| Animation Panel |
Senior Editor, Jeff Goldsmith will interview Duane Capizzi (Superman: Doomsday, Jackie Chan Adventures, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ), Tim Croston (King of the Hill), Nicole Dubuc (writer and story editor: My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Kim Possible), Henry Gilroy (Transformers: Animated, Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2008), and Steven A. Melching (Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2008, The Batman: The Brave and the Bold, X-Men, Extreme Ghostbusters) |
More Information...| Hal Ackerman |
 HAL ACKERMAN is co-area head of the UCLA Screenwriting program and author of the widely acclaimed book Write Screenplays That Sell...The Ackerman Way now in its third printing. As a writer Hal has sold material to major studios independents and the three networks. Writers he has mentored have written A Walk On The Moon (Pamela Gray) Terminal (Sacha Gervasi The Machinist (Scott Kosar) Matchstick Men (Nicholas Griffin) and many others Over the last decade a dozen screenplays written in his classes have been sold and six have become films including ones starring Tom Hanks (directed by Steven Spielberg) Gwyneth Paltrow Hillary Swank and Diane Lane. His play TESTOSTERONE: HOW PROSTATE CANCER MADE A MAN OF ME had its premier critically acclaimed run in Los Angeles this spring and was the recipient of the William Saroyan Centennial award for drama. |
| Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz |
(biographies to come) |
| Managers and Agents Panel |
Karin Cohen, Garth Friedrich (The Pitt Group), Brad Kushner (Creative Convergence), Jewel Ross (Silent R Entertainment) |
| Pilar Alessandra |
 PILAR ALESSANDRA is the director of the popular writing program 'On the Page' www.onthepage.tv. Her screenwriting podcasts - with guests from within the industry - regularly appear in the film and TV top 100. Sheąs worked as Senior Story Analyst for DreamWorks and Radar pictures and has trained writers and story analysts at ABC/Disney Nickelodeon and MTV. She teaches at numerous writing conferences around the country. Students and clients have sold to Disney DreamWorks Warner Brothers and Sony and have won prestigious competitions such as the Open Door Competition Fade-In Competition and Nicholl Fellowship. 'On the Page: the DVD ' a collection of Pilar's ten-minute writing tools is available on Amazon. |
| Howard Allen |
HOWARD ALLEN (thedoc@scriptdoctor.com) has worked for many years as a professional actor playwright director screenwriter and literary manager/dramaturg -- as well as a reporter reviewer and editor in his journalistic career.ScriptDoctor.com was rated 4th nationally by Creative Screenwriting magazine and he just started CoyoteMoon Films a production company aiming to honor the storyteller by producing great stories. As a member of Actor's Equity and the Screen Actor's Guild he has performed in LORT B theatres and in movies directed by Michael Landon and others. He won awards for editing reporting and for reviewing film and theatre at the Tucson Weekly. He won a scholarship to attend the Critics Institute at the prestigious O'Neill Theatre Conference. He has benefited from workshops with August Wilson Eric Overmyer Horton Foote Edit Villareal and others. With an MFA in Playwriting and Screenwriting he teaches college level courses in Writing for Film and Television Film Acting Art Of Cinema Theatre History -- as well as Humanities. His adaptation of 'Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde' was given a professional theatre production. Credits: co-writer on screenplays 'Renaissance ' top 10% at Heart of Austin Film Festival and 'Line In the Sand' has just been optioned; Script Consultant and actor in 2007 Arizona Western 'The Decoy' and 2008 film noir 'Red 71.' His latest theatre events: directing 'I Hate Hamlet ' Pinter's 'The Birthday Party ' London hit 'Humble Boy ' and this spring 'Pillowman.' |
| Tina Andrews |
 TINA ANDREWS wrote and Co-Executive produced the highly rated critically acclaimed CBS miniseries 'Sally Hemings: An American Scandal ' based on her play 'The Mistress of Monticello.' She also wrote the Warner Brothers film 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love?' and co-wrote the CBS miniseries 'Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis ' and served as Co-Executive producer. She is scheduled to write and Co-Executive produce 'The O.Z ' an updated hip-hop version of the Wizard of Oz and she is working on another miniseries to be announced the true story of a controversial female historical figure. |
| Steven Barnes |
 STEVEN BARNES has 20 novels in print and has written for Twilight Zone Andromeda and Stargate SG-I. He has lectured at UCLA the Maui Writers' Workshop MENSA USC and the Smithsonian. Winner of the 2003 Endeavor Award for his novel Lion's Blood Barnes also wrote the Emmy-winning Outer Limits episode 'A Stitch in Time.' |
| David Bartlett |
DAVID BARTLETT is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked in Hollywood over 26 years on films like Pulp Fiction Total Recall and Speed. David wrote the campy feature Death Row Diner his script Whiteout is a Houston Film Festival award winner and his films have played at festivals around the world including Sundance and Cannes. |
| Glenn Benest |
GLENN BENEST is an award winning writer/producer who has written seven produced films. Mr. Benest has taught for many years at UCLA Extension and The American Film Institute. He now teaches private professional level workshops in the Los Angeles. 5 films have been launched from these workshops including 'Scream 'Event Horizon ' and 'Andre.'His latest effort 'Monkey Boys ' will begin production in March of 2009 |
| Nicole Berger |
NICOLE BERGER is a widely used Script Consultant and writer. Her hit comedy Yiddish She-Devils, featuring Ed Asner, was chosen by reviewplays.com as a favorite of 2005 and received rave reviews from Backstage West and the L.A.Weekly. She was a head reader for the ifp/west Filmmaker Labs and directed the First Glance Screenplay Competition. |
| Tony Blake |
TONY BLAKE has written and Produced over 120 hours of prime time television including Lois and Clark Charmed Sliders The Pretender Nash Bridges Soldier of Fortune She Spies. He sold six pilots three co-created with Stan Lee and sold a film noir feature to Paramount. |
| James Bonnet |
 JAMES BONNET is an internationally known writer, teacher and story consultant. He was elected twice to the Board of Directors of the Writer's Guild of America and has written or acted in more than forty television shows and features. The radical new ideas about story in his book Stealing Fire from the Gods: A Complete Guide to Story For Writers And Filmmakers are having a major impact on writers in all media. |
| Bill Boyle |
BILL BOYLE has been involved in the film industry in both Canada and the U.S. for over 25 years as a writer director agent producer story editor and mentor. Bill's work has received the following recognition: • Palm Springs Film Festival Critics Choice • Atlantic City Film Festival Audience Choice • Toronto Reel World Festival Best Canadian Feature • ACTRA nomination for Best Dramatic Writer • Canadian Film Awards Finalist • Recipient of the Harold Greenberg Fund • Chicago Film Festival Special Jury Nomination. Mr. Boyle devotes a significant amount of his time mentoring younger screenwriter through his Screenwriting Workshops and Script Coaching. He has lectured at the University of Victoria University of Saskatchewan The National Screen Institute the Los Angeles Screenwriters Network Riverside Community College the Praxis Screenwriting Center and the Vancouver Film School. He recently completed his position as SaskFilm's 'Screenwriter in Residence' a position he has held for three years. He is presently teaching screenwriting at UCLA Extensions. Additional information on Mr. Boyle can be found on his web site www.allthatsky.ca |
| Paula Brancato |
PAULA BRANCATO is an award-winning filmmaker author and stand-up comic currently teaching screenwriting at University of Southern California. A Harvard MBA former music industry CFO and Wall Street executive Brancato brings a unique voice to her work. She has written 12 screenplays including 4 works for hire and or option and is Executive Producer of the feature film SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY starring Sandra Bernhard and HER FATHER'S DAUGHTER a Sundance finalist. Brancato has performed at Stand-up NY Caroline's the Improv and in venues in Germany and Canada. She is host co-creater and producer of the TV/Webisode series STAND UP FINANCE: BLOW ANYTHING BUT YOUR MONEY. Brancato is slated to direct the feature film SHOWBUNNIES this October while completing her first novel NEVER IRON NAKED. Brancato earned her MBA at the Harvard Business School and is a graduate of Hunter College and Los Angeles Film School. |
| Aline Brosh-McKenna |
ALINE BROSH MCKENNA is most famous for writing the 2006 adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada which grossed over $125 million at the box office. She also wrote the 2008 hit 27 Dresses as well as the romantic comedies Laws of Attraction and Three to Tango. |
| Michael Ray Brown |
