Behind every good movie, there is a good screenwriter.

However, oftentimes, the writers of a film fall to the wayside when big-name directors and flashy stars dominate the credits. Gerald DiPego, an NIU and Northern Star alumnus with more than 30 years of experience in Hollywood, has made a name for himself as a successful screenwriter both for TV and film. With Hollywood’s cutthroat atmosphere, that’s not a small accomplishment.

DiPego, with more than 30 screenplays to his name, including “Message In A Bottle” and “Phenomenon,” penned “The Forgotten,” which has grossed $50 million and reached the No. 1 spot in box office sales its first weekend. The California resident agreed to talk about his experiences in the film and TV industries via telephone.

Weekender: You graduated from NIU in 1963. What was the university like at the time, and how did your time at Northern shape your career today?

Gerald DiPego: I was a journalism major and eventually a news editor for the Northern Star. By ‘63, Northern had made the transition from a teacher’s college to a pretty big university. I was pretty shy and the journalism experience helped me a lot. The skills of interviewing, taking notes and condensing what you write has served me well because when I write a script or novel, there’s research involved. I might ride along with police or take an expert out to lunch. You also learn to tune things out.

WE: How did you get started writing?

GD: I loved to read as a kid, but I also loved movies. They have magic, and they take you away. After I worked in the field as a teacher and as a reporter, I started taking film classes, creative-writing classes and I learned how to write for film. I wrote my first screenplay in Chicago and then moved to California. I sold the first screenplay option three times. It never made it to screen, but it launched my career. The screenplay landed on the desk of a man producing movies for TV. He asked me to rewrite some scripts for him. In those days – when TV made lots of movies – there was lots of work. I worked mainly in the TV movie industry for 20 years and wrote several novels. It wasn’t until I wrote ‘Phenomenon,’ with John Travolta, that I really was pushed into writing feature films.

WE: Could you talk about some of the differences between writing for TV and writing for the big screen?

GD: You have a bigger canvas with feature films, bigger budgets and you don’t have the same kind of censorship. So there’s more a sense of freedom with the subject you cover. Most TV movies came to be dramas and based on true events. That didn’t interest me too much.

WE: ‘Message in a Bottle’ was adapted from a book. What challenges do you face when adapting another writer’s work? Do you try to remain true to the original author’s intent?

GD: You have to decide what’s good about the book. What do people gather around? Why is the public embracing it? What are the central values of the book? But you have to re-imagine it as film. Things in a novel that could be told internally now have to be told visually. For instance, in the book ‘Message in a Bottle,’ Kevin’s character taught scuba diving, but I changed him to a boat builder because that’s more visual and the boat building became a metaphor. But I kept close to the bones of the film. Nick Sparks has told me he’s very happy with the film. I also have adapted one of my own novels, and that’s interesting because you have to be ruthless with your own writing.

WE: ‘The Forgotten’ hasn’t garnered all positive reviews. Do you pay attention to the critics?

GD: You look at the reviews and often they’re mixed, but then you see what the public is doing. You see the public is embracing it and that’s gratifying. It’s part of the business, but if you put your heart into a work, sure, a bad review hurts. I don’t read them, though. But you have to remember that your whole vision, as a writer, doesn’t come to the screen. Even in ‘The Forgotten,’ changes were made. You go in to work on a film knowing you have to be a debate captain to defend your work.

WE: When you were writing ‘The Forgotten,’ did you know Julianne Moore would play the lead?

GD: No, but Julianne Moore is very high on anyone’s list, so I was thrilled to get her. When I write something, I don’t like to have anyone in mind because that can limit and shape the character. But once it’s finished, it’s fun to daydream who you would want.

WE: What’s your strangest story from Hollywood?

GD: Um, on ‘Message in a Bottle,’ once Kevin Costner had signed on, he was so busy that they couldn’t arrange a meeting. He was in Colorado and flying to L.A. So the only way to have a meeting was to fly out to Colorado and have the meeting in the air on his private jet.

WE: Any other interesting stories?

GD: On ‘Phenomenon,’ the studio and director were asking for certain changes and John Travolta stepped up and said, ‘Hey, if you don’t keep Jerry’s script, I’m leaving.’ So the film ‘Phenomenon’ was the closest to my personal vision of the script. And that’s a writer’s dream.

WE: Do you have a method of getting your ideas?

GD: I don’t think you can be out there trying to have an idea. They just come at you. Ideas come all the time; you have to be a sorter, to say, ‘That’s a good idea. Let’s follow that.’ I’ve been lucky and never really been blocked. But every writer has to monitor himself, to make sure he’s not just skimming the surface.

WE: Because the rumors that you’re working on ‘Hallowing 9’ are false, could you talk current projects?

GD: I’m writing another novel and I’m loving doing it. I think it’s my best work to date. Also, one script I wrote a while back now has a director attached, so that may be my next film project. It’s called ‘One of Us’ and it’s light-hearted sci-fi.

WE: What’s your favorite work to date?

GD: ‘Phenomenon’ and my last novel, ‘Cheevey.’ ‘Cheevey’ was a milestone; it wasn’t a best-seller, but it proved I could step away from plots and do a book for the heart and soul.

WE: You produced the made-for-TV film, ‘The Trial of the Incredible Hulk,’ in 1989. How did your experience with producing differ from your experience with writing?

GD: That was so much fun. One of my closest friends, Bill Bixby, was the star and director of the movie, and at one point he said, ‘They’re bringing the Hulk back as three TV movies, would you be interested in writing one?’ So we went to Vancouver to shoot it and had a ball. We were like two kids.

WE: What are the essential elements of a good movie script?

GD: The emotional reality, whether it’s in a comedy, drama or something else. Then the audience won’t just sit back and relax, but find themselves involved.

WE: Any advice for aspiring screenwriters?

GD: Well, if you can find a certain kind of fire inside yourself, you should write from that. Do the best work you can and get it out there. It helps to get out and look around, and don’t just write from the films you’ve seen.