Writing for the Screen

The Path to Writing an Iconic Film

Navigating the Business of Hollywood

▶ An Interview With Barry Morrow

Emmy- and Oscar-winning screenwriter Barry Morrow began his career in the 1980s when he wrote about his experience befriending and eventually becoming the legal guardian of Bill Sackter, a man with developmental challenges who spent forty-four years in an institution. Morrow was living in Iowa at the time, and portions of his original story, called “The Triumph of Bill,” were published in the Des Moines Register. Bill’s story found national attention and was eventually turned into the television movie Bill (1981), starring Mickey Rooney, Dennis Quaid, and Helen Hunt, which earned Morrow an Emmy Award and propelled him on his journey as a screenwriter. ...