Free Class Descriptions

As of October 29, 2011

Details for this year's GAPF are still in the process of being finalized, but will be announced soon.  Please see the class descriptions below from last year's event to get a sense of the excellent classes and speakers presenting at the GAPF.  The schedule is expected to be similar to last year, and will be posted soon.

The Writers Store and the Great American PitchFest have partnered to bring you the best panels, classes, and speakers in the business, with more than 20 free classes taught by expert instructors all in one place - and all for free.

All classes are available on a "first come, first seated" basis.

(Saturday, June 4 Only)
FREE Class RSVP - click here!

Secrets of a Killer 10-Minutes Pitch
(9am to 10:30am - Academy 2)
with Carole Kirschner
A step by step guide to presenting a winning pitch for the unique 10-minute format. Includes how to engage the buyer so they want to buy your pitch, how to craft a killer logline and how to close so they want to hear more. Time allowing, a select number of participants can practice the critical first two minutes of their pitch and receive feedback in front of the class.

CAROLE KIRSCHNER has fifteen years as a successful senior level Hollywood executive, including stints at CBS and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television, have honed Carole Kirschner's ability to translate the unwritten rules of show business into plain English. She develops and runs innovative training programs and leads popular seminars on how to break down the barriers to success in Hollywood. The CBS Diversity Institute Writers Mentoring Program, now in its seventh year, matches talented new writers with top industry executives. Her popular Hollywood Assistant Training Program teaches newly minted film school graduates how to land their first job. Carole also helped industry veteran Jeff Melvoin create the Writers Guild of America Showrunner Training Program. She is currently writing a book for Michael Wiese Publishing geared to creative professionals seeking to land a job in Hollywood.

What Literary Agents Can, Cannot & Will Not Do
(9am to 10:30am - Academy 3)
with Brad Schreiber
Based on a successful workshop for MediaBistro.com in West Hollywood, this features insider tips, from the writer's perspective, on approaching, working with and, if necessary, leaving literary agents. Includes guerrilla marketing tactics and true-life tales both pro and con.

BRAD SCHREIBER created the Court TV series NORTH MISSION ROAD, based on his book on the LA Coroner, DEATH IN PARADISE. He was VP of Chris Vogler's Storytech Literary Consulting for 11 years. His six books include the humor writing how-to WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? Schreiber's latest book is the biography BECOMING JIMI HENDRIX. www.BradSchreiber.com

Throwing Rocks At Your Main Character: How To keep a Story Moving Forward
(9am to 10:30am - Academy 4)
with Erik Bork
All great scripts are about problems that desperately need to be solved. Learn the keys to getting a reader emotionally invested in what your characters want and can't have - and how to build that investment as the things they try to fix get worse and worse.

ERIK BORK is best known for his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning work as a writer-producer on the HBO miniseries BAND OF BROTHERS and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. He has also sold multiple pitches for original series - and written pilots - for NBC and Fox, worked as a writer-producer on staff of drama series for Warner Bros. TV and Twentieth TV, and written features on assignment for Playtone, Steven Spielberg, Universal Pictures, HBO and TNT. He's represented by Creative Artists Agency. Since presenting three popular workshops at the 2009 Screenwriting Expo, Erik has also been in demand as a speaker and consultant to writers, and was recently rated "Cream of the Crop" in CREATIVE SCREENWRITING's survey "The Best Script Analysts and Consultants." He can be reached through his website at www.FlyingWrestler.com

The Story Solution: 23 Steps All great Heroes Must Take
(9am to 10:30am - Academy 5)
with Eric Edson
This class will lay out the linking chain of 23 required steps found in every successful Hollywood movie, steps that connect the first page of your screenplay through to the last page, allowing you to create a script with no holes, sags, or gaps. This presentation offers a new way to build screen story so you can predict with certainty that your script has the potential to become a hit motion picture.

