That may sound familiar because Bob Odenkirk grew up in Naperville! I live right by the train and it's relaxing hearing it rumble by.
Just taking a moment to introduce myself- I'm Dan, a career designer for 20 years who is making the transition to writing full time. A few highlights:
- Designed learning games for Discovery Education
- Redesigned the IHOP mobile app and website with 3 other talented creatives at Hearst
- Created reddit's largest design community: /r/crappydesign (6 million subscribers last time I checked)
My background in user experience and game design gives my brain fertile soil for my writing which is often inspired by puzzle box noir and westerns- stories where every last detail means something and every mystery has a satisfying solution.
My favorite film is Memento if that says anything.
Looking forward to connecting with others in film- especially looking forward to learning how to pick up a manager. If anyone has some tips on that please share! (or if you're a manager please do connect!)
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Hi, Daniel Allen. Happy Holidays! Congratulations on being a career designer for 20 years! Impressive resume. Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with managers.
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memento! you’re my people daniel david!
have you spent countless hours replaying the movie in your head backwards in chronological order?
i find it amazing that there are a hundred variations of Groundhog Day but there’s only one other time reversed movie like this (Irreversible).
(honourable mentions: in other media we have the novel Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis and the comic Trillium by Jeff Lemire.)
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@james I've seen memento now around a dozen times and yes most of that film lives rent free in my head. In fact I put a brief cameo of Leonard into the second episode of my recent series script (Grizzly Bluff) and some talking parts from a motel desk clerk named Burt! My investigative protagonist also pins Polaroids to the motel wall. I'm not obsessed you're obsessed.
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@maurice many thanks!!
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You're welcome, Daniel Allen. Hope you find a manager! I need to finish watching Memento and read the script. I think I just saw the opening scene. What's Grizzly Bluff about?
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@maurice: surface level: it's a 1980 mountain town thriller about a found family who go on the run to escape a genocidal police chief who secretly feeds undesirables to a Grizzly Bear. But if I had to say what it's REALLY about- it's about this question: how do you rebuild your life when you've lost everything?
I posted it up here if you'd like to check out the 2 pager and pilot script: https://www.stage32.com/profile/1354811/Screenplay/Grizzly-Bluff
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Congratulations Daniel Allen on your accomplishments to date and good luck going forward. This is the spot to connect. Go Naperville!
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lWelcome, Daniel. Long ago, while I still lived in Milwaukee I had a love/hate affair with a girl from Naperville. Still think about her from time to time.
With respect to stories that play out backwards, check out Gaper Noe’s Irreversible, But beware - there is a sexual abuse scene that is especially difficult to stomach.
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Daniel Allen nice to meet you and excited about your expanding your creativity and obvious love of creative craft into screenwriting. wishing you success in 2026! cheers
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Grizzly Bear sounds interesting, Daniel Allen! Unique concept! I think you should put "how do you rebuild your life when you've lost everything?" in your pitch if you haven't already. I'll check out the 2 pager and pilot script as soon as I can.
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Thank you for the kind words of welcome all! And yes, @maurice I definitely do have that question in my 2 pager because it's the key that unlocks my work. I've found that the most devastating and beautiful things to write about are stories involving people who have gone through trauma trying to pick up the pieces.
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Quite a diverse and creative background, Daniel Allen. Fantastic to have you and all your talents in the community. I'll echo what Maurice Vaughan suggested. Drop Geoff and the Development Team a line at success@stage32.com - This is what they do all day, every day. And they love doing it.
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Hey Daniel Allen, welcome! Your design background is seriously impressive, especially building something as massive as /r/crappydesign. Looking forward to seeing what you create!
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You're welcome, Daniel Allen. "I've found that the most devastating and beautiful things to write about are stories involving people who have gone through trauma trying to pick up the pieces." That's a powerful statement, and it's true. Hope you and your family have an incredible time during the holidays and hope you all have a lot of success in 2026!
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Thank you again all for the warm welcomes and kind words. The email is sent off @Richard Thank you!
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So glad to have you here Daniel! I went to North Central :) I love that you’re inspired by Westerns Thought you might like this book on Sam Peckinpah. The Showrunner of the TV show I’m producing wrote it: https://www.amazon.com/If-They-Move-Kill-Peckinpah/dp/0802115462
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Hey Daniel Allen welcome , that's an interesting concept.
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Thanks for the welcome Marie Hatten! Amanda Toney oh that's cool :) I live in the historic district near the metra station. I dig the book! I actually listened to Gunsmoke and other radio noirs as a kid on 'Oldtime Radio' (along with Jack Benny and others).
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Nice to have you here; my best wishes and good luck
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Hi and welcome to Stage 32!