From Corbin to Hollywood, SOI principal lives life through the arts

May 4—CORBIN — The accolades continue for a local screenwriter.

Corbin School of Innovation Principal Mark Daniels is writing and selling screenplays to Hollywood. Daniels has been recognized and won awards at film festivals in the U.S for his screenplays and has dedicated his life to sharing the passion of the arts with others.

He wrote his first screenplay when he was 17 and studied Communications at Eastern Kentucky University where he acquired his undergraduate degree in 1984. He then went to graduate school working with film and came back and got an education degree in 1988.

"The great thing about my education is that I have been able to incorporate both degrees and both passions by setting up communications and filmmaking programs and a radio station in our school district," Daniels said. "I have been able to combine all of those."

Corbin School of Innovation is focused on teaching students by guiding them through a process of learning by doing. The school gives opportunity for students to study the arts like drama, broadcasting, radio and more nontraditional studies below the college level.

"Writing is a very solitary process so that is usually the first step to anything. I write a page a day no matter what," Daniels said. "I work on multiple screenplay projects at a time."

Daniels mentioned some of his favorite pieces to work on were horror or psychological thrillers, some of which have earned him a good chunk of change. However, he shares he couldn't have survived the starving artist lifestyle and chose education as a complementary path to the arts he had a passion for.

That passion has led Daniels to teach screenplay writing at the college level at his alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University.

He shares that one downfall to selling his work through his agent in Hollywood is that sometimes once you sign the rights over, the buyers often change some details that he as the creator may not have envisioned for the project.

"I always tell my class, writing is rewriting," Daniels said. "You accept things might change. It is part of the business."

Daniels has learned how to perform a balancing act as a principal at Corbin School of Innovation, teaching for EKU and his day-to-day life duties. He still finds time to write at least a page a day on his screenplays and finishes screenplays for the review and edit process in about three months.

Some of his career highlights are:

—He wrote, produced, and directed a short play presented at Berea College when he was 17.

—He was also a Top 10 screenplay finalist at the Cannes Film Festival.

—He is also represented by The Robb Company, a management firm based in Los Angeles.

Daniels shared some of the growth he has seen in the industry since he first started making films in the 1980s at EKU.

The biggest accomplishment, according to Daniels, is being able to have his screenplays successfully picked up and produced.

"The great thing about technology over the years is that it is much more accessible. There are many more companies that have their own websites that help you market your work so you don't have to go to L.A. all the time to pitch your screenplay," Daniels said. "You have easy access to promote your screenplay or your film whatever you have produced at that point on sites like Ink Tip and filmfreeway."

He is currently working on a screenplay about a killer gold fish.

His screenplay Vilified, which has gotten a lot of recognition recently, is a horror-comedy that has a thriller Hitchcock vibe to it.

Vilified is about a character who was very famous in the 1980s playing big Jason or Michael Meyers characters. It's about him being framed for murder for these cases that are similar to the roles has played in the movies.

In 2016, Daniels had a screenplay distribution in Germany. It premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival and won an award in Tennessee.

He gives advice for those pursuing a passion for screenwriting.

"You have to write with a passion, not just trying to come up with a story," Daniels said. "You have to write from the heart. You get more no's than yes but you don't hold grudges. It's ok because you always keep communication open. Hollywood is small; everyone knows everyone, don't close those doors."

His passion for screenwriting and films keeps him busy and traveling to film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival and he enjoys going out to Los Angeles when he can get away.

Daniels shares why writing brings him much joy.

"Whatever you want to do, it's your universe. You can write it anyway you want to that first round," Daniels shared.

If you are interested in learning more about screenwriting or filmmaking, contact Daniels at [email protected].