Ep522 - Bill Kennedy, Screenwriter ‘House of Cards’ & ‘The Morning Show’

Creative Principles

In high school, Bill Kennedy got a job making copies at a law firm. Back then, he pictured himself taking the bar, buying a collection of three-piece suits, and making a career as a lawyer. But, when he met someone a decade older also making copies, who was producing records at the time, asked, “Dude, why would you want to do this? Why be a lawyer?” The beneficial challenger concluded, “[Do] you think the people here are happy?” The realization sunk in. “In college, I started to explore a career in creative writing. I got really into it. I wrote some short stories and a novella. Moved out to LA and did the assistant thing for a long time, eventually becoming the Writer’s Room Assistant on the first season of House of Cards.” As an assistant, Kennedy would do anything from answering phones to scheduling meetings to reading scripts (he estimates he read over 1,500 scripts at this time). Most importantly though, he got to be a fly on the wall to learn the business from working in the business. “You see how the business works and develop your sense of taste.” He also worked as Beau Willimon’s assistant, who wrote Andor and The Ides of March in addition to creating House of Cards. “That was an extremely formative experience for me. I got to pitch a lot in the room and got promoted to staff writer Season 2.” As a staff writer, Kennedy has credits for 22 episodes of House of Cards and more recently, became a staff writer for The Morning Show. The whole time, he’s also been staying up late, writing spec scripts at night. “Even at its most tortuous, it’s the best.” Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on hundreds of interviews here at Creative Principles. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!