by Len Lear

Part Two

Andrew Barrer, 34, who grew up in Ambler and graduated from Germantown Academy in 2002, and his writing partner, Gabriel Ferrari, penned the script for “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, which is currently the nation's number one film at the box office, having brought in more than $100 million in the first 10 days after its release on July 6. Here is the rest of our interview with Barrar, who divides his time between Rockaway Beach, NY; Doylestown and Los Angeles:

• Do you get paid a flat fee, no matter what eventually happens to a script?

“Screenwriting pays like most other art forms. You start working for the industry minimum, and your price tag goes up as you work your way up. Different projects have different pay structures, but there are often payments that get triggered by further rewrites and some small back end percentage that allows writers to profit off movies that do well in the box office and beyond.”

• How did the first Ant-Man script come about, considering that they could have easily hired more experienced scriptwriters?

“We had a general meeting with Peyton Reed (the director) about a year before he landed Ant-Man. We got along really well in that meeting and kind of just had this good rapport with him. So, when our manager heard they were looking for some help with rewrites, he fought to get us a meeting, and Peyton remembered us. We hopped on Skype, and the rest is history. There was also a young-and-hungry component to it. They needed writers to hop on a plane within a couple days and relocate to Atlanta for six months. A lot of older, more experienced writers aren’t necessarily in a position to do that.”

• Since you have tight deadlines and there is a lot of money at stake, how much stress is there when you are working on the script?

“It honestly depends on how well the writing is going. If we have a strong handle on the story and the writing feels breezy, the fun outweighs the stress. But on the other hand, if we’re having trouble nailing something down, it can get enormously stressful. In those cases, you just need to put in the hours. If it takes some sleepless nights to get a story figured out, then that’s what it takes.”

• What is harder, becoming successful or staying successful?

“This business is so, so hard to break into. That’s why I said our story might be annoying to some people because we broke in somewhat early and unconventionally. But once you get in, you better be willing to go full speed for years because that’s what it takes to get to the next level. For every produced screenplay, there are hundreds that go nowhere. You have to be willing to write thanklessly for a long time, taking jobs that don’t always thrill you, to keep a screenwriting career going.”

• I’d say the odds are very much against any newcomer in any aspect of the entertainment industry. How have you overcome those odds?

“I hope talent had something to do with it! But, beyond that, it’s all about commitment. It’s trite but true. There’s an enormous amount of failure in screenwriting. You have to really love it to survive the low moments, and I love it.”

• Are you free to say anything about other projects you are now working on?

“We’re writing a thriller that’s being produced by Scott Frank, who was just nominated for an Oscar for writing 'Logan.' When you’re writers in our position, there’s nothing more valuable than working under writer-producers with his level of talent and experience. We’re also working on a family movie, and we’re about to pitch a remake of a horror classic. And we’re developing a TV show based on a Stephen King short story.”

• How did your years at GA contribute to your success, if any?

“The quality of the teachers at GA is up there with most colleges. The English courses I took in high school were easily as vigorous as the ones at NYU, and the focus on communicating your ideas in writing was enormously important for me. I would bet the 'worst' essay writer at GA is still pretty good, and the ability to argue your point in writing is maybe the most useful ability you could ever acquire.”

• What is the best advice you ever received?

“My mom gave me a Lakota Sioux prayer when I was kid, and there was a line in it that went, 'I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother but to fight my greatest enemy — myself.' Then, later, when I was a weird teenager, my dad jokingly said, 'Just make sure you don’t get too weird.' I think those two kernels are different ways of saying the same thing.”

• What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

“Life is hard, man. If anyone thinks it’s easy, they just haven’t lived long enough. You have to take the bad with the good.”

• If you could meet and spend time with anyone on earth, living or dead, who would it be and why?

“I could list off some of my heroes here: Nietzsche, Camus, Hemingway, Vonnegut, Cobain. If I had to pick someone living, maybe I’d go with Martin Scorsese or Margaret Atwood. But if I’m being honest, I lost both my sisters in the past few years, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t give for another day with them. Everything I do is in their honor.”