Anja Ellam

As the head writer/story producer for Awesomeness TV’s Malibu Surf, Anja’s talent is evident in each episode. We talked to the talented screenwriter about the series’ newest season, upcoming projects and more.

words by VANESSA SALLES photo by RIO SAGE

Let’s talk Malibu Surf! How would you describe the upcoming fifth season and what’s to be expected? Well, the word that the cast and crew always use to describe the new season is “juicy”. Of course, drama is to be expected but there’s a lot more of it this season because of new cast members. You can also expect disloyalty in a relationship but you’ll have to watch to see who I’m talking about!

Being the head writer/story producer, do any memorable behind-the-scenes moments come to mind that you can share with us? There are almost too many stories from behind the scenes moments because we’ve all been together for so long. But, if I had to pick some of the crazier stories, it would be when Joey popped all his tires leaving set, the time we saw a police chase on foot, and the rapid change in tide that has messed up a few scenes over the years.

Take us back to the beginning; when/where did you discover your love for screenwriting? This question is always funny to me because I absolutely hated creative writing in high school. But, I learned in film school that I never hated writing, I just hated the short stories I wrote because I didn’t actually know how to write them. When I learned about screenwriting as a way to tell stories, it just really all clicked and ever since it’s been my favorite way to be creative.

How would you describe your creative process when brainstorming new ideas? My creative process is different depending on the project. If there’s something that I have to write for a show, I’ll just jot down story lines and then read them out loud to someone, seeing or hearing their reaction really helps me know what’s interesting to other people. If it’s a project that I’m just working on for myself, there really is no process - just whenever inspiration strikes I’ll start writing things down, which is usually late at night.

When dealing with writer’s block, what are some ways you get the creative juices flowing again? For me, when I have writers block, I just think to myself, what’s something really interesting and entertaining that’s happened to me? Then, I just pull stories from my own experiences until I have something that works.

When you think of ultimate dream project, what comes to mind? The ultimate dream project would be working on a show like The Office because it’s so memorable and it looks like being in the cast or crew would have been the best time. But, the ultimate dream would be to show run my own sitcom someday.

What advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters? My advice would be just to live your life because that’s where all your inspiration and stories are going to come from. The things that might hold you back now could be the story you write that makes your career. So just keep going!

What can you tell us about any upcoming projects of yours? I have an upcoming project that I co-wrote with Tara Anaise called “Trimmigrants” that I’m really excited about. We just signed on Jason Perlman to produce so I can’t wait to see what happens with it!