ERIC EDSON has written seventeen feature-length screenplays on assignment for such companies as Sony, Warner Brothers, Disney, 20th Century Fox, ABC Motion Pictures, Lifetime, Showtime, NBC, and TNT. He has also written for episodic television. He is Professor of Screenwriting and Director of the Graduate Program in Screenwriting at California State University, Northridge, and lectures through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, the largest screenwriter training center in the world. Eric holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting and Film Directing from the American Film Institute, and a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from UCLA.

7 (and 1/2) Ingredients to a Perfect TV Pitch
(9am to 10:30am - Academy 6)
with Chad Gervich
In television, where most shows are sold on concept, without an actual script, the pitch is everything. This seminar offers a checklist to acing the meeting... from presenting stories and characters to - most importantly - convincing execs and producers you're the only person who can, and should, write this show.

CHAD GERVICH is a television producer, author, and playwright. He has worked in development and production at NBC Studios, Sony Pictures, CBS Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox where he was involved in the development, production, and maintenance of Love, Inc., Malcolm in the Middle, Like Family, Time Tunnel, Star Search, and Do Over. Chad created and produced Style network's hit series Foody Call and executive produced Celebrity Drive-By, a talk show pilot for E! Entertainment. He is the author of mediabistro.com "Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writers Guide to the TV Business" and is a contributing editor for Writers Digest, where he writes "Script Notes," a regular screenwriting column/blog. Chad also writes for Daily Variety, Fade In, Moving Pictures, and Orange Coast. www.chadgervich.com

Your Career In TV - The View From Both Sides of the Table
(11am to 12:30om - Academy 2
with Kathie Fong Yoneda & Ellen Sandler
A Writer and an Executive walk into a bar� and actually talk to each other!  Kathie and Ellen call on years of real life experience in the world of broadcast television to reveal what's expected of a TV writer in today's market.  They'll talk to you about:
* What representatives look for in signing new writers
* What it takes to get on staff & how to stay there
* How - and how NOT - to network
* Tips on getting meetings & what to do when you're there, plus
* The low-down on pitching a series
Do they agree?  Possibly.  Do they disagree?  More than likely.  But one thing�s for sure - you will get a 360� view of the writer's place in television today.

ELLEN SANDLER is an Emmy Nominated Writer/Co-Executive Producer of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, and many other prime time half hours.  She has developed pilots for all major networks and is the author of  "The TV Writers Workbook," which is used as a text at UCLA, USC, and NYU film schools. She is also a produced playwright with productions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.  

KATHIE FONG YONEDA is a former development exec whose background encompasses film and television, and both live-action as well as animated projects at such companies as Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Disney TV Animation, Paramount Pictures & Television, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures Television, MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Island Pictures Entertainment. In addition to conducting workshops and authoring The Script-Selling Game (2nd edition in May 2011), Kathie also teaches Pitch and Presentation for Writers University and co-executive produced the cable series BEYOND THE BREAK.

Pitch In A Minute
(11am to 12:30pm - Academy 3)
with Pilar Alessandra
Using Pilar's legendary "fill in the blank" template, learn how to identify the key elements of your story, and how to pitch your script in a brief and engaging way. This class is guaranteed to make even your best pitch better!

PILAR ALESSANDRA is the director of the popular writing program "On the Page." She's worked as Senior Story Analyst for DreamWorks and Radar Pictures, and has trained writers at ABC/Disney, MTV/Nickelodeon, the National Screen Institute, the Los Angeles Film School, The UCLA Writers' Program, and more. Her students and clients have sold to Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros, and Sony and have won prestigious competitions such as the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition and the Nicholl Fellowship. Pilar's weekly podcast "On the Page" can be found on iTunes. Her book "The Coffee Break Screenwriter"� was released in the fall of 2010. www.onthepage.tv

