Future Famous Scriptwriter: Brandon Larkin

            Future Famous Scriptwriter: Brandon Larkin

                       By Emily D'Atri

                           ENGL 336

Brandon Larkin was born on March 17, 1992 in Cumberland, Maryland, where he has lived all of his life. After high school, he decided to continue his education at Frostburg State University, located about 10 miles from his hometown. When he first started out at Frostburg, his intent was to get the easiest degree and then head straight into the military.

After four semesters, Brandon's plans have dramatically changed. His unofficial major—he plans on officially declaring it by the end of this semester—is Mass Communications with a double minor in film studies and journalism. In explaining how he ended up with such a rigorous major and two minors, Brandon states, “I love movies, and writing is scholastically the only thing I have ever been really good at. It just seemed right.” Brandon was certain he wanted to make a career out of what he loves—movies and writing—after taking a class with Professor McAlexander, an instructor in his university’s Mass Communications department.

Brandon is well on his way to making his dreams screenwriting come true. He’s already completed two screenplays, and even submitted one to a company in Los Angeles. He was offered $200 for his submission for the script, but he thinks his work is worth much more than that and said, “thanks, but no thanks.” Psychologial thrillers are Brandon’s genre of choice—to both write and watch. Sometimes after watching a movie, he thinks he could come up with something much better. Brandon states, “If you miss the first ten minutes [of a movie] and can still understand what’s going on, it’s no good. I hate that.”

For now, Brandon works as a Sever at a popular restaurant in LaVale, Maryland. Like most others in his current position, he can’t wait to land a “real job”—one that you go to school for. He didn’t hesitate to share his feelings about being a server: “I hate everything about it. You bust your ass for an hour trying to make your guest’s experience perfect, and you end up getting three dollars.”

Somehow between going to school and working most nights, Brandon finds time for something he could absolutely not live without: going to the gym. “It’s the only thing that keeps me sane,” Brandon very seriously stated. He goes to the YMCA five or six days every week, and cherishes the time he spends there. It helps him get away from the stresses of life and burn energy.

Although this area is “home” for Brandon, you may not be able to find him here in a couple years. After graduation he hopes to move to California to start his career. He knows that getting his dream job right away is very unlikely, so he plans on starting out doing journalism or working for a production company, but working hard to eventually make is dreams of screenwriting come true.