José Rivera exudes the kind of self-assurance, calm and confident persona you only find after decades of graft, experience and, ultimately, success in your field. His area of expertise? Screenwriting.
And, boy, can he write. Netflix certainly think so…
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Netflix’s One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Rivera successfully pitched for the forthcoming Netflix adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and has written all of the episodes himself. Quite the undertaking.
The Spanish-Language series is currently in development as of February 2022 and promises to be epic in scale.
An Oscar-nominated screenplay: The Motorcycle Diaries
Rivera was the first Puerto Rican screenwriter to be nominated for an Academy Award, with a nod going to his screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) – check out the link(s) below to watch the movie!
Since then José has penned Letters to Juliet (2010), On The Road (2012), The 33 (2015) and for TV shows like Penny Dreadful.
In this interview José Rivera discusses:
– The influence of his mother in his formative writing years
– The importance of being true to yourself
– What it takes to become a successful screenwriter
– Why he loves focusing on seconds drafts
– Not caring what critics will say
And so much more. Enjoy!
Credits
Special Thanks: Karl Maier
VFX/Titles/Intro & Artwork, Headline, Copywriting: Richard Williams
Stills and/or footage courtesy of: José Rivera
Images used in line with UK government guidance on Fair Dealing for works of criticism, review or quotation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Sebastien Tobler
Multicultural writer-director currently in LA. Perpetual expat. Fascinated by time and human connections on screen.
Karl Maier
Dancer, teacher, choreographer, and video editor. My passion is finding the heart of the story and exploring its evolution and development.
I own this thing. Being creative makes me tick. Film lover. Coffee hater. Website manager, headline and copywriter, video editor, graphic/motion designer, editor, presenter...