 MICHAEL RAY BROWN a top Hollywood script doctor and the founder of Story Sense has more than 30 years' experience helping writers create successful screenplays. A story analyst for seven major studios Michael contributed to the development of such films as Lethal Weapon Braveheart Red Corner Contact Hart's War and many more. Since leaving MGM in 1999 Michael has been much in demand as a script consultant to writers producers and literary agencies. A working screenwriter with more than 50 hours of produced credits Michael discusses script analysis in a popular seminar on screenplay structure. |
| Stephen Buehler |
 STEPHEN BUEHLER is a script consultant. He has been a Literary TV Manager for The It Company and Story Editor for Sheree Guitar Entertainment and Gravel Road Entertainment. He has also been a reader for numerous literary companies and screenwriting contests. www.ReWriteDr.com |
| Philippa Burgess |
 PHILIPPA BURGESS is a partner at Creative Convergence an entertainment company that encompasses literary management film and TV production and business consulting. Company has recently sold client projects to Warner Brothers Paramount Lifetime and ABC Family. Recent TV production credits include '52 Fights' for ABC/Touchstone and 'Men's Guide the the Women's Bathroom' for CBS/Paramount. |
| Sara Caldwell |
SARA CALDWELL is a professor of screenwriting and film production at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita CA . She is the author of three books including Splatter Flicks: How to Make Low-Budget Horror Films and co-author of an online horror screenwriting course ConstructingHorror.com developed by Golem Film in Sweden. Sara is also an award winning screenwriter and professional script consultant and since 1991 has worked as a freelance writer/producer for clients around the world. www.amphionpro.com |
| Frank Chindamo |
FRANK CHINDAMO is the President and Chief Creative Officer of Fun Little Movies. FLM specializes in the development production and distribution of original content for global distribution on mobile phones the Internet and portable devices. Its mission is to contribute to love and to laughter by providing fun funny advertiser-friendly comedy to every person on Earth. Fun Little Movies was the first U.S. company to produce comedic films for mobile phones worldwide and launched as a channel on Sprint TV in 2004. FLM's 'Fun Funny Phone Films' have won 22 awards including CTIA's 'World Smallest Film Festival' and two Golden Eagles at the American Cine' Awards as well as The Content Award at Cannes in 2008 over MTV and Orange. FLM was also a finalist at: The Cannes Film Festival for Best Short Film the 2008 Mobile Content Award in London and the 2006 and 2007 Mobile Entertainment Magazine Awards for Best Video. Fun Little Movies have played on numerous TV networks worldwide including HBO Showtime CBS Playboy MTV and Comedy Central. FLM's mobile comedy can be watched on Sprint Verizon Nokia Motorola and ATT mobile phones on Veoh.com Revver.com Vuze.com and many other top video sites and on other mobile and Internet platforms. FLM has been a cover story or featured in Forbes Magazine the L.A. Times the NY Times Variety Hollywood Reporter CBS and Wired Magazine. In 2006 and 2007 Frank was named one of the Top 40 people in IPTV; see http://www.dailyiptv.com/features/iptv-movers-and-shakers-060507/ . This year he has been nominated by Ernst & Young for Entrepreneur of the Year and is co-leading the Mobile Entertainment Forum's Educational Initiative; see www.m-e-f.org. Or www.FunLittleMovies.com. FLM is a subsidiary of ROK Entertainment Group based in London. See http://www.rokent.com/ . Frank is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California and an Instructor at UCLA where he teaches the mobile and Internet video production classes. |
| Paul Chitlik |
PAUL CHITLIK has written for all the major networks and studios. He was story editor for 'The New Twilight Zone ' and staff writer for Showtime's 'Brothers.' He has written features for Rysher Entertainment NuImage Promark and others. He received a WGA award nomination for his work on 'The Twilight Zone ' a GLAAD Media Award nomination and won a Genesis Award for a Showtime movie. He wrote and produced 'Alien Abduction' for UPN their first movie for television and the first ever shot on mini-DV for network television. He has taught screenwriting at UCLA Loyola Marymount University and ESCAC the film school of the University of Barcelona. His sold out summer advanced seminar in rewriting took place in Cortona Italy this year. His book 'Rewrite A Step-by-Step Guide to Strengthen Structure Characters and Drama in Your Screenplay' was published by MWP in March 2008. |
| Barri Evins CineStory |
BARRI EVINS produces films through her company Be Movies. Her diverse slate includes Stetson Kennedy, with Tobey Maguire to star and writer Chris McQuarrie, Usual Suspects, to write. Evins is also working on a documentary of the Stetson Kennedy project with two.time Academy Award winning director Barbara Kopple, Shut Up and Sing, to direct. Previously, Evins was President of Debra Hill Productions. She got her start with writer.producers Bruce Evans and Ray Gideon, Stand By Me, Mr. Brooks, where she discovered Assassins, the first film written by the Wachowskis,The Matrix. |
| Linda Cowgill |
 LINDA COWGILL author of the books 'The Art of Plotting 'Writing Short Films ' and 'Secrets of Screenplay Structure ' has written for film and television. Orion Pictures produced her feature film Opposing Force. She's taught at AFI the Kennedy Center the Boston Film Institute Loyola Marymount University and currently heads the screenwriting faculty at the Los Angeles Film School. |
| James Dalessandro |
 JAMES DALESSANDRO is a 25-year veteran of the WGA whose novel and screenplay '1906' an epic of the great San Francisco Earthquake was the subject of a heated Hollywood bidding war and is scheduled for a 2009 release by Warner Brothers. He is also author and screenwriter of 'Citizen Jane' for Grosso/Jacobson Productions and Hallmark Channel the story of a Marin County woman who has solved 20 cold case murders and writer/director/producer of the documentary film 'The Damnedest Finest Ruins.' Lew Hunter co-Dean of the UCLA Screenwriting program calls him one of the best screenwriting lecturers in the world. Now in his third year at Screenwriting Expo he continues to be one of the most popular and highly-rated instructors. This year he offers a series of interconnected lectures starting with pitching and structure building thorugh character and scene development and ending with film clips on HOW THE BIG DOGS DO IT and WRITING THE TENTPOLE PICTURE to give a comprehensive study of writing for the screen. |
| Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof |
CARLTON CUSE, a veteran of TV writing and producing for over 20 years is now one of the executive producers and showrunners of Lost. He also created the show Nash Bridges for CBS in 1996 which ran for five seasons and 122 episodes. In addition he has been the executive producer and writer for such shows as 'The Adventures of Brisco County Jr' and 'Martial Law. DAMON LINDELOF is one of the creators and showrunners of ABC's hit show 'Lost.' Before that he was a co-producer and writer on NBC's Crossing Jordan. He had previously written on such TV shows as Nash Bridges and Undressed. During this past season of Lost he also served as a producer on J.J. Abrams' upcoming reinvention of the Star Trek franchise for Paramount |
| Michael Davis |
MICHAEL DAVIS, a writer, director, and producer, is one-person testimonial to the power of keeping one's dreams alive, persistence, and maintaining relationships in Hollywood. He is the writer/director of the upcoming 2007-scheduled "Shoot 'Em Up," starring the A-list cast of Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti with the stunning Italian actress Monica Bellucci. He previously wrote and directed the smaller-scale "Monster Man," "Girl Fever," "100 Girls," and "Beanstalk," among others. A graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television I the 1980s, he kept writing and pitching while working in other production positions in the movie industry. |
| Producers and Development Panel |
Anson Avilar (DreamWorks), Kat Blasband (Tapestry Films), Amy Robb (Mandeville), Jeff Balis ('Project Runway'), Tracey Becker ('Finding Neverland') |
| Ellen Sandler Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein |
 ELLEN SANDLER is an Emmy nominated television writer/producer. She She was Co-Executive Producer of the CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond, and the popular ABC series Coach as well as 25 prime time sitcoms. Ellen has created pilots for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox Family, Disney, Oxygen and the Australian Broadcasting Company. She is the author of The TV Writers Workbook: A Creative Approach to Television Scripts, published by Bantam/Dell. She was a Star Speaker of Screenwriting Expo 5. DEVORAH CUTLER-RUBENSTEIN is a former studio exec who has produced films, plays, and television including the feature franchise The Substitute and most recently Tattoo U for FX Channel. Her writing credits include a variety of genres for indie and major companies, including ABC and Columbia Pictures. She also recently published What’s the Big Idea: Writing Shorts. |
| Wendy Cutler and Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein |
