As a kid, Mattson Tomlin felt like he was the last one of his friends to give up on the idea of play. While they were chasing girls or getting into sports, he still wanted to run around in the woods in a Batman costume.

Luckily, he discovered that if he made movies, he could inspire his friends to stick around, because they had a new reason to play. He then made a career out of this.

As of 2020, the screenwriter has credits on the Jamie Foxx action-thriller Project Power, with additional credits on upcoming films like Little Fish, Capcom’s Mega Man, and Matt Reeves’ new film, The Batman.

The Project Power description reads, “When a pill that gives its users unpredictable superpowers for five minutes hits the streets of New Orleans, a teenage dealer and a local cop must team with an ex-soldier to take down the group responsible for its creation.”

In this interview, Tomlin discusses what made him start writing ten screenplays per year, how the vision of his career changed when he became prolific, what it means to write your way to the table, how to learn confidence of craft, and which writing rule he got tattooed on his hand.

If you enjoyed this interview, look for the print version on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and join millions of viewers for the new YouTube video essay series, Creative Principles, which dissects new films, series, and more: bit.ly/2FARJz5