated origin tale entitled Leatherface from Millennium Films.

Sherwood has lived in Los Angeles for the past 16 years. He grew up in the Pacific North West, and started writing short stories as an undergraduate majoring in photography and design. He then attended graduate school at Cal Arts, focusing exclusively on prose writing. The move to Los Angeles convinced him he should try his hand at screenplays.

In grad school he wrote two or three screenplays. “They were those two or three you just have to write to get it out of your system. They’re never going to be any good, but you have to write them to get them out of the way, so you can start to know your craft better.”

After graduating Sherwood worked as an in-house graphic designer for various companies. He continued to write, but rarely circulated his work. “I was very shy and I wasn’t necessarily a great networker. I was writing but I wasn’t putting it out there.” After six years he finally wrote a script he was confident enough to go out with, and even then his engagement with the industry was sporadic.

Sherwood had some success with the Nicholl prize as a quarter-finalist which spurred him to continue writing. He wrote Interstate 5 which appeared on the Black List, and was introduced by a mutual friend to independent manager/producer Kailey Marsh. When Millennium was looking for a new writer to pen Leatherface, they approached Sherwood, who ultimately landed the gig.

To Sherwood, the key to success as a screenwriter is to be prolific. “It’s a number game. You have to have lots of scripts. I can’t even imagine going out there to the industry without at least two or three finished scripts, maybe even four. Nine times out of 10 they read your script, they love it, but they’re still not going to make it. They’re going to either want you to pitch on their idea or they’re gonna ask you what else you have or what else you’re working on, and if you only have one idea, that’s going to be a really short meeting.”

Sherwood’s advice to new writers? Focus on the writing, and success will follow. “If I could have all the time back that I spent worrying about finding an agent, I’d be very fortunate. It should not be a goal for new screenwriters. I was one of those people who had one script and spent a year wishing I had an agent for that one script, when really I should have been spending that time writing more scripts. Before Leatherface happened I had three or four agents interested in me, but they basically didn’t want to do anything with me until I had a deal, then once Leatherface happened, all of a sudden I had my pick.”

Sherwood now has his pick of projects too, and we look forward to seeing Leatherface tear up the screen in Sherwood’s new vision.

https://twitter.com/SethMSherwood

https://sethmsherwood.substack.com/

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