Jeff Maguire

Maguire was broke and on the verge of moving his family from California to New Hampshire when he learned that his screenplay for "In the Line of Fire" (1993)--which became a Clint Eastwood blockbuster--had been purchased to be made into a film. Though his family had to endure seven years of financial near-disaster, Maguire's work may well have benefited from the series of life lessons (e.g., early professional failure; drug abuse; working as a waiter in Beverly Hills; volunteering as one of Mother Teresa's counselors to L.A. street gangs; and becoming involved with the teachings of a Bombay-based spiritual leader) he learned before finally achieving success in his chosen profession.