BIO

Writer and Co-Executive Producer of the hit Fox drama, "Prison Break," Nick Santora is a born-and-bred New Yorker.

After graduating from Columbia Law School in 1996, Nick practiced law full-time in New York City until 2001 when he moved to Los Angeles with his family to pursue a career as a professional writer. This decision was spurred by Nick's first screenplay winning "Best Screenplay of the Competition" at the 2001 New York International Independent Film Festival.

Since arriving in California, Nick has written and/or produced for several television series such as "The Sopranos," "Law & Order" and "The Guardian." He has enjoyed writing for a living substantially more than litigating for a living.

Nick is thrilled to be able to share his life with his wonderful wife and their beautiful daughter.

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AUTHOR TALK

June 15, 2007

Nick Santora, screenwriter and executive producer of the TV show "Prison Break," recently published his debut novel, SLIP & FALL. In this interview conducted by Kathleen Flaherty (an LA publicist and owner of K21 Communications based in Beverly Hills), Santora explains some of the autobiographical elements of this thriller, as well as the inspiration behind his favorite moments, and humorously imagines what his life would be like without writing. He also discusses how he began penning scripts for the small screen following a career in law and describes receiving his "big break" from David Chase, creator of "The Sopranos."

Question: You were a practicing lawyer in New York. How did you make the transition to writing, especially for TV and film?

Nick Santora: I had always wanted to be a writer, since I was a little kid, but I just didn't see how you could make a living as a writer and I felt I needed to do something with the education my family had sacrificed so much for me to get. So after college I went to law school and practiced law for a long time and was absolutely miserable. I just hated being an attorney. Finally, about 6 years ago, when I was still a lawyer, I took my last week of vacation time and spent it writing a screenplay, which I submitted to a film festival. It won Best Screenplay of the Competition and before I knew it I was talking to Hollywood agents.

Q: Did you have the stereotypical "big break" that really helped your career in writing for movies and television?

NS: A very talented writer named Marc Rosner gave me my first job, writing an episode for a series called "At End of Day," which was based on the George V. Higgins novel of the same name. The show didn't get picked up by the network but that script got me into the Writer's Guild and showed my agents that I could do the job. Then a few months later, David Chase, the creator of "The Sopranos," read my script that won the film festival and off that he hired me to write the teleplay of a "Sopranos" episode. It was the one where the mob pays gang-bangers to shoot up a crack house and it ends with Tony taking off his belt and whipping Assemblyman Zellman as Zellman huddles on the floor in his underwear. That episode really changed my life. In less than a year I went from having no credits to having a credit on the hottest show on television. I'll always be grateful for the opportunity David Chase gave me.

Q: You've been involved in several television and film projects. What has been your most rewarding professional experience so far?

NS: Hands down, "Prison Break." But not only because I think it's a great show. I love the experience because I've been able to work with some of the most talented writers, producers, actors, studio and network executives, directors and post-production personnel that I will ever work with in my career. And on top of that, they're all great people who I love spending the majority of my days with. We're all friends --- we care about each other, we pull for each other, it's as good as it gets. I'd work with this group for the rest of my life if I could.

Q: Is it like that on most shows in Hollywood?

NS: There are so many shows out there and I've only worked on a few so I wouldn't know. But I can tell you this --- it should be like that on all shows because it results in the best work product.

Q: Television, movies and now a novel. Why?

NS: I like to tell stories; I don't care about the medium.

Q: And didn't you create, and currently Executive Produce, the reality show "Beauty & The Geek"? How did that come about?

NS: To say any one person "created" a show is unfair. To be completely fair, the people that really make that show work is 3 Ball, an incredible company that really hasn't gotten the public recognition it deserves, considering what a great job they do with "Geek." They're the ones truly carrying the water when it comes to the day-in, day-out logistics of putting the show together. 3 Ball is fantastic.

Q: Okay, let's get back to the book. How is writing a novel different from writing for television?

