Follow Notable as we take you behind the scenes at NextMedia Banff and the Banff World Television Festival. In this video, Notable Host Julian Brass sits down with James Manos.

James Manos is best known as the co-producer and writer for the critically acclaimed and award winning HBO series, The Sopranos. In 1999, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for Dramatic Series along with The Sopranos‘ creator David Chase. He then went on to be a Consulting Producer on The Shield, and created, wrote, and produced Showtime’s Dexter.

As a featured speaker at the conference, James Manos discussed what it’s like to be a television writer in Hollywood. All the parties, swag, and celebrities must be a blast right? He says no. “It’s not anything I would ever recommend to anybody,” he jokes. He’s says that the life of a writer in Hollywood involves a ton of stress and requires a lot of work.

He raises the point that there are less shows being made these days, making getting work that much harder.

When it comes to young professionals, James Manos has some great insight. Having worked with hundreds of interns and young people in the business over the years, James notices a lack of interest as very few people ask questions. He finds the lack of curiosity really troubling because, “If you’re going to succeed at anything, you have to be innately curious,” he says.

And when it comes to being a good writer, there’s nothing better than life experience. How can you write about life when you haven’t even lived it yet?

NextMedia Banff provided a forum for advertising executives, television producers, web start-ups, digital brands, and many more to get together, network, and discuss where the future of digital media is heading. Check out Notable’s coverage here.

Photo by mconnors/morguefile.com.