DEVORAH CUTLER-RUBENSTEIN is a former studio exec who has produced films plays and television including the feature franchise The Substitute and most recently Tattoo U for FX Channel. Her writing credits include a variety of genres for indie and major companies including ABC and Columbia Pictures. She also recently published What's the Big Idea: Writing Shorts. |
| Kevin DiBacco |
KEVIN DIBACCO has 25+ years award winning experience in producing and directing. He has produced over 300 Television Commercials a dozen concept music videos 10 short films 3 documentaries and the recently distributed Feature Film. In 1979 Kevin started his career in the film business shooting 16mm sports recruiting films for Yale University. Before long he jumped into production management and there he developed his directing skills. Currently his Low Budget feature 'Willows Way 2008' is released domestically and internationally in more than 30 countries. |
| Madeline DiMaggio |
MADELINE DIMAGGIO Writer/producer Currently at Honest Engine Films DiMaggio produced Surviving Eden starring Peter Dinklage Jane Lynch Sheri Oteri and Michael Payne (release 06) and the documentaries Stir It Up (release 06) and Humble Beauty (release September 11 2008 info@humblebeauty.com). She has worked as a creative consultant and story editor to Paramount Studios and has written over 40 hours of produced film in: prime-time sitcoms one hour dramas TV pilots soaps animation and feature films. She co-wrote the M.O.W. Alibi starring Tori Spelling and the feature film If the Shoe Fits starring Rob Lowe and Jennifer Grey. Her book to film feature Catherine Called Birdy with co-writer Pamela Wallace (Witness) was developed and sold to Ben Myron Productions and the screenplay Murder with Privilege a true crime to Showtime. DiMaggio currently has 5 scripts under option. Her books include How to Write for Television for Simon and Schuster the second edition will be released November 18 2008 and The Everything Screenwriting Book for Adams Media. She presents workshops throughout the US and Europe. In 2006 and 2007 she was hired by MediaCorp in Singapore to teach TV and film writing to 'in house' professional television writers. DiMaggio was voted the Members Choice Award for Best Screenwriting Seminar and Script Consultant by the National Screenwriters Forum. |
| Pamela Douglas |
PAMELA DOUGLAS is an award-winning writer with numerous credits in television drama. Her best-selling book WRITING THE TV DRAMA SERIES (Second Edition 2007) has been adopted by network mentoring programs at CBS and NBC and translated into several languages. She has been honored with the Humanitas Prize and received awards and nominations including Emmys Writers Guild and American Women in Radio and Television. Her writing credits include ‘CBS Schoolbreak Special’ (3 episodes, Between Mother and Daughter, Sexual Considerations, and Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1 episode, Night Terrors); ‘A Girl of the Limberlost’ (teleplay), ‘TV 101' (3 episodes, First Love: Part 3-story, First Love: Part 2-story and teleplay, First Love: Part 1-story and teleplay); ‘A Year in the Life’ (1 episode, ‘What Do People Do All Day? -(writer); ‘Frank's Place’ (1 episode, Eligible Bachelor-written by); and ‘Trapper John, M.D.’ (1 episode, School Nurse-writer). |
| Final Draft |
FINAL DRAFT, Inc. is presenting tips and tricks for writers to learn more about the number one selling scriptwriting software. A sneak peak of the Final Draft version Eight will also be showcased as well as other products and services. KIRSTEN THAYER, Final Draft Product Manager, has worked as the Product Mgr. for several products owned by Hollywood Medias subsidiary Baseline Studiosystems. Kirsten began her career working in TV and Film development and production, for Cinergi, Turner Pictures and The WB Network. SCOTT MCMENAMIN, VP of Sales, Final Draft, Inc. has daily contact with writers and technology experts from all of the major Hollywood studios and networks. |
| Brian Edgar |
 BRIAN EDGAR is a New York-based screenwriter. His screenplay William The Conqueror is currently under option with DeWarrenne Pictures (UK) and set for production in 2008. A graduate of Columbia University's MFA film program Brian teaches screenwriting in Manhattan and has lectured at Expo 4 Rutgers University and the University of Paris. |
| Warrren Etheredge |
WARREN ETHEREDGE is founder of The Warren Report (www.thewarrenreport.com). He curates and hosts over 250 film (related) events every year. The Warren Report is also a television series dedicated to exploring the issues at work in both documentary and feature movies. Additionally Warren is the President of Lockspring Pictures and amongst the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool (www.thefilmschool.com). For six years Warren served as the Curator for the 1 Reel Film Festival (at Bumbershoot). Warren has written five books countless magazine articles and recently completed a feature-length doucmentary HUMOR ME. He is the host of Words and Wine a conversation series with A-list authors at The W Seattle and EXPOSED: Inside Film a screening series at the Experience Music Project. He has conducted more than a 1 000 interviews. |
| Spiritually Uplifting Family Films and TV |
The KAIROS PRIZE PANEL will focus on how to make, distribute and promote “spiritually uplifting movies and television programs” that result in a greater love and understanding of God. Dr. Ted Baehr, in concert with one or more previous Epiphany Prize winners, will give expertise in the form of a panel discussion. |
| Syd Field |
SYD FIELD is acclaimed as the 'guru of all screenwriters' by CNN and 'the most sought after screenwriting teacher in the world ' by the Hollywood Reporter. The internationally celebrated author of eight books on screenwriting his classic Screenplay is considered 'the Bible' of the film industry and is published in 23 languages and used in more than 400 colleges and universities. He has conducted screenwriting workshops all over the world and commissioned by the Disney Studios 20th Century Fox Universal Studios and the Nike Corporation and annually conducts The Visual Art of Storytelling for the scientists of JPL and NASA. He was inducted into the prestigious Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006. |
| Robert Flaxman |
 ROBERT FLAXMAN is quite simply the Rolls Royce of screenplay analysts ' declared Creative Screenwriting in its 'Analyzing the Script Analysts' review (Vol. 6 No. 5). Mr. Flaxman rated #1. His totally interactive method sets a new standard for thoroughness and specifically prepares screenplays for studios producers and competitions. |
| Katherine Fugate |
KATHERINE FUGATE created the Lifetime hit Army Wives in 2007 on which she also served as the executive producer. She is currently writing the script Valentine's Day for director Garry Marshall and New Line Cinema which is scheduled to shoot in January 2009. She also wrote the films The Prince and Me for Paramount and Carolina for Miramax. Katherine was recently named on Variety's annual Women's Impact Issue. |
| William Goldman |
WILLIAM GOLDMAN for the fifth straight year Oscar winner William Goldman is coming back to the Expo as the Sunday Guest of Honor. As a screenwriter novelist and playwright he has won two Oscars two Edgars a WGA award and a BAFTA. Among his original creations are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Princess Bride and Marathon Man. His numerous adaptations include the classic All the President's Men as well as Misery and Hearts in Atlantis. He has also written the popular book Adventures in the Screen Trade in which he penned the most famous line in Hollywood that didn't come from the Silver Screen: 'Nobody knows anything.' |
| Gary Goldstein |
Gary Goldstein has produced some of Hollywood's highest box-office successes including ‘Pretty Woman' ‘The Mothman Prophecies' and ‘Under Siege'. His films have generated over a billion dollars in worldwide revenue… and received multiple Academy Award nominations and won People's Choice Awards a Golden Globe and various other awards and nominations. His book coming out in the Fall – 'Tactical Toolbelt for Screenwriters: Success Strategies to Market & Grow Your Passion as a Career' offers concrete business tactics for screenwriters and filmmakers. With J.F. Lawton's original screenplay in hand Goldstein developed and co-produced the critically acclaimed PRETTY WOMAN with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Directed by Garry Marshall PRETTY WOMAN went on to become the highest grossing live-action film in Disney's history garnering the People's Choice Awards for Best Picture Best Comedy Best Actor and Best Actress as well as both a Golden Globe Award and Oscar Nomination for Julia Roberts. Goldstein went on to Executive Produce UNDER SIEGE for Warner Bros. directed by Andrew Davis and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Steven Seagal; as well as produce THE HUNTED at Universal starring Christopher Lambert Joan Chen and John Lone |
| Paul Joseph Gulino |
 PAUL JOSEPH GULINO is an award-winning screenwriter playwright teacher and script consultant whose work has appeared on HBO/Cinemax USA Network on stage in New York San Francisco and Los Angeles. His book Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach has been adopted as a textbook at leading film schools around the world. Paul taught screenwriting at the University of Southern California for five years and is currently head of the screenwriting program at Chapman University. |