How To Create Professional Level Cinematic Scenes: That Make a Reader Want to Keep Reading
(11am to 12:30pm - Academy 4)
with Corey Mandell
There are two essential skill-sets required for screenwriting success. The ability to write scenes that grab a reader's attention and make them want to keep reading; and the ability to sequence those scenes into the most compelling order (story structure). These skills are not equal. The first skill is far more important then the second one. Many writers believe they already write sufficiently strong scenes, characters and dialogue, and that if they could only get better at story structure they'd be able to write professional-level scripts. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case. Corey recently met a producer who received 116 script submissions from writers at a film festival. He read the first scene or two of each script, but would only continue reading if those scenes were written to professional-level standards. Corey asked how many scripts he read beyond the first couple of scenes? He said only two. Which means he tossed 114 of the 116 scripts after only a few pages. The single most important skill required for success is the ability to write original, powerful, and compelling scenes. If a writer can't consistently do that, all the story structure in the world won't save them. Without this ability, a writer simply has no shot. Analyzing highly successful scenes across different genres, this Master Class will illustrate and teach the essential elements and techniques required to conceive, write and edit high-impact professional-caliber scenes required for any successful screenplay.

COREY MANDELL is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant, and Walt Disney Pictures. Corey is also a distinguished instructor at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. His students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount , Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Fox 2000, MGM, Universal , Showtime, USA Network and Lifetime. Others have gained admission to the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Program and Sundance Screenwriter's Lab.

Talk Is Cheap: 13 Principles For Dialogue
(11am to 12:30pm - Academy 5)
with Richard Walter
Screenwriters should wield dialogue as merely another kind of action. Because it's poetic, punchy, peppy, funny and sad it should be worth listening to all by itself. But it can't be all by itself. It also has to advance story and expand character. Here is a baker's dozen principles designed to tighten, sweeten, and integrate dialogue so that it is a seamless aspect of screen narrative.

RICHARD WALTER is a celebrated storytelling guru, movie industry expert, and longtime chairman of UCLA's legendary graduate program in screenwriting, Professor Walter enjoys a unique perspective regarding both show and business. Internationally recognized as a master teacher, pop culture critic, writer and media pundit, students in the program he supervises have written ten projects for Steven Spielberg, plus dozens of mainstream commercial Hollywood blockbusters (such as Spider-Man, Benjamin Button, Charlie's Angels, Mission Impossible) and prestigious indie productions, including two Oscars in three years: Milk and Sideways.

The Big Picture: Getting The Story In Your Heart Onto The Page
(11am to 12:30pm - Academy 6)
with Viki King
Author Viki King, in her best-selling book, "How to Write a Movie in 21 Days" has already shown you how to bring your special idea from a spark in your heart, through structure, and character, and dialogue, and done. In this intimate and inspiring seminar she is here to talk with you directly about what you are experiencing to get your "Inner Movie" fully complete and into the marketplace. As a Pitchfest participant you already demonstrate that you are uniquely invested in your success. There are identifiable stages and phases that you share with your fellow participants. In this seminar you will receive tools to carry you through the creative process. Viki will answer all of your structure questions, illuminate what your story really tells about you, and address any "Impossible Obstacles" along the way.

VIKE KING is a prominent figure in the Hollywood community. She is wise counsel to numerous luminaries and is Oracle on many films, bringing them from idea to opening weekend. Her best-selling book "How to Write a Movie in 21 days - The Inner Movie Method" is an industry-standard guide now in its 22nd year of success. You can reach Ms. King through her website www.vikiking.com

The Screenwriting Smorgasboard
(1:30pm to 3pm - Academy 2)
with Danny Manus, Jeff Graup, Michelle Wallerstein, Marilyn Horowitz & Scott Richter
Join this group for a lively discussion focusing on how a new writer gets an agent or manager, whether they need one, and what to do once they have one. Here what roles a Producer, Agent, Manager, Entertainment Attorney, Studio Reader and various other executives fit into your career. Learn crucial information on what representative can and cannot do for you, and what agents, managers, and executives in the biz need you to know to help advance your screenwriting career.

