I WAS PEN PALS WITH BUKOWSKI AND KICKED VIN DIESEL'S ASS

Dear Steemits,

You don't know me. I’m just a regular guy who’s figured out clever ways to make his dreams come true. Here are a few examples:

BECOMING A SCREENWRITER:
I've been a screenwriter for a lot of years. Here are some of my movies:

How did I do it? I wasn't from L.A. and didn't know anybody in showbiz. All I knew is that I loved movies.

Nobody can stop you from sitting down and writing a screenplay, right? So that's what I did. I was persistent. I found clever ways to get my scripts to people, I cold-called agents and producers, I made friends with receptionists (this was all pre-internet). What finally worked? I applied for a Disney fellowship that I wasn't eligible for. I enclosed a funny cover letter asking them to read my script anyway. They did and I haven't looked back since.

Just like every professional screenwriter I have ever met, I had to figure my own way into Hollywood. If a dumb trick like that worked for me, why not for you too?

BECOMING A JOURNALIST:
Before Hollywood, I wrote for various newspapers and underground ‘zines. I got to meet and interview interesting people like Jello Biafra (DEAD KENNEDYS), Keith Morris (CIRCLE JERKS), Harvey Pekar, and Dan 'HOMER SIMPSON' Castellaneta. How did I get to these people? I asked! This was also pre-internet. I called record labels, sent letters to publishers, inquired with managers and publicists, I went to gigs and introduced myself. Then I wrote the articles and submitted them to newspapers and 'zines until someone printed them. That was an awesome way to get writing experience and meet people I admire.

Me with NOFX in 1992:

BECOMING A ROCK STAR:
I always wanted to be the lead singer in a touring rock band. Through a clever trick, I managed to pull that off too. I told the Warped Tour I was going to write about them for Rolling Stone magazine. The gimmick was that I would write from the perspective of a band on the tour. All they had to do was put my unknown garage band on the bill and I would write a big fat article for the biggest music magazine on the planet. The thing was, I didn't know anybody at Rolling Stone magazine. But they didn't know that, so on the tour I went. My band was CARNE ASADA and we brought punk rock mariachi music to the Mid-West.

So was I lying? Not exactly. After they agreed to put me on the tour, I actually DID call Rolling Stone, but they turned me down. I submitted the idea to a couple more places, and they all shot me down too. But by then it was too late. I'd already gotten my slot and I was on the road with the likes of BAD RELIGION, THE VANDALS and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. Warped Tour forgot why I was there in the first place and never said a peep.

We also put out an album. We even got it on iTunes:

>link to iTunes<

BECOMING PEN PALS WITH BUKOWSKI:
One of the coolest things happened when I was writing for an underground rag called HALF-TRUTH in 1991. On a whim I reached out to one of my literary idols, Charles Bukowski, for an interview. Bukowski said no. I never hassled him but I kept sending him issues of the 'zine until one day, for whatever reason, he started submitting material. Over the next two years he sent poems, short stories, an early chapter from a novel, cartoons, and self-portraits, all of it brand new and unpublished.

I recently rediscovered this treasure trove, and that's what prompted me to join Steemit. I want to share this material with people who might appreciate it. As far as I know, none of it has been seen since it appeared in HALF-TRUTH 25 years ago.

Here's a letter he sent apologizing for giving an interview to a rival 'zine instead of ours:

If you haven’t heard of Bukowski, do yourself a favor and discover this wonderful drunken skid-row poet, gambler, screenwriter and novelist. LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL is as good a place to start as any.

So that's my deal. I've got stories to share, some cool pictures, and over forty pages of unpublished Bukowski.

I really don't know how to Steemit, so please be patient. I am crap at reposting or upvoting or whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing. Any advice would help.

Best,
Rich Wilkes

Here's my proof of identity (or whatever you call it): My IMDB page