| Joel Haber |
 JOEL HABER is a professional screenwriter and script analyst with nearly 15 years of film industry experience and an MA in Media Studies. His employers have included New Line Cinema William Morris Agency Walden Media and Tribeca Productions (DeNiro) among many others. Joel's articles have appeared in Script magazine and he has maintained one of the longest-running screenwriting blogs at http://funjoel.blogspot.com. He may be reached for personal screenplay consultations at FunJoel@earthlink.net. |
| Heather Hale |
 HEATHER HALE has over 45 hours of produced television including The Courage to Love a $5.5 million dollar Lifetime Original Movie that starred Vanessa Williams and is now available on DVD and four series: The Evidence which won 'Best New Series Pilot ' Lifestyle Magazine that won two Tellys and two PBS edutainment series that both won Emmys. Heather's 'Navigating Hollywood' DVD is a best seller and her business bio book Nirvana in a Cup was published last year. . |
| Fran Harris |
FRAN HARRIS a lively and engaging speaker has had scripts and TV shows optioned by some of Hollywood's most prolific production companies and studios. Her production company Fran Harris Entertainment is currently in post production on a documentary about acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni and several unscripted television shows. She coaches writers at all levels on the business of writing marketing and advanced scriptwriting techniques. Her online community ScreenwriterTV.com provides innovative resources classes and strategies for succeeding in Hollywood. |
| Michael Hauge |
 MICHAEL HAUGE is a story consultant author and lecturer who works with filmmakers and executives on their screenplays film projects and development skills. He has coached writers producers stars and directors on projects for Will Smith Julia Roberts Jennifer Lopez Kirsten Dunst Charlize Theron and Morgan Freeman as well as for every major studio and network. He is the best selling author of Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read as well as Writing Screenplays That Sell which in now in its thirty-fifth printing for HarperCollins and is a definitive reference book for the film and television industries. www.ScreenplayMastery.com. |
| Marshall Herskovitz |
MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ is one of the more successful writer/producers in the last 20 years. He is the recipient of multiple Emmy's and DGA awards as well as a WGA award In addition to co-writing and producing The Last Samurai Herskovitz also had a hand in this impressive list of hits: 'Traffic 'Blood Diamond 'I Am Sam ' and 'Legends of the Fall. 'On the TV side of things he created the television shows 'thirtysomething 'Once and Again ' and 'Quarterlife' with his partner Ed Zwick and was the executive producer of the acclaimed 'My So-Called Life. ' |
| Brian Herskowitz |
 BRIAN HERSKOWITZ has many features currently in development. Among his TV credits: Blossom Hercules Dream On Tour of Duty and punch up on Listen Up. Brian heads Boston University's prestigious Hollywood Internship program for Screenwriters. He teaches screenwriting online for UCLA Extension and was the sitcom instructor for Writer's Boot Camp. His DVD on Crafting the Outline is available through Creative Screenwriting and his text book Process to Product is soon to be published by Halcyon Press. |
| Alex Holdridge |
ALEX HOLDRIDGE is the writer-director of the new very independent feature 'In Search of A Midnight Kiss 'and before that the indie pictures 'Sexless' and 'Wrong Number.' " |
| Marilyn Horowitz |
 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 Ten Weeks and the script consultant for the recent Warner Bros. film And Then Came Love starring Vanessa Williams. Her students include published novelists screenwriters and award-winning filmmakers. Marilyn was awarded the coveted New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies Award For Teaching Excellence in 2004. For more information please visit www.marilynhorowitz.com. |
| Coleman Hough |
 COLEMAN HOUGH wrote bubble and full frontal directed by steven soderbergh. She was the first writer on the upcoming feature for HBO on Katharine Graham. She teaches screenwriting in the graduate writing program at USC |
| Chris Huntley |
CHRIS HUNTLEY is the Academy Technical Achievement Award-winning co-creator of Write Brothers, Inc. and the Movie Magic series of software products. Huntley co-developed the Dramatica theory of story over a 14-year period. His mastery and wisdom of all things relating to story have made him a widely recognized leader in the world of story development |
| Karl Iglesias |
 KARL IGLESIAS teaches at UCLA Extension's Writer's Program and Writers University. He is the best-selling author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters and Writing for Emotional Impact. He writes the regular column on the craft for Creative Screenwriting magazine. Passionate about great storytelling he specializes in the reader's emotional response to the written page. He can be reached through his website at www.karliglesias.com. |
| Simon Kinberg and Josh Olson |
SIMON KINBERG is one of the hottest action writers in Hollywood. His films include Mr. and Mrs Smith X-Men: The Last Stand Jumper and next summer's Night at the Museum 2. He is currently writing Sherlock Holmes for Robert Downey Jr The Hardy Men for Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller and he is adapting Robert Ludlum's The Osterman Weekend to direct. In addition to his writing Simon has a number of projects as a producer including 'Rip the Moon' for director Doug Liman and star Jake Gyllenhaal and an X-Men spinoff at Fox. JOSH OLSON’s screenplay for the film A History of Violence was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA, the WGA award and the Edgar. He is also the writer/director of the horror/comedy cult movie Infested. In 2006, Olson was personally invited by legendary author Harlan Ellison to collaborate with him on an adaptation of Ellison’s The Discarded for the ABC TV Series Masters of Science Fiction. The episode starred Brian Dennehy and John Hurt. In late 2006, Josh worked on adapting the hugely popular video game Haol for Peter Jackson, and has also adapted the Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) short story Until Gwen, which he will also direct. Most recently, he wrote Have I got A Story For You for the smash hit Batman:Gotham Knight project, completed the screenplay for the sequel to The Wizard of Oz for Warner Brothers, and is currently adapting the Lee Child best-seller One Shot for Paramount, and the Korean hit film Soo for producer Barry Josephson. Olson can be seen commenting on classic film trailers at Joe Dante’s website, Trailers From Hell. |
| Steve Kaplan |
 STEVE KAPLAN has been the industry's most sought-after expert on comedy for almost 15 years. In addition to having taught at UCLA NYU Yale and other top universities Steve Kaplan created the HBO Workspace the HBO New Writers Program and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan's Punch Line Theatre. |
| Simon Kinberg |
SIMON KINBERG is one of the hottest action writers in Hollywood. His films include Mr. and Mrs Smith X-Men: The Last Stand Jumper and next summer's Night at the Museum 2. He is currently writing Sherlock Holmes for Robert Downey Jr The Hardy Men for Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller and he is adapting Robert Ludlum's The Osterman Weekend to direct. In addition to his writing Simon has a number of projects as a producer including 'Rip the Moon' for director Doug Liman and star Jake Gyllenhaal and an X-Men spinoff at Fox. |
| Karen Lutz and Kirsten Smith |
KAREN MCCULLAH LUTZ and KIRSTEN SMITH are one of the most prolific and successful female writing teams in Hollywood. Their latest movie, Sony Pictures’ The House Bunny, stars Anna Faris, with whom they executive produced the picture. They recently wrapped The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, which will be released in April 2009 by Sony Pictures; they are executive producers on it as well. On the solo front, Karen’s independent drama, Long Time Gone, starring Christina Ricci, will go before cameras in the fall, and she is readying the feature film adaptation of her novel The Bachelorette Party and her screenplay Permission. Kirsten recently directed a short film for Glamour magazine's "Reel Moments" program --"The Spleenectomy", starring Anna Faris and Ron Livingston. Her first film as a producer, Whip It!, starring Ellen Page and directed by Drew Barrymore, is to be released by Mandate Pictures in 2009. Kirsten is developing a slate of other producing projects as well, including All American Virgin, to be directed by Clare Kilner in the fall. Karen and Kirsten got their start as screenwriters in 1997 by selling 10 Things I Hate About You as a spec screenplay. Shortly thereafter, the movie was green-lit by Disney, starring then-unknowns Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. They went on to write the hit comedy Legally Blonde, which was nominated for two Golden Globes and won multiple MTV Movie Awards. Their other credits include the fantasy comedy Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway, and She’s the Man, an update of “Twelfth Night” starring Amanda Bynes. In addition to their work as a writing team, they are both novelists. Karen’s novel, The Bachlorette Party, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2005, and Kirsten’s, The Geography of Girlhood, a novel-in-verse for young adults, came out through Little Brown in 2006. |
