ABOUT
INTRODUCTION
I’m TW Hawk, an author, filmmaker, and Hollywood creative entrepreneur.
I’ve written movies, a play, shot and edited docuseries, created and hosted a web series, directed a film, taught at Stanford, and wrote a book on success mindset.
I’ve discovered, launched, shaped, guided, and grown the prolific and profitable careers of scores of talented fellow creative artists — A-list screenwriters, directors, authors, and creators.
Hollywood is where I’ve spent three decades producing movies, shaping creative works and deal-making.
I was first to discover and sell: Rounders; 10 Things I Hate About You; an Emmy-winning director; a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.
THE BEGINNING
The journey started when I was a kid growing up loving movies.
I read Premiere magazine. I was inspired by the magic of Star Wars, the adventure of Indiana Jones, and stories of the Biz, the F/X, and the stars and directors behind them: Lucas, Spielberg, Cameron, Tom Cruise, Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas…. their films were my favorites. I devoured and absorbed everything I could.
But growing up in New York was far from the magic of movie-making. That happened in a distant and enigmatic place on the other side of the country.
So I followed a path of entrepreneurship to Cornell University; studied International Management in Maastricht (The Netherlands); and toured consumer products companies on an Ivy League Fellowship in Japan.
And then I saw a movie. An amazing movie! The Player. It changed my life forever.
I scrapped my plans for Wall Street, set my sights on California, and put all my chips on Tinseltown. I moved to L.A. within a week of graduating with almost a 4.0, to start an unpaid internship making copies, fetching coffee, reading scripts, writing coverage. I was smitten! And I never looked back.
HOLLYWOOD’s 1st INDY LIT. MANAGER
Okay, I was actually the second independent literary manager in Hollywood. (The first isn’t in the business anymore).
Literary management was a fresh concept, a bold idea: a way to champion new voices. It required entrepreneurial aplomb, relentless persistence and the kind of moxie I cultivated as a student of entrepreneurship and craft.
CUT TO: I sold my first script less than two years after arriving in Hollywood.
I fostered the explosive success of hot new writing teams, and got seminal and beloved movies made, like Rounders, 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde, The House Bunny and many more.
I went from reading the Hollywood trades in my college dorm room to being written about in the trades.
I championed female talent. Launched brilliant new writers, fresh voices, sought-after talent. I advocated for directors. Packaged projects. Became a tireless proponent of new talent and unique stories.
I pursued a trajectory in literary management and producing that blazed a path for hundreds of literary managers to follow.
From Intern TO MGM produceR
I learned to be a deal-maker, innovator, champion of vision, networker, marketer, pitcher, developer, creator, communicator, people-grower and business shape-shifter. I hatched unique ways to develop, make, market and sell IP (Intellectual Property).
With a robust record of success, dozens of spec script and pitch sales, I quickly landed my very own studio deal at MGM.
$1.25 BILLION IN GLOBAL BOX OFFICE
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$1.25 BILLION IN GLOBAL BOX OFFICE 〰️
THE PLAYER
Making movies led me to rub shoulders on film sets with talent like Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon Levitt.
From unpaid intern to MGM producer in FIVE years!
I took meetings with stars-before-they-were-stars Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, and Rose Byrne. I confabbed over creative lunches with David Schwimmer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Jon Hamm. Sat with superstar directors, mammoth producers, and veteran agents.
I steered a peak talent roster of A-list clients, packaged dozens of projects from concept to screen, and oversaw my own eclectic slate of films.
I did so whilst living and working in a beach-front home in Malibu, sharing my insights from Hollywood driver’s seat—literally—as the host of a popular industry web series, Hollywood Drive & Talk.
“Creator-preneur”
I earned a reputation for high-quality material, great taste, stellar deal-making, career longevity, and deal facilitation.
I shared my best practices through a new media channel, Content Engine, where I produced content to “inspire, educate, and empower” Content Creators.
The result is a content-rich media library guiding content creators in the shape of the New Hollywood.™
This unique brand of dynamism resulted in a New Hollywood approach that combined innovation with creativity; entrepreneurship with intuition.
The result is tens and tens of millions of dollars in deals, twenty studio films, hundreds of hours of series television, scores of published books, a slate of graphic novels, and long-standing artistic careers across multiple platforms for A-list writers, award-winning directors, diverse content creators, and even a Pulitzer Prize-winner.
A DREAM FULFULLED
From a studio apartment in Hollywood funding my business on credit cards to a Malibu beach-front home, the outcome of my vision and persistence was a robust entertainment company, a remarkable career, and a glamorous lifestyle that I crafted from the ground up.
I wrote a book hailed as “a top business book every entrepreneur and startup founder should read."
I have been blessed to live a Hollywood Dream. And now I am pleased to share that dream with you.
WEB SERIES
Why success is a counter-intuitive DECREASE and not an INCREASE.
Moments of Truth show us that we are more alike than different. We are better together than apart. And in this transformative time of change and confusion we can still find solace in connection to ourselves, to Spirit and to each other.
SPEAKER
I’ve lectured at the world’s top film schools and international writers conferences. Whether speaking to groups or organizations, coaching individuals or teams, my unique methodology helps audiences to attune to the magic of their own inner wisdom.
teacher
Inspiring individuals, organizations, and artists around the world to create meaningfully, to live purposefully with easy-to-digest concepts around purpose and success. Experience these tools in my live seminars and workshops.