JEFF GRAUP is CEO of Graup Entertainment with over eighteen years in the entertainment industry and has participated in every aspect of film development, including: financing, production, distribution, and marketing & business affairs. Throughout his distinguished career, Jeff has been involved in many successful studio movies and network television shows as both a producer and manager and has maintained excellent working relationships at both the studios and mini-major agencies. Graup has represented Academy Award winning writers and directors of major studio releases, and has had as many as 15 studio films released in a single calendar year.

MICHELE WALLERSTEIN was a Hollywood literary agent where she represented writers, directors, and producers in both film and TV prior to becoming a consultant on screenplays, novels, and careers. Michele's new book "Mind Your Business: A Hollywood Literary Agent's Guide to Your Writing Career" was published in July 2010.

DANNY MANUS parlayed his career as a development executive in Hollywood to becoming an in-demand script consultant and founder of No BullScript Consulting. Creative Screenwriting Magazine named him one of the Top 15 "Cream of the Crop" Script Consultants in 2010. Before launching No BullScript, he also worked as a freelance script analyst for companies such as ScriptShark and Script Coach. He is the author of the E-Book "No BS for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective" and brings a new voice to the classroom, teaching seminars and workshops to writers around the country.

MARILYN HOROWITZ is the president of ArtMar Productions and creator of The Horowitz System�. Marilyn is an award-winning NYU professor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a successful writing coach and is the author of "How to Write a Screenplay in 10 Weeks" and "The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting."

SCOTT M. RICHTER  is a WGA writer and attorney who resides in Los Angeles. Scott is represented by Gary M. Goodrich of Primary Talent Management and most recently, completed two TV drama pilots.  He is also currently writing a legal sitcom pilot for Double G Productions,  Scott also just completed a family feature script that is being considered by two "A" list producers and is developing a comedy feature for a Paramount based production company.  Scott�s writing credits include three years on the Emmy Award winning Christopher Lowell Show, where he wrote comedy cold opens and other material for the interior design guru.   Among Scott�s other credits are celebrity autobiographical endeavors with Fess Parker (Walt Disney�s Davy Crockett and TV�s Daniel Boone) and model and actress Amy Theismann (daughter of sports broadcaster and former NFL great Joe Theismann). 

How To Succeed In TV
(1:30pm to 3pm - Academy 3)
with Jen Grisanti & Jessica Sitomer
From logline to pitch to getting the job� Jen Grisanti and Jessica Sitomer will give you the key ingredients you need to succeed in television. In this seminar you will find out how to give your story the best chance of success - from the very popular "logline for your life" exercise to how to use your story to create success in meetings, plus the essential components to making a successful pitch and the three crucial steps you will need to know that will help you to get the job.

JEN GRISANTI is a Story Consultant, Independent Producer, Writing Instructor for NBC�s Writers on the Verge, Blogger for The Huffington Post and author of the book, Story Line: Finding the Gold In Your Life Story. Grisanti started her career as an assistant to Aaron Spelling 15 years ago. Aaron was her mentor for the next 12 years as she climbed the ranks and eventually ran Current Programs at Spelling Television Inc., covering all of Spelling�s shows including Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place and Charmed. In 2004, Jen was promoted to Vice President of Current Programs at CBS/Paramount where she covered shows including Medium, Numbers, NCIS, 4400 and Girlfriends. While at CBS/Paramount, she served as a mentor in the CBS Diversity Program, which seeks out and nurtures young writers and directors. In January 2008, Jen launched Jen Grisanti Consultancy Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to helping talented writers break into the industry. http://jengrisanticonsultancy.com

