WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- One of President Obama's speechwriters says he plans to parlay his success moonlighting on the capital's stand-up circuit into screenwriting in Hollywood.
Jon Lovett, 29, will leave the White House this month and head west to try his luck in the picture business.
"It's always been a dream of mine to write comedy and be creative," Lovett told The Washington Post. "I would like to be able to write in my own voice."
The Post said Sunday that Lovett has carved out a respected niche as a writer for the White House and the earlier campaigns of Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. He has some interest from producers on sitcoms including an updated version of M.A.S.H.
The newspaper said Lovett is the latest of a relatively small number of Washington writers making the transition to Hollywood. Despite the high stakes and seeming drama of D.C., the legislative and policy processes often do not translate well to entertainment.
"Waiting on a 12-hour quorum call while you wait for a vote for cloture to proceed to S. Res. 2793 does not make for good television, movies or plays," said Jay Carson, a former aide to Bill and Hillary Clinton and now a Los Angeles- based senior adviser to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
