As a Hollywood screenwriter, Matt R. Allen has finally made it to the big time – all the way from east Sacramento.

Allen, 37, graduated from Jesuit High School in 1989 and promptly headed for Hollywood, hoping to find fame and fortune by dreaming up bright ideas for movies. He survived a soulless stint as a talent agent and persevered through a failed marriage and lean times when the scripts didn't find any takers.

That all changed with the comedy "Four Christmases," starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, which opened Friday and led weekend box office figures. Allen wrote the script with his writing partner Caleb Wilson.

Allen was in town for Thanksgiving and found time to chat about, among other things, his naked ambition and the struggles in Tinseltown.

Have you always wanted to be involved in making movies?

We were a big movie family. We were the first family on the block to get HBO. There's nothing like being a kid, and your friends can come over and see naked girls on the TV. I thought, "This is what I want to do – have movies on this naked channel." It's fantastic.

Does one movie stand out as a memory?

When I saw "Alien" when I was a kid, I think I slept in my parents' room for two weeks. ... The best movie memory I have was a double-feature – it was "Road Warrior" and John Carpenter's "The Thing." It was the best movie night ever.

You initially wanted to be a makeup artist. Why the switch to writing?

Just with my thoughts and a pencil, I actually might be able to make something that's worth something.

Yes, but writing is hard.

Writing is hard, but inventing stuff and thinking of things I would like to see in movie form has never been hard. It's always been really fun. The writing is the hard part.

What did you do, movie-wise, in high school?

I would use my grandpa's video camera all the time. My friends and I would make short films. When the first "Batman" came out, we made our own version, with horrible special effects, and we shot all around town. It was really fun.

What was the goal when you graduated from Jesuit?

The goal was to get down to Southern California and get immersed in the film industry. When I was in high school, my mom wrote Steven Seagal a letter and asked if he would meet with me.

Lo and behold, a few weeks later, Steven Seagal himself called and said, "I'd love to meet with your son." I was blown away. A year and a half later, I got a job with his production company, and that's how I made all my initial contacts in Hollywood.

You got a film degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1994. What happened after that?

I bopped around from job to job and wound up at a talent agency as an agent trainee. For $250 a week, you run all over town and drop off packages. That led to a job at ICM – International Creative Management. I was writing at night, and nothing was selling. I got promoted to being an agent. It was kind of exciting, but it was not what I wanted to do.

A lot of people who have to pay the bills give up on their dreams. Why didn't that happen to you?

I didn't like my job. I went to work with a pit in my stomach. As an agent, there's a lot of lying and finagling involved, which I wasn't really down with. Within a year and a half, my writing partner and I wrote a wacky comedy called "Manchild," and it sold to New Line Cinema (for $85,000). It never got made.

And?

Right after we sold it, I went in and immediately quit my job. Then we realized, "Oh God, there's this whole contract process." We didn't get paid till seven or eight months later.

How close is your original "Four Christmases" script to the finished product?

In some ways, it's a decent amount different, but in other ways, it's almost exactly the same. The characters are the same, the families are the same, the order of the Christmases are the same.

What are your hopes for the movie?

Aside from it doing well this holiday season, I hope it becomes one of those holiday movies that the whole family watches every year on TNT. "A Christmas Story," "Christmas Vacation" and "Four Christmases." I want it to be part of that trifecta of family traditions for the dysfunctional family in America.

What is your reaction to the mixed reviews?

It's such a collaborative effort. It's hard to take a great review like it's all yours and it's hard to take the negative review that way, too. Ultimately, the public votes with their dollars, and that's what I really care about.

My dream was already kind of complete with just getting the movie made. But seeing that it looks like it's going to be No. 1 (for the holiday weekend) really puts me over the top.

What has this done for your career?

Even before this movie, we were able to get a meeting (with big-name producers) and pitch them an idea. This kicks it up a notch. Not only will they tolerate us, they may actually be excited.

What about your lifestyle? Have you bought a big house?

No, it's not big money. Writing with a writing partner, every big check you get gets cut in half. You subtract 26½ percent for the agent, the manager, the lawyer and the union.

Call The Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson, (916) 321-1099.