JESSICA SITOMER has worked in the entertainment industry for eighteen years as a writer, an independent producer, a development associate, a director, and an actress. For fourteen of those years she�s been a career coach for Entertainment Industry Professionals. Within that period she served for seven years as the in-house career coach for the International Cinematographers Guild. Jessica has coached over 1000 people one-on-one, created over 40 seminar topics, run over 30 mastermind groups, and developed a successful mentor program. Now she personally works with working entertainment industry professionals who are clear on the work they want, but have hit a plateau, that neither their agent, nor themselves can propel them from. Jessica consults all classifications in the industry, above and below the line. She speaks professionally as a Keynote, College, and Expert Consultant to entertainment industry organizations. A regular on BuZZ radio, and a contributor to Cynopisis.com Advantage, The Greenlight Coach also answers a question per day at www.AndActionBook.blogspot.com

The R-Rated Comedy
(1:30pm to 3pm - Academy 4)
with Keith Giglio
Nothing is taboo in the R-rated comedy, and right now, nothing is hotter at the box office. Designed for both first time writers and those who want to focus on sharpening their comedic edge, this workshop shows you how to develop a story that has hilarity and heart.

KEITH GIGLIO has an MFA, screenwriter/producer; WGA member who executive produced the Warner Bros. release, A Cinderella Story. Mr. Giglio has projects in development with Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, and Tokyopop and Spinmaster Entertainment, and has written screenplays for Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures, and Universal Pictures. He received the UCLA Extension Outstanding Instructor Award in Screenwriting, 2009.

Mastering Your Creative Process
(1:30pm to 3pm - Academy 5)
with Pamela Jaye Smith
From initial inspiration through writing, research, re-writing, polishing, pitching, production, marketing, and distribution - increase the power of your creativity with these timeless, practical tools once mainly taught in the secret Mystery Schools. Explore the 4 Stages of the Creative Process. Learn about timing-and-order, balancing emotions and mind, the power of silence, the fine art of collaboration, celebration, and moving on. Get a heads-up on the specific pitfalls of each stage and how to avoid them. Now you too can work with the natural cycles of creativity to become much more efficient and effective.

PAMELA JAYE SMITH is an Author, international Consultant, Speaker, and award-winning Producer/Director with over 30 years experience in features, TV, music videos, commercials, documentaries, corporate, military films, and games. She has appeared on national TV and radio programs as a mythology expert, including the "Forbidden Secrets" TV series. She was the on-camera spokesperson for Microsoft's "Age of Mythology" on-line computer game and designed their "Which God Are You?" quiz. Clients and credits include Microsoft, Disney, Paramount, Columbia-Sony, Universal, RAI-TV Rome, UCLA, USC Film School, American Film Institute, Thot Fiction Marseille France, Natl. Film Institute of Denmark, Pepperdine University, Natl. Assoc. of Broadcasters, and various film festi vals and story conferences. Others include the American Assoc. of University Women, Junior ROTC, General Motors, Boeing, Hyundai, Hughes Space & Communi cations, the FBI, and the U.S. Army.

Master Your Pitch In 7 Steps
(1:30pm to 3pm - Academy 6)
with Melody Jackson
This session methodically breaks down step-by-step what it takes to Craft a Pitch With Commercial Appeal, how to Master Delivering Your Pitch with Confidence, and what to do to Make the Most of the Meeting and Establish a Relationship with the executive. You will receive a handout and worksheet. As time permits, a few people may have an opportunity to pitch and be critiqued in front of the class.

MELODY JACKSON, Ph.D., has been named in the Top 3% and a "Cream of the Crop" Script Consultant by Creative Screenwriting Magazine in three different surveys spanning more than ten years. Melody's mission is to help you fulfill your vision while crafting your script to have commercial appeal. Please accept our FREE information at www.SmartG.com:
* "Top 20 Hollywood Screenwriting Agents" - FREE REPORT
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*  Specialized "Screenwriter Hot Tips," sent out every week or so!
Smart Girls Productions offers Query Letter Marketing & Script Consulting services for Screenwriters.

Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands: Microbudget Filmmaking - Do's and Don'ts
(3:30 pm to 5pm)
with Angela Lee, Signe Olynyk and Bob Schultz
The romantic notion of DIY Filmmaking comes with a wide array of pitfalls and hidden traps. But there is nothing like taking control of your movie and steering it toward completion. Who needs $100,000,000 budgets when you can make your movie for five figures? Join moderator Angela Lee (Slaughter, Zombie Strippers) and a panel of independent filmmakers as they laugh over the mistakes they made and joyous adventures they had bringing their scripts to the screen on a shoestring.

ANGELA LEE's two decades in the entertainment industry include extensive experience in both television and film. She served as a Sr. VP of Production for Paramount Domestic Television for over ten years during which time she also started a successful publishing company to distribute books by authors featured on the Paramount branded, Emmy Award winning Montel Show. Her TV work includes talk, reality and prime time drama. In addition Ms. Lee has produced feature films ranging from an award winning Sundance festival title to documentaries to a cult theatrical hit with Sony Pictures. Her past employers range from big studios like Lionsgate and Viacom to the White House, where her PSAs for the office of Drug Control Policy earned her a Prism award. In total, Ms. Lee has been the recipient of four Prism Awards and one Telly.

SIGNE OLYNYK is President/CEO of Protagonist Pictures Inc. in Los Angeles, and Twilight Pictures, Inc. in Canada. She has associate produced two feature films, as well as written/produced several documentaries, one hour specials, tv pilots, and a six part series. Her work has been seen on the CBC, Discovery Channel, FOX, the BBC, and she has professional credits on more than 120 productions. BELOW ZERO, starring Edward Furlong (Terminator II, American History X, The Green Hornet), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Scooby Doo, Weird Science, The Devil's Rejects), and Kristin Booth (Young People Fucking, The Kennedys, Crackie) is a feature film she wrote and recently produced in Canada. Signe created and founded the Great American PitchFest and the Great Canadian PitchFest as a way to help other writers meet the people they need to know for their careers to move forward. As a direct result, more than 60 writers have had their scripts optioned, been hired for writing assignments, or been signed with agents or managers. The PitchFest has also allowed Signe to develop relationship with more than 500 industry executives around the world, and she routines partners new writers with these companies and agencies for representation and script development. 

BOB SCHULTZ has been the Executive Director of the Great American Pitchfest & Screenwriting Conference (GAPF) for seven years, helping guide it from upstart to the premiere event of its kind. Along with GAPF founder/screenwriter Signe Olynyk, he produced the thriller BELOW ZERO, starring Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, American History X, The Green Hornet) and Michael Berryman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo�s Nest, The Hills Have Eyes, The Devil�s Rejects). BELOW ZERO is currently in post-production. Bob and Signe are currently producing the zombie thriller I-15, which Bob also wrote. 

Improv For Writers
(3:30pm to 5pm - Academy 3)
with Jennifer & David Skelly
Discover what every writer must know about acting! Create believable and dimensional characters, refine your story, and streamline your pitch using improvisation acting games, script analysis techniques, and story development exercises. LEARN TO PLAY LIKE THE PROS with screenwriters/actors Jennifer Skelly and David Skelly in this fun and informative in-depth workshop. The Skellys learned to play at Pixar Animation Studios, Jim Henson Productions, and on stage and TV. They’ll share their secrets on writing collaboratively, overcoming writer's block, taking care of yourself during a studio pitch, and navigating Hollywood.

