Sci-Fi Screenwriter Shunsuke Funakoshi

Shunsuke Funakoshi’s feature sci-fi screenplay Money Man gave him the recognition he needed from the film industry. Shunsuke received recognition from various film festivals across the United States, including Los Angeles Film Awards, Capital Fund Screenplay Competition, Filmmakers International Screenwriting Awards, and many more. Juries described it as Wall Street meets The Hunger Games, portraying a cutting-edge technology in fresh way. How did he come up with such an original perspective?

Advertising exec James Webb Young once said, “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” This maxim is often used in the film industry, as writers agree that there is nothing truly new under the sun: even the most imaginative and surprising stories deal with the same emotions and ideas that writers have been dealing with for centuries, arranged in new ways. Because Shunsuke writes exciting sci-fi stories that feature innovative technologies and original ideas but still ring true to a familiar human experience, he is a great case of a screenwriter that exemplifies this maxim in the entertainment industry today.

At its foundation, Shunsuke’s writing is full of insight. He is constantly observing events from a unique, unexpected perspective. Coming from Japan and living in America, he experiences the world around him at once as an American and as a bystander, allowing him quite a special point of view. This fundamental dual nature that he embraces and utilizes is the key to his particular perspective.

Shunsuke has studied the basics of screenwriting under Mickey Birnbaum, playwright and screenwriter, whose work was produced at the Road Theatre in his college days. Shunsuke continues to follow the valuable advice Mickey imparted to him while he was his teacher. The foundation and unique experiences Mr. Birnbaum offered have given Shunsuke the ability to now take the spotlight himself.