Jason Cahill was excited, if not a bit surprised, to be invited to the 2005 Sun Valley Writers' Conference. When Cahill makes the trip, it will be his first to both Idaho and the conference, and in the weeks leading up to the illustrious gathering, Cahill expressed some bewilderment about his place on a panel that includes writers he thinks of as untouchable heroes. Fittingly, the first of Cahill's two talks at this year's conference is entitled "Stumbling into the Box."
Admitting that the talk might as well be labeled "Stumbling into a Career," Cahill is the first to point out that "You can never underestimate the role of luck in Hollywood."
Whether it was luck, determination or a combination of both, this writer struck television gold twice, first on NBC's "E.R." and then again for HBO's "The Sopranos."
When Cahill began working with David Chase on the critically acclaimed and meteorically successful cable series "The Sopranos," Cahill had been writing dramatic television scripts for just over two years.
"I was probably in over my head," he said.
But after an interview and reading his scripts, Chase, a man commonly called a genius by his entertainment peers, personally selected Cahill to write three episodes. At that moment, Cahill nailed all three elements of his self-prescribed recipe for Hollywood success:
"You need luck, talent, and desire, equally and in no particular order. You can have any two of those three and you won't ultimately have a successful career.
"You can be talented and want it, but if you never get your shot, then ... " he said, hinting at an ominous future for unlucky writers.
Cahill's first shot came writing for "E.R.," NBC's wildly popular hospital drama that launched, among others, George Clooney's career.
Cahill began with, and still holds onto, a distinctly altruistic approach to television writing. Before his career blossomed, he watched TV like anyone else, but was moved by what he felt was exceptionally high quality television. He decided that he wanted the chance to create comparable programming.
"I was very inspired by what now looks like a golden age of television drama in the early to mid '90s--the first year of 'N.Y.P.D. Blue,' first few years of 'X-Files,' and 'Homicide,' which I consider one of the top three television shows ever created," he said of the Tom Fontana drama, set in an exceptionally murderous precinct of Baltimore, Maryland. Fontana eventually moved on to an even grittier series with HBO's brutal prison drama, "OZ."
It was Fontana's first major show, though, that caught a young Cahill's attention.
"Watching 'Homicide' really made me think, 'This is really high caliber work.' It would be great to attempt anything even close to that," he said.
With both "E.R." and "The Sopranos," Cahill attempted and, in the minds of many, achieved a rarity: quality dramatic television. The critics and his peers agreed. For his "Sopranos" episode, "The Meadowlands," Cahill won a Writers Guild of America award for Best Episodic Drama in 2000.
These days, Cahill credits cable stations like FX and HBO for "taking chances in the medium that network dramas never could" and for salvaging much of what the networks' recent lust for reality TV has destroyed.
As for that bar-lowering invention, Cahill is one of many in Hollywood who have come to disdain the format. "It's taken a lot of jobs from my friends."
For a man who appreciates the best that television can produce, there is scant love misplaced on the young "reality" genre.
"I hope that the short shelf life of those shows contributes to their early demise," he said unequivocally.
As for his inclusion at the illustrious Sun Valley Writers' Conference, Cahill said he felt both puzzled and delighted. Despite his modesty, though, he is proud to travel to Sun Valley and give advice on what he thinks is a "very credible, if not respectable, career."
Beyond his own talks, Cahill is most awestruck by the company he will share at the Sun Valley event. In particular, Cahill is humbled by the political biographer Robert Caro:
"Caro is a hero of mine—I believe that Robert Caro will go down in history as the best political biographer in American history, period. The man has no peers."
From Aug. 19-22, though, Cahill can count himself at least a temporary peer to Caro and the many other immensely talented people paying a visit to central Idaho for the 2005 Sun Valley Writers' Conference.
Sun Valley Writers' Conference
The 2005 Sun Valley Writers' Conference will take place at Sun Valley Lodge from Friday, Aug. 19, to Monday, Aug. 22. The event is sold out but there is a waiting list. Visit www.svwc.com for more information.
A scene from "The Sopranos," the drama series that won Cahill a Writers Guild of America award for Best Episodic Drama in 2000.
