tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77593330428625775962024-03-19T11:01:29.838-07:00Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbarascreenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-32761307055541665222012-02-21T10:16:00.001-08:002012-02-21T10:16:54.915-08:00Thursday, March 8: James Kahn<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Writer/Producer </span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">James Kahn</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">"Limping from Hollywood or How I Learned to Embrace the Community Film Studio of Santa Barbara and You Can Too" </span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, March 8, 7 pm</strong></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span></a><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara <br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><a href="http://www.jameskahnwordsandmusic.com/">James Kahn</a> is the author of <em>Return of the Jedi</em>, <em>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</em>, <em>Goonies</em>, and numerous other novels and novelizations, as well as writer-producer on television shows such as <em>Melrose Place</em> and <em>Star Trek: Voyager</em>. He will discuss his career and some lessons learned, plus tell us what <a href="http://cfssb.org/">CFSSB</a> is and how to participate in it. Come learn how to formulate a story for a script that could be shot entirely in Santa Barbara with limited cast, location, and budget.<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">J. had his first short story published in <em>Playboy</em> magazine when he was still at the University of Chicago. He graduated in 1974 and did an internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “I realized that if I were to become an internist, I’d be treating patients all day, being on call all night, running into the hospital at 3 am,” he said. “Admirable, but I’d be missing the pieces of my life I’d left behind. Writing and music.” After his residency at USC/LA County Emergency Room he went to work as an emergency physician at various hospitals around Los Angeles.</span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">He scheduled enough free time to do other things he wanted and started publishing science fiction and murder mystery novels. Then in 1981, Hollywood struck. <strong>Kathleen Kennedy</strong> called the front desk of the ER where he worked to ask if anyone could help her figure out how to resuscitate an alien in a movie she was producing. J. went to <strong>Laird Studios</strong>, along with a number of other doctors and nurses, where they did the technical consulting and worked as extras on <em>ET: The Extraterrestrial</em>. </span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">While there, he made the acquaintance of<strong> Steven Spielberg</strong>, and gave him a copy of one of his science fiction novels, <em>World Enough and Time</em>. Spielberg liked it well enough to assign J. to write the novelization of the other movie he was doing at the same time, <em>Poltergeist</em>. J. wrote it under the gun, in a month, and that was the beginning of his Hollywood career.<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">In 2010 he began to author storytelling music, and wrote and recorded enough to fill out two CDs. You can find music videos, short films, novels and essays on <a href="http://www.jameskahnwordsandmusic.com/">his website</a>.</span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-4558312140003851972012-02-15T14:34:00.000-08:002012-02-15T14:35:38.730-08:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, February 9, 2012Author and editor Shelly Lowenkopf spoke to the Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara in February 2012. He used examples from literature to explain how characters in modern day stories need to be multidimensional.<br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/36787838?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" width="400"></iframe>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-57021948093301318802012-01-25T10:36:00.000-08:002012-01-25T10:39:57.837-08:00Thursday, February 9: Shelly Lowenkopf<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></span></p></div> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Nationally Renown Book Editor </span></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"> <span style="font-size:130%;">Shelly Lowenkopf</span></span></span></strong></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">"How to Unfriend Your Characters" </span></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';font-size:130%;"><strong>Thursday, February 9, 7 pm</strong></span><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span></a><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara<br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="font-size:medium;"><strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.lowenkopf.com/">Shelly Lowenkopf</a> has held major editorial positions with general trade, mass market paperback, literary, and scholarly book </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUmgA8lyi7ZqpQF4-ReGuIDxRGCuK2nHehR4FAOoyeolMx-Smoetjmuihl49r7v_NEgDR6PCrlSPVjSybCrKkOVFX90cx7nUaZy7LQIPr52Q0-d1LhtDbD8ZJ4Z_Mc32vJjhNyU7hiEQ/s1600/shelly.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUmgA8lyi7ZqpQF4-ReGuIDxRGCuK2nHehR4FAOoyeolMx-Smoetjmuihl49r7v_NEgDR6PCrlSPVjSybCrKkOVFX90cx7nUaZy7LQIPr52Q0-d1LhtDbD8ZJ4Z_Mc32vJjhNyU7hiEQ/s320/shelly.