Will Beall, English alumnus, crafts a career in Hollywood

Will Beall (‘96 English) began his writing career in earnest with the 2006 publication of his first novel “L.A. Rex,” a thriller based loosely on activities in the South Central homicide division of the Los Angeles Police Department where he spent a 10-year career as a detective.

Beall is one of the screenwriters behind the 2024 “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” and “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” movies. He also co-wrote the screenplay for “Aquaman,” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” He was the writer for the feature “Gangster Squad,” starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, and Josh Brolin. Other credits include his work as an executive story editor for 34 episodes of “Castle.” He also wrote and executive produced “Training Day” and “Deputy” for television.

Beall was influenced by Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.” Beall said it was his “egalitarian vision of the future” that struck him. He also counts Michael Connelly, the bestselling author of 38 detective and crime novels, as a great influence.

Joseph Wambaugh, the former police detective and best-selling author of 16 crime novels, was another important influence. When Beall met Wambaugh at a writers’ conference, (Beall was still a member of the police department), Wambaugh asked him if he would be leaving the police force to become a full-time writer. It was a moment of foreshadowing in Beall’s career trajectory.

After a producer optioned “L.A. Rex,” Beall said,”I wound up a screenwriter.”

Writing has long been a serious passion, beginning with his time as a reporter for The Daily Aztec. Now Beall is living his dream — and tapping into skills he learned as an English major.

Beall shares his San Diego State University and career experiences with CAL:

As a young English major, what were your goals after college?

I thought I was going to be the next Shane Black. Every wannabe screenwriter of my generation wanted to be the next Shane Black. We’d all heard about his million-dollar spec sale, right out of college. “Lethal Weapon.” Worth every penny, by the way. And he’s just so cool. He’s a brilliant writer and director. But it’s more than that. He writes like a guy who snuck into the party and he’s holding the door open a crack for the rest of us. Turns out Shane just made it look easy. And I don’t have anything approaching his level of talent. But I’ve been able to kinda fake it for the last 15 years or so. Don’t tell anyone.

How did SDSU (and the English department) help you achieve your goals/dreams?

I thought Professor Jerry Bumpus was pretty amazing. The way he approached story. Short stories fell into two categories in the 90s, for me anyway (if you don’t count Stephen King). There was the Richard Ford, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference stuff you’d find in The New Yorker – kind of mannered and bloodless. Then there was the alt-lit stuff like Lynne Tillman and Gary Indiana that didn’t really speak to me. Bumpus was so great because he took the guardrails off. He was totally unpretentious in his approach. He was like, “just tell me a good story.” He made it so much fun to write and hear other people read their stuff. There was an element of performance in it too, kind of like a table read. 

Then there was the one guy who taught screenwriting, Thomas Nelson (English lecturer). I learned a ton from him. He taught screenwriting through great movies: “The Searchers.” “North By Northwest.,”It’s a Wonderful Life.” And even today, I come back to things I learned in his class again and again. I learned more from him than any how-to screenwriting book like “Save The Cat” or “Robert McKee’s Story” (save your money). He was another one, unpretentious, but absolutely brilliant. He taught Shakespeare the same way, you could tell he loved it. And he came at the craft of screenwriting from a pure love of movies, which really is the only way to do it.

I wrote compulsively. If I didn’t have a creative writing assignment, I’d write something on my own. I submitted short stories to a few publications, came close with one I’d written in Bumpus’s class. I even wrote a whole terrible novel while I was at SDSU, (actually while I should’ve been studying). 320 pages of total garbage. When I started at SDSU, I dated a girl who worked at The Daily Aztec. And that changed everything for me.

What is one fond memory of your college days?

The Daily Aztec was a wonderful place where I made lifelong friends. It was a real newspaper that ran on advertising revenue. I remember chasing stories, staying up late to put the paper out. Newspapers are dying across the country and I cherish that experience. 

[Beall won two awards at the 1995 California Intercollegiate Press Association event: a first-place award for “Best Newspaper Humor or Satirical Column,” and second-place for “Best Newspaper News Article.”]

What is life like in the Hollywood sphere?

I’ve been blessed to have two careers that I love. I was a cop for 10 years and most of the time I was having so much fun I couldn’t believe they were paying me to do it. I feel that way about screenwriting. And I guess everybody’s supposed to act like we’ve been here before, like it’s not a big deal to meet one of your childhood heroes, or drive on a lot for a meeting, or walk the red carpet at a premiere. But I still get a kick out of all that stuff. But nothing is as much fun as the actual writing. I’d do it for free. 

Who are some of your heroes that you have had the pleasure of meeting?

I’ve been lucky to work with some great people, and some childhood heroes of mine. But of all of them, the one I was most twitterpated by was Shane Black. He’s the Michael Jordan of screenwriters. I still look up to him. They say never meet your heroes, but he was so gracious and cool. Guy invited me to his home, just to help me out with a script I was working on and I’ll never forget it.