| Jeff Kitchen |
 JEFF KITCHEN is a working writer and one of the top screenwriting teachers in the film industry. Classically trained in playwriting he worked Off-Broadway theater for years as a dramaturgy. Jeff has taught development execs from all the major studios and is a sought-after script doctor. He is the author of Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting. You can visit Jeff's website at www.DevelopmentHeaven.com |
| Bob Kosberg |
 ROBERT KOSBERG is known as the 'King of the Pitch' because he's made a career out of turning ideas into movies and money. He is a creative producer in the truest sense of the term and has close working relationships with major studios and major stars. Because he accepts ideas from people outside of Hollywood Kosberg has maintained a feel for what the general public wants to see resulting in hundreds of successful feature TV and cable pitches. |
| Barry Levy |
BARRY LEVY wrote the 2008 thriller Vantage Point which starred Matthew Fox Dennis Quaid William Hurt and Forrest Whitaker. He is currently working on the big-screen adaptation of the hit TV show Kung-Fu. |
| Damon Lindelof |
DAMON LINDELOF is one of the creators and showrunners of ABC's hit show 'Lost.' Before that he was a co-producer and writer on NBC's Crossing Jordan. He had previously written on such TV shows as Nash Bridges and Undressed. During this past season of Lost he also served as a producer on J.J. Abrams' upcoming reinvention of the Star Trek franchise for Paramount. |
| Dr. Marilyn Mallory |
DR.MARILYN MALLORY has been a reader since 2006 or the Kairos Prize Contest for spiritually uplifting screenplays. Author of book, (soon to be published,) How To Write a Faith-Based Script for Box Offixe Success. Doctorate in Catholic Theology, Catholic University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Master of Divinity, San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian). Mornings How To Write a Faith-Based Script for the Big Screen BEG Microphone After reading and judging about half of the scripts submitted to the Kairos Prize contest, I have seen that Christian (and Jewish) screenwriters repeatedly make the same mistakes. My presentation addresses the problems and provides ways to solve them, to produce more professional and better scripts about the faith. |
| Greg Mandanis |
GREG MANDANIS is the author of the best selling Software Project Management Kit For Dummies (Wiley and Sons), and The Genes of Wrath (Bones Press 2002) and Olympiad Atlantis: The Naked Truce (Xlibris 2009) of The Man From V.E.N.U.S. Series. During the day, he works as a software program manager, and co-founder and CEO of YouScreenWriter.com, the Worlds first end-to-end online book and film production self-service collaborative community, where writers and filmmakers can write, publish, direct, produce and distribute their own books and videos and share with others. He can be reached at: greg@youscreenwriter.com. |
| Daniel Manus |
DANIEL MANUS is the Creative Executive for Clifford Werber Productions ('Cinderella Story 'Sydney White'). He recently set up and will co-produce a larger budget family fantasy/adventure project at United Artists. Daniel is also attached to produce a teen comedy starring Emily Osment ('Hannah Montana') and is currently developing other scripts to be produced independently. Daniel was previously the Director of Development for Sandstorm Films ('The Covenant' '8MM2') which had a first look deal at Sony Screen Gems and a development deal with Top Cow Comics. While there he also served as production and post production coordinator on all of Sandstorm's films. Daniel has written articles on the development process published in Script Magazine and is currently writing a book called 'The Other Side of the Table: A No B.S. Writers Guide to Pitchfests.' He also works as a script analyst for Scriptshark Script Coach and Script Connect and has lectured at and participated in numerous pitchfests and conferences around the country including Screenwriting Expo Willamette Writers Conference Great American and Great Canadian Pitchfest Fade-in etc. Raised on Long Island NY he holds a BS degree in Television with a concentration in Screenwriting from the Ithaca College Park School of Communications. |
| Daniel Manus |
DANIEL MANUS is the Creative Executive for Clifford Werber Productions ('Cinderella Story 'Sydney White'). He recently set up and will co-produce a larger budget family fantasy/adventure project at United Artists. Daniel is also attached to produce a teen comedy starring Emily Osment ('Hannah Montana') and is currently developing other scripts to be produced independently. Daniel was previously the Director of Development for Sandstorm Films ('The Covenant' '8MM2') which had a first look deal at Sony Screen Gems and a development deal with Top Cow Comics. While there he also served as production and post production coordinator on all of Sandstorm's films. Daniel has written articles on the development process published in Script Magazine and is currently writing a book called 'The Other Side of the Table: A No B.S. Writers Guide to Pitchfests.' He also works as a script analyst for Scriptshark Script Coach and Script Connect and has lectured at and participated in numerous pitchfests and conferences around the country including Screenwriting Expo Willamette Writers Conference Great American and Great Canadian Pitchfest Fade-in etc. Raised on Long Island NY he holds a BS degree in Television with a concentration in Screenwriting from the Ithaca College Park School of Communications. |
| Dara Marks |
 DARA MARKS has been consistently rated by Creative Screenwriting magazine as one of the best script consultants in the film industry. Her clients range from top studio writers and executives to beginning screenwriters. Dara has worked for major Hollywood studios and independent film companies and she is the author of a groundbreaking new book Inside Story. www.DaraMarks.com. |
| Bill Marsilii |
 BILL MARSILII He co-wrote (with his friend Terry Rossio) the romantic time-travel spec DEJA VU which sold to Jerry Bruckheimer and Touchstone Pictures in June 2004 for $5 million in a pre-emptive bid. Starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Scott the film opened Thanksgiving 2006 and went on to gross over $180 million worldwide. An accomplished comedy writer/performer Bill was in the original Off-Broadway cast of TONY 'N TINA'S WEDDING and has been featured at Caroline's on Broadway Catch a Rising Star and numerous other theatrical venues. His television work includes writing and starring in two comedy pilots for the Hallmark Channel as well as several episodes of THE WUBBULOUS WORLD OF DR. SEUSS and COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG all of which only serve to confuse people. He has also written feature scripts for The Samuel Goldwyn Company TriStar Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. Last year Bill sold an action-adventure pitch to Walt Disney Pictures which is currently out to directors and is now writing another sci-fi spec with Terry Rossio. ",8068" |
| William Martell |
 WILLIAM MARTELL has written eighteen produced films including three HBO World Premiere movies two Showtimes some CineMax Premieres and two USA Network thrillers. Ebert discussed his work on 'Siskel and Ebert's If We Picked The Winners' Oscar show in 1997 he was on the 2004 Raindance Film Fest jury (London). |
| Billy Mernit |
 BILLY MERNIT author of Writing the Romantic Comedy (Harper/Collins) novelist (Imagine Me and You published by Shaye Areheart/Random House) and popular blogger (Living the Romantic Comedy) serves as both a private script consultant and a story analyst at Universal Studios while teaching at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. |
| Nancy Meyers |
NANCY MEYERS began her Hollywood career at the top and has moved up from there. Her first script 'Private Benjamin ' was nominated for three Oscars including Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen. She launched her directing career with her co-written script for 'The Parent Trap ' and she has now surpassed Penny Marshall as the highest-grossing female movie director. Her baker's dozen screenwriting credits also include 'Something's Gotta Give ' The Holiday ' 'Protocol ' 'I Love Trouble ' 'Father of the Bride' 'Irreconcilable Differences ' and 'What Women Want.'. |
| Write Brothers Movie Magic/Dramatica Class |
WRITE BROTHERS Inc. (formerly known as Screenplay Systems) has developed industry standard-setting software since 1982. Some of their products include Scriptor, Movie Magic Budgeting, Movie Magic Scheduling, Dramatica Pro, StoryView, Streamline, Word Menu, and Movie Magic Screenwriter. Write Brothers is an industry leader and is the only company to have won a Technical Achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for screenwriting software. |
| Josh Olson |