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701640675936522690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">publishers in addition to executive editorial participation in special interest, literary, and genre fiction magazines. Those companies include: <strong>Sherbourne Press</strong> (Editor-in-Chief); <strong>Dell Publishing</strong> (Director, Los Angeles office); <strong>Clio Books</strong> (Editor-in-Chief); <strong>Ross-Erickson</strong> (Editor-in-Chief); and, <strong>Capra Press</strong> (Advisory and Acquisitions Editor). He has seen over seven hundred book projects and hundreds of short story and essay projects through the publishing process. </span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Currently a freelance consultant and teacher, his clients include novelists, retired and active academics, and the humorist creator of one of the most popular television series of all time.Lowenkopf taught courses in short story, novel, dramatic writing, editing, genre fiction, and revision at the graduate level in one of the most prestigious writing programs in America at U<strong>niversity of Southern California</strong>, where he was given a Lifetime Teaching Award. </span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">He is a past regional president of the <strong>Mystery Writers of America</strong>; his book reviews have appeared in the <em>Philadelphia Inquirer</em>, the <em>Fort Worth Star-Telegram</em>, <em>The National Catholic Reporter</em>, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, the <em>Los Angeles Herald-Examiner</em>, <em>Publishers’ Weekly</em>, the <em>Santa Barbara News-Press</em>, and the <em>Santa Barbara Independent</em>. He has been the weekly reviewer for the <em>Montecito Journal</em> since 2005. </span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Lowenkopf has had over 35 books published, along with short fiction, pulp novels, essays and reviews. His most recent book, <em>The Fiction Writer’s Companion</em>, is a guide to terms, concepts, and forms related to storytelling. <br /></span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-7842433275481343532012-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:002012-01-24T13:42:04.970-08:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, January 12, 2012<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinwkMlUmNDRtEthf88ZHygX5xgoFEE6D-pzcXeJJI-lVCePP4SEc0RvJ3pfuePYqDHAn5DS9T4Y-wMO-YEkKO1bToe73v7wsmFAc_gNrAqE3u9t-ezsZ6manlLQOaPRjtCihft6RXxaA/s1600/candice2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinwkMlUmNDRtEthf88ZHygX5xgoFEE6D-pzcXeJJI-lVCePP4SEc0RvJ3pfuePYqDHAn5DS9T4Y-wMO-YEkKO1bToe73v7wsmFAc_gNrAqE3u9t-ezsZ6manlLQOaPRjtCihft6RXxaA/s320/candice2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701314874167798722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara met again at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brooks Institute</span> on Cota Street. A stunning exhibit of student work, mostly documentary photography lined the walls as the group made their way to hear Candace Schermerhorn speak about making documentary films.</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa Angle</span> opened asking for any announcements. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chuck Kent</span> mentioned an upcoming film called <a href="http://sbiff.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/thesecretingredient_rashibahrichitnis_sbiff2012">The Secret Ingredient</a> directed SASB Past President <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rashi Bahri Chitnis</span>. It will be shown <span style="font-weight: bold;">February 2</span> at the Metro 3. as part of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Santa Barbara International Film Festival</span>. </span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Maria</span> announced the upcoming play <a href="http://www.noozhawk.com/article/011012_jaguars_nest"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Jaguar’s Nest</span></a> by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Synergy Entertainment Group</span>. </span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Members were asked to donate $25 so visiting speakers can be taken to dinner before the lecture and to help with expenses. It’s so little, let’s all chip in because the speakers are world class. Such was the experience of listening to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Candace Schermerhorn</span>. As a producer, director, and writer her expertise and passion lie primarily in first person narrative and documentaries addressing contemporary issues. Her credits include work for Children’s Television Workshop, the National Park Service, Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, Harcourt Brace Publishers, American Masters, and Turner Broadcasting. She directed, with Bestor Cram, the independent award-winning documentary <span style="font-style: italic;">You Don’t Know Dick</span>, an intimate film about female-to-male transsexuals. For many years she has taught documentary film making at Santa Barbara City College and was the Director of Programming for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">It was amazing to watch clips of the films after listening to the lecture. Candace told the group that documentaries start with footage and more footage. “That’s what the film will become,” she said. “You won’t know what you have till you go back over it.” And even then it might not be what you expect. She explained the process of writing the story from the transcripts. Every single line, every single expression, every sound are painstakingly recorded, and in this way, the story is culled from the masses of footage a documentarian shoots.</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">She showed the group an immense idea board made of tiny different colored Post-it notes that was the organizing principle behind her film of women in Nigeria called <a href="http://www.nakedoptionmovie.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Naked Option</span></a>.</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">“Documentary film making is about what truth is going to evolve,” she told the audience. “Observe as much as possible.” On truth, she cautioned the audience “Whose truth are you telling? All documentaries are exploiting on some level, and what is truth shifts and varies.” Always be prepared to defend your choices. “You are challenging truth and it is challenging you at the same time.”