Doctor Who’s rejection of American writer Joe Hill was a brutal let down for the up and coming filmmaker. The legendary BBC series has been a cult favourite since 1963, attracting a wide range of talent as well as an extremely varied fan base. Unfortunately, it appears that not just anyone can join the fun.

As the son of horror fiction royalty Stephen King, Hill has been working to blaze his own trail as both a writer and a filmmaker. While some might say that having one of the most famous American authors of all time for a father couldn’t hurt your chances of finding success, Hill seems to have wanted to cut his own path straight from the start. Through numerous award-winning novels, Hill’s profile and fame grew, though eventually the public came to learn that the author’s real name was actually Joe Hillstrom King. Despite wanting to keep his family connections quiet, so far it hasn’t hurt Hill’s career in the least. And, as the 47-year-old Doctor Who fan recently found out, sometimes even having the best connections or help isn’t enough to land a highly coveted job. At least that seems to be the case with Doctor Who.

Bleeding Cool is now reporting that during a recent podcast interview, Hill revealed his love for the famed BBC series and how it had played a special role in his sons’ childhood. Calling himself “a huge Doctor Who geek”, Hill recounted a time in his career when he was fortunate enough to be able to pitch three different story ideas to the legendary sci-fi series. At one point, Hill also reveals that he even had world-renowned author Neil Gaiman helping him along, editing the pitches and offering suggestions on how to improve the work. It seemed a bulletproof approach to landing a job on the series, but as Hill recounts, things didn’t turn out that way:

It is certainly a rough way to be turned down for something that clearly meant so much to Hill. At the same time, however, it’s good to see that he took the rejection in stride and can even laugh about it today. Hill’s career is presently in a very comfortable place - after teaming with his father on the novella In the Tall Grass, the story was adapted into a feature film on Netflix late last year. Though the film divided critics and audiences, it gave viewers a taste of what Hill could offer Netflix. His upcoming Locke & Key series is set to debut on the streaming service and so far, it’s enjoying a high degree of anticipation from fans.

HILL: “So…I’m a huge Doctor Who geek. Watching Doctor Who…watching the David Tennant Doctor Who with my boys was a really happy part of their childhood, and of me being a dad. And I had some ideas for Doctor Who, and I really wanted to write for that show. And my screen agent got me a chance to pitch on it. So, i spent a month and a half working on three pitches, and man, I have never imagined harder in my whole life. I mean, I just worked so hard on these things. And by chance, I actually wound up spending a weekend with Neil Gaiman. We were in the same place at the same time, and hanging out a lot, and he actually edited my pitches. He actually went through the pitches and was like, ‘Yes do this. Don’t do that. This is a good idea. Hate this idea.’ You know? And I’m like, you couldn’t ask for a better editor!”

GOLDEN: “Of course!”

HILL: “And so I, you know, with trepidation and my heart in my mouth, I sent in my pitches, and a couple weeks passed, and I got…the email I got back said, ‘We have never let an American write Doctor Who, and if we were going to, we wouldn’t start with you.”

KEENE: “Oh my god!

GOLDEN: “Oh come on! Are you f***ing kidding me?”

KEENE: “Oh my god!”

(Hill and Keene burst into laughter)

HILL: “Is that not the most smoking rejection of all time?”

KEENE: “Jesus…”

HILL: “I remain in awe. I remain in awe. It’s still my favorite rejection.”

Hill’s rejection from Doctor Who doesn’t appear to have been delivered in the most sensitive manner possible. In fact, the way in which he was told that he would never write for the series might even lead some fans to view the production negatively. But Hill didn’t allow the rejection to slow him down. Instead he kept his head up and continued to work hard – a valuable life lesson if ever there was one.

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Source: Bleeding Cool