JOSH OLSON’s screenplay for the film A History of Violence was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA, the WGA award and the Edgar. He is also the writer/director of the horror/comedy cult movie Infested. In 2006, Olson was personally invited by legendary author Harlan Ellison to collaborate with him on an adaptation of Ellison’s The Discarded for the ABC TV Series Masters of Science Fiction. The episode starred Brian Dennehy and John Hurt. In late 2006, Josh worked on adapting the hugely popular video game Haol for Peter Jackson, and has also adapted the Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) short story Until Gwen, which he will also direct. Most recently, he wrote Have I got A Story For You for the smash hit Batman:Gotham Knight project, completed the screenplay for the sequel to The Wizard of Oz for Warner Brothers, and is currently adapting the Lee Child best-seller One Shot for Paramount, and the Korean hit film Soo for producer Barry Josephson. Olson can be seen commenting on classic film trailers at Joe Dante’s website, Trailers From HellL. |
| CS Open |
The 2008 Screenwriting Expo CS Open is managed and judged by Coverage, Ink. Specializing in studio and agency-style coverage from real industry pros, Coverage, Ink. is now accessible to all writers at a reasonable price. Coverage, Ink. offers top quality script analysis at a fraction of the cost of an analyst. Is your script a Pass, Consider, or Recommend? Find out before you send it around. Visit http://www.coverageink.com/ for more details. |
| CineStory Panel |
LEE ROSS’ ‘Downloading Nancy’ is a feature film starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, released nationwide in 2009. DANIELE NATHANSON is a staff writer for CSINY. CHRISTIAN TROKEY is a staff writer for Prison Break. RITA AUGUSTINE is currently working on an adaptation of the ‘King of Fighters’ videogame. LISANNE SARTO’s ‘Cleaverville,’ was aired on Lifetime in March of 2007. CLEA FROST has several produced short films, a webseries in development and currently works as a writer and story analyst. CINESTORY is a national non-profit dedicated to nurturing new screenwriting talent through mentorship programs. |
| Jim Pasternak |
JIM PASTERNAK was a writer on 'Cousins' (Ted Danson) and the director of 'Certifiably Jonathan' (Jonathan Winters Robin Williams). Hired by studios producers and directors to prepare directors to direct their first features and shorts Pasternak prepared Wesley Strick Peter Iillif Barry Blaustein and Catherine Hardwicke to transition into directing. Two of the directors he prepared have won Oscars: Christine Lahti for 'Lieberman in Love' and Ray McKinnon for 'The Accountant'. He is head of the directing program at the Los Angeles Film School.",8079" |
| TJ Lynch and Paul Guay |
TJ LYNCH won a Nicholl Fellowship for his screenplay The Beginning of Wisdom. The screenplay also won the Scriptwriter's Network Carl Sautter Memorial Scriptwriting Competition. It was also a Finalist in the Chesterfield Writer's Film Project the ABC/Disney Fellowship and the Slamdance Film Festival Screenplay Competition. He and his producing partner are setting up the project to shoot in the summer of '09 with TJ directing. To fulfill his Nicholl Fellowship obligation he wrote the screenplay that became the movie A Plumm Summer. The screenplay was a Finalist in the Final Draft Big Break Screenplay Competition. A low budget indie family film set in his home state of Montana A Plumm Summer stars Henry Winkler William Baldwin and Brenda Strong with narration by Jeff Daniels. It came out in limited release this April of ‘08 and will be released on DVD in the near future. TJ does screenplay consultation on a limited basis when time permits. For info and lots of screenwriting tips visit http://www.writingisrewriting.com/ PAUL GUAY's movies have grossed over half a billion dollars. He conceived and co-wrote Liar Liar at the time of its release the sixth-highest-grossing comedy in history the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year the second-highest-grossing film of Jim Carrey's career and Imagine's highest-grossing film ever. The screenplay received an Honorable Mention (along with Fargo Million Dollar Baby The Full Monty and Catch Me If You Can) in Scr(i)pt magazine's list of the Best Scripts of the Past 10 Years. Paul co-wrote The Little Rascals Universal's second-highest-grossing film of the year; co-wrote Heartbreakers starring Sigourney Weaver Jennifer Love Hewitt Gene Hackman and Jason Lee which opened #1 at the box office and the rights to which he co-licensed to MGM for production as a stage musical; and wrote On a Pale Horse for Disney and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx based on Book One of the eight-volume 'Incarnations of Immortality' series by New York Times-bestselling author Piers Anthony. Paul also polished a draft of The NeverEnding Story and co-polished Mouse Hunt. He is a former consultant to World Wrestling Entertainment. Paul has opened a new business and is now doing formally what he's been doing informally for years -- Script Consultation (http://www.LetsSchmooze.com/PaulGuay.html). |
| Thomas Pope |
THOMAS POPE has worked on Bad Boys F/X Lords of Discipline Hammett and many others. He has written for Francis Coppola Barry Levinson Ridley Scott Penny Marshall Frank Oz Wim Wenders and many others. His book Good Scripts Bad Scripts is a classic text. Most recently he was co-producer and script consultant on Sweet Land which was on many Top Ten lists of 2006. |
| Richard Price |
 RICHARD PRICE official biography to be posted. The following is our bio: He was nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay for 'The Color of Money' (for which Paul Newman did win an Oscar). He wrote one of the three episodes of the Woody Allen-produced 'New York Stories.' Both were directed by Martin Scorsese. He wrote several episodes of the critically acclaimed 'The Wire' between 2002 and 2008. He also wrote the original screenplay for 'Sea of Love' (1989) starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. A writer who seems to move back and forth without effort between novels and screenplays he wrote both the novel and screenplay for 'Clockers' and 'Freedomland ' and the screenplays for 'Shaft ' 'Ransom ' 'Kiss of Death 'and 'Night and the City.' His first novel 'The Wanderers ' written when he was 24 became a cult-classic New York coming-of-age movie directed by Philip Kaufman. If there is a master who has made dialogue into something more it is Richard Price. 'Lush Life ' the New Yorker review adds 'shows him inventing a life for dialogue rather than just taking it from life and this spoken magic is often indistinguishable from Price's apparently more formal descriptive prose.' His dialogue is 'a very long ribbon of small talk but it is highly functional always pushing on not only the plot but our sense of his characters.' If writing great dialogue is one of your goals then come to the Expo and sit for both our interview with Richard Price and his reading from the upcoming '36.' |
| Gina Prince-Bythewood |
GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD wrote and directed the widely-acclaimed feature film 'Love and Basketball' which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. She won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film. Her other credits include writing on the TV shows 'Felicity' and 'A Different World ' among others. She also wrote and directed the Fox Searchlight film 'The Secret Life of Bees ' which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released this fall. |
| Networking Reception |
MAKE CONNECTIONS - The entertainment business runs on personal relationships. We can’t emphasize this strongly enough. Don’t miss the opportunities these parties present. We suggest that you use online registration for these parties to ensure that space is still available. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. |
| Melissa Rosenberg |
MELISSA ROSENBERG is a TV veteran since 1993. Melissa Rosenberg gained a new and impassioned fanbase when she was hired to write the adaptation of 2008's Twilight the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's wildy popular young-adult novel. When she's not adapting popular vampire novels Rosenberg is a writer and co-executive producer on Showtime's acclaimed series Dexter. She was also a producer and writer on The O.C. and has written episodes for a variety of shows that include Ally McBeal, Party of Five, Birds of Prey, and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, among others. |
| Ken Rotcop |
 KEN ROTCOP is an award-winning writer for the TV movie For Us the Living: The Story of Medgar Evers and is the author of the bestselling book The Perfect Pitch. A feature-length documentary called Talk Fast about his Professional Writers Workshop is presently screening at several film festivals. Formerly creative head of four studios he has written for every form of television. His students have had fifteen movies produced as well as numerous stage plays and published books within the last four years. |
| Shawn Ryan |
SHAWN RYAN has for the CBS series Nash Bridges, and the WB series Angel. Shawn Ryan created and executive produced the first original drama series for FX, The Shield, in 2002. Ryan's pilot episode yielded an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Ryan has since accepted the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, an A.F.I. Award for TV Program of the Year, and The Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. The final season of the Shield is currently airing on FX. Shawn is in his fourth season as Executive Producer of the CBS action-drama series The Unit, created by David Mamet. Ryan is also writing a movie for writer/producer James L. Brooks and has several shows in development under his overall production deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Productions. |
