Mexican writer Lucy Luna in #PRODUprimetime: Anglo industry needs Latino writers

Lucy Luna, a Mexican writer who lives in Los Angeles, spoke with Ríchard Izarra on #PRODUprimetime about her experience as a Latina in the US, where she works writing scripts in English. She assures that since she was selected for the HBO and ScreenCraft fellowships she has not stopped working because the Anglo industry needs Latino writers. She encouraged other writers to go and live in the US because it is a good moment to take that risk.

SUCCESS STORY
Luna started as a fellow of HBO and ScreenCraft, shortly after she was part of Hollywood’s annual Young & Hungry List. She has worked with the most relevant production companies in the Anglo market. About one of the series she is scriptwriting, All Rise, about a judge and the cases she faces in the Los Angeles court for the Oprah Winfrey channel, she said “That series is not originally mine, but I was hired and I am working on it. I joined for the second season of that series which was initially on CBS but they decided they didn’t want it anymore and actually canceled it. And the Oprah Winfrey channel took it on, revived her and they called me back.”

The beginning was not easy, she remembers. She moved to the US due to the violence that was going on in her home state, Michoacán, in Mexico. With great difficulty, her family helped her financially. She studied screenwriting at The New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. Now she is the one who helps her family.

WHERE HER STORIES COME FROM
She is currently writing a series about her mother, Cuentos de bisturí, for CBS, which will be a hybrid between Spanish and English. “It is going to have two different timelines, one is going to be in Mexico and the other in Los Angeles. It is based on my mother, who is a coroner and I grew up listening to her stories,” she said, after commenting that now they are evaluating with the studio and the producers on what platform or on what channel it will be distributed.

Connecting emotionally is what works best for her to find writing topics. In particular, she likes horror, however, she has had to write comedy, and she likes it too.

She noted that Latino performers must begin to be seen naturally within stories, without necessarily being stories of migration or themes that justify the presence of a Latino, but that the actor happens to be a Latino.

AGENTS AND MANAGER
She explains that she has two agents, one for television and one for film, in addition to her manager. “They move a lot. They keep me busy” she said, after commenting that when she began to work she said yes to everything, but now she is learning to choose the projects and say no. She met her agent thanks to the fellowships she earned.

In addition, she is linked to a group of Latina writers, who support each other.

She finally made an encouragement call inviting her fellow writers to follow her dreams. “I would like to invite all those who have the dream of creating stories because initially, I was afraid of going to the United States because it was a different language and since I really wanted to write, I needed to learn English. But really, go for it because more Latino stories are needed, but told by us. That we are opening doors, so come because it is possible,” she said.

View Lucy Luna on en #PRODUprimetime con Ríchard Izarra here