It’s “The Old Man and the Sea” meets “The Player.”

That unusual pitch sums up the exceptional situation of Joel Strunk.

For the past dozen years, the Union resident has led a double life. By day, depending on the season, he’s a fisherman, a lobsterman or a sea urchin diver. At night (and in the early-morning hours), he’s a devoted screenwriter. His marine radio and his word processor are equally important. His green pickup truck filled with diving gear bears the license plate “FADE IN.”

Now, the first film reference is a bit of a stretch. At 36, Strunk can hardly be considered old. Yet, he said, he sometimes feels that way when combing the depths of Penobscot Bay for the spiny green creatures so favored by the Japanese for the delicate roe, uni.

“It’s a young man’s game,” Strunk said. “It’s dangerous, and it gets you to thinking that this can’t last.”

Still, Strunk seems to be a believer in the theory that hypothermia yields creativity.

“Diving does present an awesome think tank,” he said. “There’s nothing to do but scratch rocks and think. It’s a great opportunity to drum up ideas when you’re on life support.”

Satisfying people’s high-priced cravings helps Strunk pay the bills, allowing him to pursue his true passion, writing, at his own pace.

He’s still working on fulfilling the second film title above. For the past 12

years, he has honed his craft, without ever making a sale.

But his persistence is finally paying off. For his script “Veterans Day,” he was selected as one of nine finalists for the Don and Gee Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Foundation. He has been entering scripts in the competition for the past six years, making the top 30 once before and the top 100 three times. He was also the only writer this year to place two scripts in the top 30.

Even though he wasn’t ultimately selected as one of the five fellows, his name has gained buzz in Hollywood.

“I’ve had so many calls from agents and production companies,” Strunk said. “There were 25 calls a day when the news broke.”

Strunk has two scripts being considered in Tinseltown: “Veterans Day” and “Ebbing of the Tide.”

“Veterans Day” evolved from Strunk’s experiences in the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, where he served as a member of the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery. It tells of a group of veterans who are planning to permanently break out of a Veterans Administration institution. “It’s ‘Grumpy Old Men’ meets ‘Cuckoo’s Nest,'” Strunk explained in fluent pitch-speak.

“Ebbing of the Tide” tells the story of a disenfranchised teen living on an island with his lobsterman father. The teen receives the opportunity to attend Harvard, and must find the courage to face his father, who wants him to remain. “It’s ‘Stand by Me’ meets ‘Good Will Hunting,'” Strunk said.

Strunk can also create on his feet.

“When I get a company not in the market for those, I make up something else,” he said.

Strunk may already talk the talk, but he found himself a stranger in a strange land on a recent 10-day trip to Los Angeles. In addition to the events and workshops arranged for the Nicholl finalists, he also met with potential agents and managers. From his post at the Beverly Hilton, he watched bemusedly as agents and studios sent couriers for copies of finalists’ scripts.

Among the highlights of the Nicholl gathering was the praise Strunk received from one of the judges.

“There was this old guy walking around asking who wrote ‘Veterans Day,'” he recalled. “I tentatively raised my hand. He came over and told me that it was his favorite script among all the entries. After he left, I found out he was Dan Taradash, who won an Oscar for writing ‘From Here to Eternity.’ I’ll always remember that moment. That was pretty exciting, to have a guy with that reputation say he likes your script.”

Strunk also dined with Bing and Lu Russell, parents of actor Kurt Russell. The Russells were friends and fans of his father, the late entertainer Jud Strunk, and Bing explained to him his philosophy about the chances for success in Hollywood, which summed up was “not to fear the odds. I was truly flattered,” Strunk said.

He also lined up an agent, Victoria Wisdom, best known for selling the script to “The Usual Suspects.” He turned down an offer from a larger agency to sign with Wisdom.

“She calls me on a cell phone in a cab, and runs on about how she loved the [‘Veterans Day’] script,” he said. “So I met with her and eventually signed.”

Wisdom raved about her new client.

“When you’re looking at the quality of a writer’s talent, you look at the quality of the story, the quality of the dialogue, and the depth of the characters, and Joel had all three,” she explained. “I enjoyed the ride. I liked it very much from beginning to end. I was pleasantly surprised, and I mean that in a good way. It’s easy to get jaded in this business. But Joel has it all. I can see why he was a Nicholl finalist.”

Strunk is also negotiating with a manager who recently left the William Morris Agency after a decade.

“Because I don’t live in L.A., it was recommended that I might want to have extra representation,” he said. “The fact that I live in Maine worked against me because they want you there.”

Wisdom, however, didn’t see that as a necessity.

“When you’re new, as long as you’re accessible, you can conduct a tremendous amount of business with today’s technology,” she said. “As long as you’re willing to travel at the drop of a hat, you’re OK. Let them invite you to the party; don’t invite yourself.”

Strunk’s decision to become a writer came as a result of inspiration from Bangor’s famous author Stephen King.

Shortly after he got out of the service, Strunk and some buddies were driving from Farmington to Bangor to pick up a refrigerator. They began tossing around a horror story line about reincarnation, which they decided would be perfect for King. So they went straight to his driveway.

“We knocked on his door, and he was having a bowl of soup in the darkness,” Strunk recalled. “He said we had a couple of seconds to pitch it. I told him it would take longer than that. So he leaned against his house, crossed his arms and nodded his head. I got in his face and gave him the whole nine yards, and he liked it. ‘Why don’t you write it?’ he asked. ‘I’m not a writer,’ I told him. ‘That’s up to you,’ he said. I told him that I hadn’t dreamed up an ending, and he threw out one, which I liked. I wanted to give this idea to Stephen King, and I came away inspired to write.”

He studied writing at the University of Maine at Farmington, where he wrote the one-act play “No Such Thing as Heroes,” which became “Veterans Day.” Since then, he’s continued to learn by doing. He writes from 3 to 5 a.m., then heads out on the water, returning to writing after his young children go to bed.

“Writing is an exercise, like working out in the gym,” he said. “You grow as you write. It only comes from hard work.”

Strunk has also had to deal with the ghost of his father, with whom he was close. Jud’s banjo and gold lame jacket hang in his son’s writing room.

“There’s a pressure there, from people’s expectations,” he explained. “There’s a subliminal stress. When people suggest that you write children’s books because it’s taking so long, it hurts. The phone call from the Academy was a huge exoneration for me.”

Strunk hopes this anointment by the Academy will be the entry to Hollywood that he has sought for so long.

“It’s an adventure,” he concluded. “What I’ve gained is access. While the heat of this is going on, I’ll own these keys to the house. I’m hoping to get one project to grant me the freedom to write and get out of the water. I believe that good writing will persevere.”