</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">The bigger story in a documentary is made up of all the little stories, she said. Sometimes it just takes one little line from the transcripts to tie everything together. The lines and the shots of expressions act as bridges to tie the greater whole of the story together. “Train yourself to be moved by stories, to look for them and be moved by them.” What the audience wants is for you as a writer to tell them things, so they can follow you as the writer. “Stick to what you know, if you love something stick to that,” she said. There are basically three questions to ask: What is my story, why do I want to do it and what am I trying to achieve?</span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Most impressive was watching the film <span style="font-style: italic;">You don’t know Dick</span>. The music, the cutting and the lighting really add to this documentary in ways that show just how masterfully a story can be told in small stories that add up. You can see how this comes together at this link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/video/northern-light-productions/you-dont-know-dick/27328935">http://www.myspace.com/video/northern-light-productions/you-dont-know-dick/27328935</a></span><br style="font-family:courier new;"><br style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">It’s just seamless the way this flows as a documentary. The audience was rapt watching too. “Set things up so you can tell the story,” she said. Watch the above and you will see a master storyteller at work. This is how to make the footage flow seamlessly with the music, tapping all the little stories within stories that add up to the bigger picture.</span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-77590127793811413912011-12-31T13:31:00.000-08:002011-12-31T13:32:19.882-08:00Thursday, January 12: Documentary Filmmaker Candace Schermerhorn<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Documentary Filmmaker</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Candace Schermerhorn</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, January 12, 7 pm</strong></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><br /><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara <br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Candace Schermerhorn</span></span></span></strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"> got her start at Northern Light Productions in Boston, MA where she became a staff producer. As a producer, director, and writer her expertise and passion lie primarily in first person narrative and documentaries addressing contemporary issues. Her credits include work for Children’s Television Workshop, the National Park Service, Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, Harcourt Brace Publishers, American Masters, and Turner Broadcasting. She directed, with <strong>Bestor Cram</strong>, the independent award-winning documentary <em>You Don’t Know Dick</em>, an intimate film about female-to-male transsexuals. For many years she has taught documentary filmmaking at <strong>Santa Barbara City College</strong> and was the Director of Programming for the <strong>Santa Barbara International Film Festival</strong>. She wrote, produced and directed <a href="http://www.nakedoptionmovie.com/"><em>The Naked Option: A last resort</em></a>, celebrating the grassroots mobilization of women in the Niger Delta and their struggle against the multinational oil corporations. She is currently in preproduction of her third independent feature documentary, <a href="http://www.someplacewithamountain.org/Apuur.org/HOME.html"><em>The Last Utopia</em></a>, about the ancient seafaring Lapita Navigators and their migration due to sea level rise. </span></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><br /></span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-5732284180182905242011-12-13T09:48:00.000-08:002011-12-13T09:50:15.637-08:00Holiday Mixer at Casa Blanca<p style="text-align: center; font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>Please join other writers and filmmakers in celebrating this magical season! </strong><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Holiday Mixer<br />Wednesday, December 14<br />5-7 pm<br /><a href="http://www.casablancasb.com/">Casa Blanca Restaurant and Cantina </a><br />330 State Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara<br />805.845.8966</span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong style="font-family: courier new;">Who:</strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;"> Screenwriters Association of SB, The Table SB, Indiecoop: Co-operative of Independent SB Producers, SB Filmmakers</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><strong style="font-family: courier new;">What: </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;">networking, drinking, eating, laughing, meeting new people who can help you with your projects</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><strong style="font-family: courier new;">When: </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;">Holiday party primetime – December 14</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><strong style="font-family: courier new;">Where: </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;">a beautiful new restaurant in the heart of Santa Barbara’s old town</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><strong style="font-family: courier new;">Why: </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;">This is where other local entertainment production professions will be. Happy Hour prices 3-8 pm. You’ll be downtown shopping anyway. Check out the new restaurant in town. It’s gonna be fun!</span><br /></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-14592263062152238472011-11-16T11:38:00.000-08:002011-11-16T12:45:37.665-08:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, Novmeber 10, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >By Adrienne D. Wilson<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">November opened with another packed classroom for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara</span> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brooks Institute</span>. The Zicrees are a power couple, known as “Supermentors” in the industry.