Shaeffer Holt has been a film buff for almost as long as he can remember.
He and his mom, from whom he said he traces his Chickasaw heritage, used to satisfy their cinematic guilty pleasure by tuning in to Turner Classic Movies in their Harrah, Oklahoma, home where he was raised.
“I grew up falling in love with those old movies,” Holt said.
The fact his grandfather on his father’s side had worked as a film actor offered evidence it might be possible to break into the notoriously difficult film industry, even for a kid from a small rural town in Oklahoma.
“I grew up thinking it was an attainable career because of my grandfather,” he said.
Break into it, he did, by way of a friend — not as an actor, but as a producer. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in film at the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting from DePaul University in Chicago, Holt moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream.
“My friend from Harrah High School was in Los Angeles working as an assistant editor and the company he was with needed temporary help.”
The “temporary” help ended up lasting nine years.
“I began working as a personal assistant and script reader for Hunt Lowry at his production company, Roserock Films, at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California,” he said.
Later, Holt joined Superjacket Productions where he produced more than 1,650 episodes of MTV’s “Ridiculousness.” He also produced Season 3 of Nickelodeon’s “Crashletes,” all three seasons of MTV’s “Deliciousness,” both seasons of MTV’s “Messyness” and MTV’s “Adorableness.”
“During the pandemic, we switched to working from home. I thought, if I can work from home, I can do it anywhere and decided to move to New York to be closer to my girlfriend,” he said.
Holt admits the work was grueling. When the work in Los Angeles ended, it became something of a blessing in disguise.
“It was taxing work that left me no time to work on anything I actually wanted to work on,” he said.
By “anything,” he means writing.
“Since the show ended, I’ve been able to get back into writing.”
The change also allowed him to become a part of a program offered by the Native American Media Alliance (NAMA).
“The Native American Media Alliance program forced me to work on writing every day and get back into that routine. It’s exactly what I needed. That’s what I’m doing now and looking for the next opportunity.
“The NAMA works with First American writers. My program was especially geared for screenwriting for both TV and film. They bring in established writers who happen to be Native. They meet with us every day, and we’re given a mentor who has been working in the industry for a good while.
“They give us notes on our scripts and feedback to give us information about working in TV writing rooms and submitting to representation (agents). The program from start to finish is about two months long. It’s enough time to submit a script, get notes back on it, do the rewrites and resubmit it.”
Holt was one of a select group of writers from all over the country chosen for the program.
“There were seven people in our cohort. We were reading each other’s scripts and offering feedback to each other,” he said.
“I would like to give a shout out to the people of the NAMA, particularly Ian Skorodin, who put that program together, and Haley Rains, who was with us every day as a mediator between us and the excellent guest speakers they brought in for us to hear.”
Holt said he is still waiting for his first big break in the world of scriptwriting for television or film. His current project is a buddy comedy period piece set during the Great Depression in Oklahoma.
He said he hopes to gain the attention of someone who finds his work interesting.
“Maybe I can use my current script as a sample by which to acquire representation,” he said.
“The Native American Media Alliance provides a multifaceted educational program for studios, networks, production companies, talent agencies and unions working in the Native space in order to promote an authentic voice in film, television and new media,” according to NAMA’s website.
Visit NAMA.Media for more information.