He Built a Career In Film Without Connections… Here’s How! | Kinolime Podcast Ep 48

Meet the Guest & His Journey Who is Kole Landon-Lee? The creator of the massively popular Instagram account "Screenwriting in LA" (with over 280,000 followers) and the Head of Social for the film platform Kinolime.

Humble Beginnings: He moved from a small town in Texas to Los Angeles at age 20 with nothing but a truck. He initially lived in crowded artist housing with 11 other people and worked as a background actor.

Overcoming Burnout: After taking a kitchen job to pay the bills, Kole fell into a years-long creative dry spell and depression. Listening to Gary Vaynerchuk inspired him to reclaim his creativity by starting an Instagram page dedicated to his love of cinema.

The Rise of "Screenwriting in LA" Authenticity Wins: The account exploded in popularity because Kole didn't position himself as a "guru." Instead, he documented his own learning process and openly shared his personal struggles with the LA grind.

Curating Value: Rather than just posting basic quote graphics, Kole took the time to study hours of interviews (like those with Quentin Tarantino) to find and share the most valuable, motivational nuggets for writers.

The Signature Look: Kole is instantly recognizable to his followers thanks to his daily uniform: a plain black shirt (which evolved from a Greenwich Village-style turtleneck).

Writing Process & Joining Kinolime The Lynchian Method: Inspired by a David Lynch masterclass, Kole experimented with a new writing process for a short script. Instead of rigidly outlining plot beats, he focused purely on capturing a specific feeling—a script that ended up blindly scoring top marks from Kinolime's reading group.

Championing the Underdog: Kole was drawn to work with Kinolime because of its unique, community-driven model. He is deeply passionate about their mission to break down Hollywood's barriers and give unrepresented writers a tangible chance to get their scripts optioned and produced.