| Shawn Ryan |
SHAWN RYAN has for the CBS series Nash Bridges, and the WB series Angel. Shawn Ryan created and executive produced the first original drama series for FX, The Shield, in 2002. Ryan's pilot episode yielded an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Ryan has since accepted the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, an A.F.I. Award for TV Program of the Year, and The Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. The final season of the Shield is currently airing on FX. Shawn is in his fourth season as Executive Producer of the CBS action-drama series The Unit, created by David Mamet. Ryan is also writing a movie for writer/producer James L. Brooks and has several shows in development under his overall production deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Productions. |
| Dov S-S Simens |
 DOV S-S SIMENS, owner of the Hollywood Film Institute, whose students have grossed over $7 Billion in the past decade, and creator of the acclaimed "2-day Film School(TM)" and "DVD Film School (TM)" is also the founder of the Filmmaker's Portal, www.WebFilmSchool.com, and, in his spare time, has authored "From Reel To Deal" for Warner Books. |
| Ellen Sandler |
 ELLEN SANDLER is an Emmy nominated television writer/producer. She was Co-Executive Producer of the CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond and the popular ABC series Coach as well as 25 prime time sitcoms. Ellen has created pilots for ABC CBS NBC Fox Family Disney Oxygen and the Australian Broadcasting Company. She is the author of The TV Writers Workbook: A Creative Approach to Television Scripts published by Bantam/Dell. |
| Martin Shapiro Sean O'Reilly |
MARTIN SHAPIRO is an award-winning WGA screenwriter and producer. He wrote and co-published the supernatural horror comic book series 'Chopper ' published by Arcana Comics which debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con in July. His movie screenplay 'Lair of the Fox' was sold to Ilya Salkind (Producer of 'Superman'). Mr. Shapiro received his Master's Degree in Screenwriting from UCLA. SEAN O'REILLY is the founder and CEO of Arcana Comics (Dragon's Lair Ezra Kade 100 Girls) and is currently serving as Head of Publishing and Animation at Platinum Studios. Platinum has major film projects setup at Disney DreamWorks and Universal. They are best known for publishing the original Men in Black comic book. In just over 3 years at Arcana Sean took his studio from a one-person operation in his basement to Canada 's largest comic book publisher. He has published over 90 comics reaching sales of over 1 million copies. His company has also won the Shuster Award for Outstanding Publisher. |
| Martin Shapiro Sean O'Reilly |
MARTIN SHAPIRO is an award-winning WGA screenwriter and producer. He wrote and co-published the supernatural horror comic book series 'Chopper ' published by Arcana Comics which debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con in July. His movie screenplay 'Lair of the Fox' was sold to Ilya Salkind (Producer of 'Superman'). Mr. Shapiro received his Master's Degree in Screenwriting from UCLA. SEAN O'REILLY is the founder and CEO of Arcana Comics (Dragon's Lair Ezra Kade 100 Girls) and is currently serving as Head of Publishing and Animation at Platinum Studios. Platinum has major film projects setup at Disney DreamWorks and Universal. They are best known for publishing the original Men in Black comic book. In just over 3 years at Arcana Sean took his studio from a one-person operation in his basement to Canada 's largest comic book publisher. He has published over 90 comics reaching sales of over 1 million copies. His company has also won the Shuster Award for Outstanding Publisher. |
| Stephanie SenGupta |
STEPHANIE SENGUPTA received her MFA in playwriting and screenwriting from NYU's Tisch School in 1999. She began her career in television as a staff writer during the first season of the hour-long drama, Law and Order: Criminal Intent where she remained for six seasons, writing more than 20 episodes, including the series' only two-hour episode. At the end of last season, she left Criminal Intent and is currently a writer and consulting producer on Law and Order, which is now in its eighteenth season. |
| Mark Sevi |
MARK SEVI is a professional screenwriter with 17 movie credits. He also teaches screenwriting and lectures at colleges around Southern California. |
| Gary Shusett |
GARY SHUSETT is the director and founder of one of the most innovative film schools in the country. It specializes in bringing in significant professionals like Steve Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, and Orson Welles, and brings writers to major award shows year round. www.sherwoodoakscollege.com |
| Mark and Jeanne Simon |
SellYourTVConceptNow.com is the most comprehensive source for expert guidance and resources for those who are serious about selling their TV show ideas. One-on-one consultations are available, as well as, TV Pitch School - The Ultimate Home Study Course for TV Show Creators. MARK and JEANNE SIMON, founders of SellYourTvConceptNow.com, have together been in the industry for over 45 years and worked on over 3,000 productions. They have produced 400+ episodes of TV for Nickelodeon, TNN, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, and G4. Mark has written 10 industry books and Jeanne co-developed an entire network and its programming for Turner Broadcasting. |
| David and Jennifer Skelly |
DAVID and JENNIFER SKELLY are a husband and wife screenwriting/ filmmaking team. The Skellys are currently writing, developing, and producing live-action and animated feature films. David was part of the story development team at Pixar Animation Studios on Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Cars, and designed and puppeteered Muppets for Jim Henson Productions. Jennifer is a film, television, and stage actress as well as a writer and producer. David recently wrote the screenplay for Jack & Ben, a CG animated feature for Laika Entertainment. The Skellys have taught at a number of colleges and institutions including U.C. Berkeley and the California Institute of the Arts. |
| Evan Smith |
EVAN SMITH is the author of the bestselling book 'Writing Television Sitcoms' and chair of the screenwriting program at Syracuse University's Newhouse School. He has written for Paramount Fox MTM USA and various producers and worked as a VP of development. Evan also serves as a script consultant for screenwriters and entertainment companies. |
| Pamela Jaye Smith |
 PAMELA JAYE SMITH is a writer international consultant and speaker and award-winning producer-director with three decades in the media industry. She is the author of THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE; INNER DRIVES; and SYMBOLS: The Secret Language of Images in Media [2009]. Her company MYTHWORKS™ offers ‘Applied Mythology for more Powerful Reality'. Clients and credits include Microsoft Paramount Disney Universal RAI-TV Rome and many more. Pamela is the founder of MYTHWORKS and is a frequent jurist and panelist for script contests and film festivals. www.mythworks.net |
| Blake Snyder |
 BLAKE SNYDER has sold or been hired to write dozens of scripts for film and TV in his 20-year career including co-writing Blank Check for Disney and Nuclear Family for Steven Spielberg—both million-dollar sales. Blake is the author of the popular Save the Cat! series. www.blakesnyder.com |
| Jungle Software |
A Screenwriting Expo exclusive presentation, Jungle Software premieres Story O. – the ultimate story organizational tool |
| Mariner Software |
COREY JOHNSON is the Director of Product Development for Mariner Software. With over 8 years experience in product strategy, user experience and user interface development, his efforts and expertise have resulted in multimillion in sales from several products. Among his many responsibilities at Mariner is for the growth and advancement of the Mariner product line. |
| Mariner Software 2 |
Jeffrey Alan Schechter is a writer, producer, and director whose work has been nominated for Emmy awards as well as for WGA, WGC, and BAFTA awards. In his 20 year career he has written and sold scripts for The Walt Disney Company, Disney Channel, Warner Bros, Universal Entertainment, Nickelodeon, BBC, The Hallmark Channel and NBC among many others. Jeffrey is currently executive producing OVERRULED for the Disney Channel as well as story editing the new HOT WHEELS animated series for Mattel. |
| Chris Soth |
