Tell us about yourself!
My full name (and I’m exceedingly proud of it, particularly the alliteration and Roman numeral) is Louis Lucero II, and I’m a student at the University of Southern California. I’m majoring in environmental studies with minors in English and screenwriting, and I’m from Quartz Hill, California — it’s a smallish desert town about an hour outside of L.A. I’m a smiley and excitable guy who’s less likely to crack you up than he is to laugh at himself, but that’s just fine with me. I’ve always loved to read, but not that long ago I discovered that I also love serialized TV dramas — I’m finding that these two passions are, logistically speaking, mutually exclusive, particularly when Netflix Instant gets involved. Also, I recently learned that I was, in fact, Born This Way. (I’m inclined to agree.)
What made you want to become a part of Daily BR!NK?
The first time I heard mention of Daily BR!NK, I was crashing on the living room floor of design director Jeremy Allen’s apartment. I caught him and Gary Goldman just as they were tip-toeing out on their way to a morning meeting. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to further my reputation as a 24-hour impediment and an obstacle for all occasions, I pestered them with questions about the meeting: Apparently it was with one Ryo Chiba, their webmaster. Webmaster of what? The answer to that question was one of the most succinct, well-crafted, and I think promising pitches for any idea I’d ever heard. Although I’m still on-board exclusively in the capacity of a contributing writer, I’ve been honored to turn the spotlight on just a few of the bright young stars and as-yet-undiscovered talents that have been showcased on Daily BR!NK.
And what do YOU do, Mr. Lucero?
For years I’ve been preparing myself for a career in arts and entertainment journalism through various positions on school newspapers and internships, and while I still very much enjoy cultural reporting — and don’t think myself too shabby at it — I’ve recently begun trying my hand at screenwriting. I’m fortunate enough to be currently studying the craft at one of the finest film schools in the world, so I’m going to see where I can take what I’ve learned.
Who do you like to read?
The bulk of my favorite writers are at least tangentially affiliated with the “This American Life” literary rat-pack — David Rakoff, David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, Dan Savage — but the writer whose prose and intellect I most admire is the late David Foster Wallace, whose nonfiction is, by most readers’ estimation, already legendary. Also, even casual observers are already heralding the advent of a new ‘golden age of television,’ and I’m inclined to side with them. Alan Ball (True Blood), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men), Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and others like them both inspire me and get me excited for a career in TV.
What people would you like to connect with?
I always appreciate opportunities to write, and to that end I’m looking for internships that would enable me to do that. Specifically, I would love to get experience writing for a print or online publication or working at some sort of production studio: There’s nothing quite like a foot in the door, right?
