Brittany Clifton is Finding her Funny Gene

“When I was just a kid, I knew I wanted to be in the film industry” says Brittany Clifton, the Film Connection screenwriting apprentice from Biloxi, Mississippi. “But I was never really sure how to make it come true.” The desire to work in film was reinforced when she took a film studies class in high school and her teacher told her about the story concepts she had been successful in selling. Brittany thought, “I’m going to either be IN a movie, or WRITE a movie one day!”

Flash-forward a few years and a wayward stint studying interior design at Art Institute, Cincinnati and Brittany finally started pursuing her dream by acting in a few projects for film students. Reading the scripts she said to herself, “I can write better than this.”

Such a revelation ultimately led Brittany to take her dream seriously by enrolling in the Screenwriting Program with Film Connection. Brittany was placed for remote one-on-one tutoring with none other than Paul Guay, the writer of Liar, Liar, starring Jim Carey. Of this experience so far, Brittany says, “I’m very lucky to have [Paul] as my mentor. My brother and I have been quoting that movie ever since we were kids. And every time I brag about who my mentor is, everyone looks at me with amazement, as if I wrote the movie!”

Working with Paul Guay was opened Brittney up to a world of possibilities in film. “I considered myself a movie buff until I started speaking with Paul. He’s recommended so many films that have inspired me more and more.” She also loves the talent Paul has for injecting humor into the work. “He’s got that funny gene that I long for,” she says, and he’s helping Brittany inject her humor into the caper-crime comedy she’s currently penning. “I’ve learned that I’m so much more creative than I thought!” she says. “I feel like my writing is improving every day, and I might actually be forming that funny gene everyone keeps talking about.” By the time Brittany graduates, she hopes to pitch her script to Hollywood, and she’s looking forward to building relationships with industry producers, writers and directors.

Beyond learning the craft of screenwriting, Brittany’s apprenticeship has awakened something deeper. She recalls when she was just a young girl, her father gave her a guitar and a voice recorder, and she remembers singing as quietly as she could into the voice recorder so no one could hear her. Her father saw what she was doing and said something that has stayed with her ever since: “Why would you want that? If you are always quiet, then no one can hear what you have to say.” it’s a lesson Brittany works to head every day. She says, “With no voice, you make no difference.”

With the help of her mentor, Paul Guay, Brittany is now learning to find her voice and to use it to create unique and interesting screenplays. “Film Connection has brought me out of my creative shell a little more,” she says. “Thank God, I’m no longer singing quietly.”