NS: The solitude. Writing a novel is just you and the blank page in front of you. You don't toss ideas around with anybody, you don't bounce dialogue off a pal. It's just you, alone. Writing for television is different. You have a writing staff and you work together on breaking stories, and then you read each other's drafts and shares notes and ideas and, at least on "Prison Break," it is very collaborative and frankly, a really fun and enjoyable process. And you also get notes and thoughts from the studio and the network. At the end of it all, you watch an episode and know that with all the writers, producers, execs, cast and crew --- you have something that literally scores and scores of people have contributed to --- a real team effort. That's why it is so absurd when a director takes "A Film By" credit. Because unless you wrote every word, shot the film, played all the parts, sewed the costumes and did the lighting all by yourself, you're taking the credit for other people's work.

Q: How much of the book is autobiographical?

NS: Obviously, when I was a lawyer I never teamed up with the mob. But I did, as the first male in my family to go to college, put a fair amount of pressure on myself to be successful, to make my family proud. And I think that's why I went to law school. And I love my family very much, and they always stand by me, no matter what, just like Rob Principe, the hero of SLIP & FALL, had his family stand by him. To that extent that Rob Principe and I both have incredible families, it is very autobiographical.

Q: Do you have a favorite moment in SLIP & FALL?

NS: That's a tough one. I guess when Rob's father tells him that "he raised a good man." My dad actually said those exact words to me once when our family was going through a very difficult situation. He just said it, probably didn't even think about it, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. It just had a huge impact on me, my father acknowledging that I was a "good man" helping our family through rough waters --- deep down it's what every son wants to hear.

Q: Do you have any heroes?

NS: Professionally or personally?

Q: Both.

NS: Personally, I look up to my parents, my grandparents --- they all worked incredibly hard, gave so much, so their children and grandchildren could have opportunities they never had or could have never dreamed of. They are all my role models. I also admire my sister very much --- she is very smart and very tough. And as for a role model of what a good, decent person should be, I look to my wife. She is amazing.

Professionally, I don't have "heroes", per se. I have people whose work and/or work ethic I admire. John Turturro made the film Mac, my favorite film of all time. I admire that work. I admire the work of Alexander Payne because I know I could never write a film like Election, which is one of my favorites. I admire the way Matt Olmstead runs "Prison Break", a very difficult show to make --- but Matt's always setting a tone of "everything will be fine, there's a solution to every problem." I know I've learned by watching him. Hell, I admire Christian Trokey, a first-year writer on our show, because he spent 7 years or so in LA trying to break into the business and no matter how hard it was at times, he never gave up --- he knew if he stuck to it his talent would eventually get him to where he'd need to be, and it did. Actually, now that I think of it, I have admiration for each and every person on the "Prison Break" team.

Q: You've graduated from an Ivy League Law School, written, produced and/or created for film and television. What so far is the accomplishment you're most proud of?

NS: Getting my wife to marry me.

Q: Were you worried she'd say no?

NS: No. She has bad eyesight, so I told her I was handsome. She believed me ... sucker.

Q: If you could have dinner with 3 people, dead or alive, who would they be?

NS: If I eat alone, can I get all the meals? If so, then nobody.

Q: For a drama writer, you're a pretty funny guy.

NS: You just made my lifetime. The funniest people I know are drama writers and comedy writers are often somber and serious. But the truth is, I'm not a "drama writer." There is a lot of humor in the stuff I write --- I just sold a feature film script that I wrote that Ice Cube is going to star in and there is some hysterical stuff in it. The best thing I ever wrote in my life is a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" script.

Q: Speaking of TV, what is your favorite show?

NS: "The Simpsons" ... best show ever.

Q: What on TV is bad?

NS: We don't have the time. Next question.

Q: If you couldn't write, what would you do?

NS: Become depressed, drink too much, wallow in misery, put on 50 pounds, my family would leave me, and in 20 years you'd find me living behind a Winn Dixie talking to a sock puppet I named "Mr. Coccobutter."

Q: Seriously.

NS: I am serious. If I can't write and be creative, you might as well fit me for a pine box. This is all I want to do. I want to write and be with my family and that's it. I don't ski, I don't collect anything, I have no hobbies ... I want to make stuff up, put it on paper, put it on film and be a good father and husband. Those are my jobs, my hobbies and my passions. It actually helps me try to keep my life simple.

Q: Is your life simple?

NS: Not at all. I said it helps me "try" to keep it simple. But at any given time I have 6 or 7 projects in some stage of development. But I'm not complaining --- it's great. I'm the luckiest guy in the world and I know it.

© Copyright 2007, Nick Santora. All rights reserved.

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