CHRIS SOTH sold his first screenplay, Firestorm, for $750,000, while still a graduate student in the USC screenwriting program. The movie was made, starring football star Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Barry Pepper, and Suzie Amis, and was released in January of 1998. (“Firestorm rages with adventurous appeal.” - LA Times.) Chris was also paid $200,000 by Universal Studios to adapt the novel “A Fall of Moondust,” by Arthur C. Clarke of “2001” fame. In 2003 Chris sold his own original pitch, MEET JANE DOE to Signpost Pictures and Mosaic Media in a low-against-mid-six figure deal, with Hopscotch Pictures attached to produce. Chris guided the script through several stages of development and the film is expected to shoot in Australia this coming year. Chris's pitch THE CITIZEN was optioned by Escape Artists (Pursuit of Happyness) with Chris attached to produce. Chris also has written for independent investors, creating such screenplays as WASTELAND, HAUNTED HIGH and STAGE ONE, gathering knowledge used to craft DEAD MAN'S HAND as the perfect independent film project. His latest screenplay, OUTRAGE, starring Michael Madsen, Natasha Lyonne and Michael Berryman, was filmed in Georgia last spring and is in consideration for The Sundance Film Festival. In 2005, Chris founded the website MillionDollarScreenwriting.com to share his screenwriting expertise with aspiring screenwriters. His companion networking website, HollywoodByPhone.com, holds interviews with agents, studio executives, managers and filmmakers every week, and through ScreenplayByPhone.com, Chris mentors screenwriters around the world. He has taught at USC and UCLA and authored over 28 screenplays as well as the internet best-selling book "Million-Dollar Screenwriting: The Mini-Movie Method" and the best-selling pitch DVD: "SOLD! How I Set Up Three Pitches in Hollywood". Chris holds an MFA with distinction in screenwriting from the University of Southern California and a BA in Dramatic Literature from Vassar College, with highest honors. |
| Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely |
CHRISTOPHER MARKUS and STEPHEN McFEELY are the hit writers behind Disney's massive The Chronicles of Narnia franchise penning both 2005's 'The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe' and this year's 'Prince Caspian ' and word is that they're working on 'The Voyage of the Dawn Trader ' due to come out in 2010. Before entering Narnia they made their writing debut with the TV movie 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ' for which they won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries Movie or Dramatic Special. Showcasing the range of their talents they also wrote the noir offbeat 2007 comedy 'You Kill Me ' starring Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni. |
| J. Michael Straczynski |
J.MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI has been writing for television and films for over twenty years. In TV he created Babylon 5, Crusade and Jeremiah, and worked as a writer/producer on Murder, She Wrote, Twilight Zone, Walker Texas Ranger and many others. In film, he has written Changeling for Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie, World War Z for Brad Pitt's Plan B, They Marched Into Sunlight for Tom Hanks' Playtone and director Paul Greengrass, The Grays for Wolfgang Peterson, Proving Ground for Tom Cruise's UA, and Lensman for Ron Howard again. He also writes comics for Marvel and DC. We're pretty sure he has not slept since 1984. |
| Lee Stranahan |
LEE STRANAHAN is a writer and filmmaker whose YouTube videos have been viewed millions of times and been called 'brilliant' by Time Magazine editor Joe Klein and have been featured on CNN and in the Los Angeles Times. Lee wrote produced and directed the indie comedy 'Breathing Room' and is currently developing projects for the internet film and television. |
| Wendall Thomas |
 WENDALL THOMAS the creator of the LIVING ROOM LECTURE series has been an adjunct professor of screenwriting at UCLA since 1996. She lectures extensively in Europe and currently consults for the U.K. Film Council and the Ateliers de Cinema Europeen. |
| Jesse Alexander, Jeph Loeb and Tim Kring |
JESSE ALEXANDER was a co-executive producer on ABC's 'Lost' and an executive producer and writer for five years on Alias Before joining 'Heroes.'. He is now a writer and producer on 'Heroes.. JEPH LOEB was a supervising producer on both LOST and Smallville before becoming an executive producer and writer on HEROES He is perhaps best known for his legendary comic writing which includes the seminal titles Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman For All Seasons among many others. TIM KRING a TV veteran for over 25 years created Heroes in 2006 for NBC and has groomed it into one of the most exciting shows on television. He also created the popular show Crossing Jordan which ran for six seasons and is a veteran of many one-hour shows. |
| Jeffrey Townsend |
JEFFREY TOWNSEND developed a unique three-week immersion-style workshop called the Filmmakers Boot Camp and has been teaching it since 1998. Before that he worked as a production designer and second unit director of feature films for 20 years. He wrote several optioned and orphaned screenplays during that time somehow ending up with an Emmy when he wrote episodes for the Nickelodeon animated series 'Rugrats.' He is currently producing and directing video segments for several ground-breaking book/video hybrid projects for a major publisher. |
| Mark Travis |
MARK TRAVIS acclaimed as 'the director's director' is regarded by many Hollywood and International professionals to be one of the world's leading authorities in the art and craft of film directing. Drawing from his impressive background in design writing acting and his wide range of experience directing theater film and television Mark is able to bring new insights and exceptional clarity to the complex task of directing the feature film. His books THE DIRECTOR'S JOURNEY and DIRECTING FEATURE FILMS have become best-sellers nationally and internationally. They are used as required reading in film schools and production companies and have been translated into Japanese German and French. As Creative Consultant on feature films ranging from Studio productions (MGM Twentieth Century Fox) to Independent Features Mark is constantly in demand by directors writers and producers for his skills in guiding the director through the complexities of film production. He is currently on the faculty of HFF ( Munich ) HSU ( Kiev ) and has taught at AFI UCLA The Binger Institute ( Amsterdam ) PU ( Pixar University ) FAS Screen Training Ireland and many other institutions and film schools. |
| Dave Trottier |
DAVE TROTTIER has sold or optioned ten screenplays (three produced) and helped dozens of writers break into the movie business. He is an acclaimed script consultant writing coach and author of The Screenwriter's Bible (which contains the de facto spec formatting guide and is now in its fourth edition). He writes a column for Script Magazine. |
| John Truby |
 JOHN TRUBY is the author of the best-selling book THE ANATOMY OF STORY (Farrar Straus and Giroux). He has taught his 22-Step Great Screenwriting and Genre classes to over 30 000 students worldwide. He has also worked as a story consultant and script doctor for Disney Studios Sony Pictures FOX HBO the BBC RAI LUX TV4 MTV Sweden Alliance Atlantis and Cannell Studios. His feature film ALL-AMERICAN BOY won Best Dramatic Film (Gold Special Jury Award) at the Houston International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Picture at the Hollywood Film Festival. |
| Jennifer van Sijll |
 JENNIFER VAN SIJLL is the author of the bestseller Cinematic Storytelling. She teaches screenwriting at San Francisco State University and has an MFA in Film Production from USC. She regularly consults with writers and producers. |
| Richard Walter |
 Professor RICHARD WALTER has been co-chairman of the UCLA screenwriting program for 25 years. His students have written Indiana Jones III Hancock War of the Worlds Jurassic Park I II III Sideways A View from the Top Spider-Man Real Women Have Curves About Schmidt Road to Perdition The Sum of All Fears Men in Black Face/Off Charlies Angels Mission Impossible Texas Chainsaw Massacre Terminal The Simpsons The Office Beverly Hills 90210 Melrose Place and many more. |
| Victoria Wisdom |
VICTORIA WISDOM agent at Becsey Wisdom Kalajian for 14 years representing the writer/directors of Oscar winning films like The Usual Suspects and The Red Violin. BWK agency clients have included Oscar hits Crash Million Dollar Baby and The Fugitive. Victoria also sold the hit CBS drama series Criminal Minds and repped the Oscar winners Ernest Thompson and Christopher McQuarrie as well as director Bryan Singer. Prior to working at BWK Victoria was an agent at ICM. Victoria recently became a manager/producer setting up the Hilary Swank starrer Labyrinths. |
| Http:// YouScreenwriter.com |
YouScreenWriter.com: Write, Direct, Produce & Distribute Your Movies and Books! Your first fully integrated online production studio that makes it easy for writers and artists to write, direct, produce, and distribute e-Books and Videos differently, in a fully collaborative community. Are you a budding star whose unscripted videos are getting lost in You Tube’s “slush pile?' Or, a Starving writer, ready to go back on strike, because you're not getting your fair share of residual royalties for your new hit TV show download? Then, Own the Means of Production, right now! |
| Larry Zerner |
LARRY ZERNER is an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles representing writers actors and directors. He is a past speaker at the Screenwriting Expo and regularly speaks about legal issues affecting writers. |
| David Zuckerman |
DAVID KOHNER ZUCKERMAN is a producer and President of ScriptCoach. He served as a producer on the films 'Catalina Trust ' 'Chump Change' 'Caught in the Act ' and 'Strictly Sexual.' He was also Head of Development for Silver Lion Films where he worked on films such as 'Man on Fire.' |