DAVID AND JENNIFER SKELLY are a husband/wife screenwriting team. David was part of the story development team at PIXAR Animation Studios on Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Cars, and he wrote the screenplay for Jack and Ben, an animated feature for Laika Entertainment. David designed and built Muppets for the Jim Henson COMPANY, and is currently part of the group-in-training for the live puppet improv show, Stuffed and Unstrung. He was just cast as a puppeteer in Disney's upcoming feature, The Muppets. Jennifer is a story and science consultant for The Zula Patrol, an animated series on NBC and PBS, and with David, wrote several episodes of Zevo-3, a new hit animated television series on Nicktoons that has outperformed the network's highest-rated shows. As an actor, she has appeared on stage, film, and television. The Skellys teach story development and improv at CalArts, and are working on their upcoming book, Improv for Writers. They are currently consulting on several studio feature projects in development.  www.improvforwriters.com

ZAP, OOOOFF, KA-POW! FROM GRAPHIC NOVEL TO GREAT MOVIE
(3:30pm to 5pm - Academy 4)
with Barri Evins, Adam Beechen, Philip Eisner and Mac Carter
Meet the mysterious men who transform our favorite comic book characters into 3-D fighters of bad guys. Discover what it takes to translate pen and ink into flesh and blood and create powerful franchises. Is it more fun to give birth to a bad guy than a good guy? Find out how they worked their way into this ever more popular genre and the screenwriting superpowers required to balance the expectations of beloved characters with the demands of a film franchise. And zowie, vronk, z-zwap. they may even reveal what very few know – what happens in the next thrilling episode!

BARRI EVINS is a successful film producer and a sought after screenwriting teacher. As a producer, her passion project is STETSON KENNEDY, a character-driven dramatic thriller based on a true story. Tobey Maguire will star and produce with Barri. Academy Award-nominated writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby (CHILDREN OF MEN, IRONMAN) are scripting. As a screenwriting teacher, Barri shares the same techniques she uses with the pros to get new screenwriters further faster. She offers her Screenwriting Intensive, BIG IDEA to BEAT OUTLINE In A WEEKEND, across the country. In an intimate and interactive weekend, writers target concepts that will ignite the industry’s imagination, harness their passions and showcase their strengths. Writers walk away with an exciting idea, a roadmap for their story and the tools to bring it to life faster than they ever dreamed possible – the path to truly catapult their career. A "BIG IDEAS" book is on the way. Visit Barri's site at www.bigBIGIdeas.com

ADAM BEECHEN is currently the writer of the New York Times Best-Selling DC Comic Batman Beyond.  Adam has been one of the most sought-after writers of comics and animation of the last decade. He has also served as regular writer on such popular titles as Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, and DC's major "event" comic, Countdown to Final Crisis. Adam�s original graphic novel, Hench, garnered rave reviews. A sequel is set for release in summer 2011, as well as a film version at Warner Brothers to star Danny McBride. In animation, Adam currently serves as Executive Producer for the Hub's hit pre-school series, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, and has worked as Story Editor on The Pink Panther, Edgar and Ellen and Hi-Hi Puffy Amiyumi. Adam has written episodes of Teen Titans, The Brave and the Bold, The Batman, Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, X-Men: Evolution, Little Bill, Jackie Chan Adventures, Static Shock and Mucha Lucha, as well as the live-action kids' series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Out There, and The Famous Jett Jackson. He received an Emmy nomination for his episode of The Batman. Adam has written more than twenty children's books for Simon and Schuster, as well as an original young adult novel, What I Did On My Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation. Adam has even branched into video-game writing, including games for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. "Comic books fired my imagination at a very early age," explains Adam. "The sense that they could take you anywhere you could imagine, and even show you pictures of it to boot!" A native Arizonan, Adam writes a "Superfan" blog for the Phoenix Suns.

