Ian Keldoulis

I'm an Australian writer who prefers shade to sunshine and crowded sidewalks to the outback. My favorite sport isn't cricket or rugby but people watching. So it's just as well, I've been transplanted to New York City for over three decades.

My feature-length screenplay, Toyz On Demand!, about Santa’s life when the North Pole melts, placed in the top 16 finalists in Stage 32’s Happy Writers Comedy Contest. The Sinking of America, my dark comedy TV pilot about sinkholes in Florida, won Best Short Script in the Oaxaca Film Festival (aka Sundance South of the Border). Candy Train, my 30-minute dramedy pilot has placed in the Hip Hop Film Festival and received an honorable mention in the Big Apple Film Festival script competition.

Straight whiskey is fine, but comedy needs a twist. Maybe I’m drawn to the quirky because my life has been far from linear. In any case, here’s my best shot at connecting the dots.

Writing has been the one constant in my life, beginning with underground magazines while studying at Sydney University. When I traveled to Tokyo, I wound up writing for a local production company, 21st City, and went on to do Japanese kid’s TV. Some work for PBS and Showtime followed when I moved to New York.

A stint in publishing lead to stories in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and other media outlets before I was lured into advertising, eventually running my own agency and winning 10 awards. A period that along with a lot of animated dog commercials, included ghost-writing the chairman’s letter for the company at the top of the World Trade Center after hundreds of employees were lost on 9/11.

For 3 years I studied TV writing under the guidance of Columbia University Professor, Alan Kingsberg. It’s good to know the rules—before you break them.

My philosophy: Writing what you know isn’t enough. It never has been. But the more experiences you have, the more fuel for your imagination and the more people you connect with.

I also believe participation is vital and I serve on the boards of the Downey Side adoption agency and the Bronx Independent Cinema Center.