PHILIP EISNER's screenwriting career began with a four-picture deal at Largo Entertainment. He has since written for Scott Rudin, Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Productions, TriStar, Centropolis, MGM, The Jim Henson Company, as well as independent producers Edward R. Pressman, Gale Anne Hurd, and Lawrence Bender. His original script, EVENT HORIZON, was produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, and Jeremy Bolt for Paramount in 1997, starring Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill. Paul Anderson directed. Philip adapted Stephen King's FIRESTARTER as a four-hour mini-series for the SciFi Channel starring Marguerite Moreau, Malcolm McDowell and Dennis Hopper. Robert Iscove directed, with Tom Thayer producing. The series aired in March 2002. MUTANT CHRONICLES, adapted from the role-playing game, was released with Edward R. Pressman in 2009, starring Tom Jane and Ron Perlman.  A serious comic book addiction made Philip hungry to tell a story in this medium. "I�ve always wanted to do a comic," he explans. "I just never had an idea where it made sense to do the comic first." Kickstart Comics published his graphic novel, BAD GUYS, in 2010. A film version is in the works with Kickstart Entertainment and Trigger Street. Philip will be making his directorial debut on THE OTHER KINGDOM with Sean Daniels and Slasher Films producing, set to go into production in 2011. Philip received his bachelor's degree in Communication from Stanford University. He teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension, and mentors new screenwriters through CineStory. In addition, he has participated in science fiction panels for the WGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Philip Eisner's favorite accomplishment may well be setting up EVENT HORIZON with a mere three-word pitch.

MAC CARTER is a lifelong artist and comic book enthusiast. Mac created The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft, a nightmarish adventure yarn published by Image Comics. Mac and Jeff Blitz penned the graphic novel which borrows elements from Lovecraft's life, such as his family's struggle with mental illness and his own bouts with writers block. The young writer's darkest nightmares become reality when he comes across a book that puts a curse on him and lets the evils he conjures up loose on the world. Mac has scripted a film version for Universal with Imagine Entertainment's Ron Howard and Brian Grazer producing. Mac has directed more than 100 commercials with an international client roster including Intel, Jaguar, Kellogg's, Burger King, Chevrolet, Visa, MasterCard, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Toyota. He's received numerous awards for his work.  "I love well-told stories," says Mac. "And if they happen to have a quirky tone, a unique character, an intriguing hook, then all the better." Mac Carter is a graduate of the USC Film School.

Four Magic Questions
(3:30pm to 5pm - Academy 5)
with Marilyn Horowitz
Structure your story faster than you ever thought possible with this revolutionary new method. The Four Magic Questions will take weeks and drafts off your process and allow you to turn a good script into a great one overnight!

MARILYN HOROWITZ, the president of ArtMar Productions and creator of The Horowitz System �, is an award-winning NYU professor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a successful writing coach. She is the author of "How to Write a Screenplay in 10 Weeks" and "The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting". www.marilynhorowitz.com

Adapting Your Book or Novel Into A Screenplay Prize-winning book Slavery by Another Name
(3:30pm to 5pm - Academy 6)
with Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Douglas A. Blackmon and JV Bowerman
Adaptations present entirely different issues than spec scripts. Learn how Bowerman and Blackmon adapted SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME, a New York Times Best Seller and Pulitzer Prize-winning book. They'l take you through the enormous task of condensing 480 pages into a feature-length film. Beyond this specific script, they'll address how screenwriters obtain rights to a book and the differences in adapting for feature as opposed to documentary. Bowerman and Blackmon take you on the journey of their script, from how they connected to completion.

DOUGLAS A. BLACKMON, the senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal, spent eight years sorting through files in the dusty courthouse basements throughout the south, finding mountains of evidence that slavery existed for seven decades after the Civil War. His groundbreaking historical expos�, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, has since been on the New York Times Best Sellers list, been reprinted more than a dozen times, won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, and is now required reading in many universities across the country. A documentary based on the book will appear on PBS in 2012, for which he is an Executive Producer.

JEANNE VEILLETTE BOWERMAN. Long before the book became an award-winner, Jeanne began her pursuit of the adaptation. Her determination could be described as close-to-stalking, but her passion for this project was limitless and what finally won Douglas over in choosing her as his partner in bringing this horrible blemish on our nation's history to a broader audience. Jeanne was invited to the prestigious Southampton Screenwriter's Conference to workshop the script with Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Christina Lazaridi. Jeanne is also co-founder and moderator of the Twitter screenwriting chat, Scriptchat and a regular contributor to Script Magazine online.

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