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marc</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Elaine Zicree</span> have over 100 credits to their name, including series such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Trek-The Next Generation</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sliders</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Deep Space Nine</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lazarus Man</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Beyond Reality</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Babylon 5</span>, plus multiple pilots</span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"> for NBC, ABC and Showtime. They have written for virtually every major studio and network, and their work has been nominated for the Humanitas Prize, Diane Thomas Award, and American Book Award.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa Angle</span>, President opened the meeting by reminding the group that donations to host the speakers coming up from Los Angeles can </span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">be made to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chuck Kent</span>.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Also mentioned was a series of shorts out at UCSB coming up on <span style="font-weight: bold;">November 30th</span>. Don Hurtzfeldt of <a href="http://www.bitterfilms.com/">Bitterfilms.com</a>, a UCSB graduate whose cult short films have gone on to win big awards will be at the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pollock Theater</span> giving a showing of three plus an onstage interview afterward. See link above for more, and check the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/t1i1b">Youtube versions at this link</a> to get a taste of an animator at work.<br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">The Zicrees ar</span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">e responsible for “The Table” that has spread all over the world and can be found here in Santa Barbara at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Max’s</span> restaurant on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday nights</span> where screenwriters and film</span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">makers gather.</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5xDc-_TFpA5nH-BEwEz_xPUqsyA_sgnB7wq-rjXlPt4jeAi9-GXaoIVu6w0dGTeFQs_LHnLRAd8uuTGn3evv0XoBhe87Iu5kOtoPhZX6OtKXwBSlKvqZSDrI4rM30gOUnXwz3GOkUls/s1600/zicrees1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5xDc-_TFpA5nH-BEwEz_xPUqsyA_sgnB7wq-rjXlPt4jeAi9-GXaoIVu6w0dGTeFQs_LHnLRAd8uuTGn3evv0XoBhe87Iu5kOtoPhZX6OtKXwBSlKvqZSDrI4rM30gOUnXwz3GOkUls/s320/zicrees1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675696532858077938" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />She, gamine and he tall and funny–the<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Zicrees filled the</span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"> room with warmth and possibility.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />“Be unstoppable!” The group heard that again, if you want </span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">to make a film.<br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">“It’s about selling attachments,” they nodded. </span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">This means thinking about branding and linking, and that can terrify a screenwriter. There are two reasons for writing a screenplay the Zicrees confirmed. Two goals. One is “My goal is to reach an audience” or “My goal is to write it and sell it for money.” This made the audience laugh. Most screenwriters probably want both.<br /><br />“Screenwriting isn’t a solo game, it’s a matter of gathering teams.”<br /><br />Everybody in the audience was given an opportunity to talk about what they were working on as the Zicrees went around the room. Individualized feedback was key.<br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Teambuilding starts with <a href="http://www.hcdonline.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hollywood Creative Directory</span></a> which got passed around. Go through that book and make a list of 50-100 people that matter in Los Angeles. “Start figuring out how you can meet them.”<br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO74e8Y0VLPXZF2VyfxOQMg-H8Z93yhx0_lVuFOoCD3jp6usi-fxFT5U5vUxCLyFAMpCqeXDVjNJ3QDC7h-fy0DutYR_hlgq5u8qJaZ7U_E0XI5yHkXC6Te1B8lWjrAf_Vv-aq-4IVWNU/s1600/zicrees2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO74e8Y0VLPXZF2VyfxOQMg-H8Z93yhx0_lVuFOoCD3jp6usi-fxFT5U5vUxCLyFAMpCqeXDVjNJ3QDC7h-fy0DutYR_hlgq5u8qJaZ7U_E0XI5yHkXC6Te1B8lWjrAf_Vv-aq-4IVWNU/s320/zicrees2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675694637024579778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">“Have a filmmaker you idolize?” You can begin by letting them know. Try and hang out where they do. “Don’t be scared.” You can start going to events and be personable. “See yourself as a peer!”</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />The Zicrees give classes in Hollywood, where budding screenwriters ready to make</span></span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"> the leap into that creative directory set will learn how to chart goals with specific steps, how to really target A-List people, how to pitch yourself and your project and get agents, managers and production partners who really work for you.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Supermentoring!</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Find out more at <a href="http://www.zicree.com/">www.zicree.com</a> and <a href="http://www.timetreks.net/Zicree/supermentors.html">click here</a> to learn about their classes.</span><span style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" ><br /><br /></span></span></span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-42651274146281901972011-10-27T11:59:00.000-07:002011-10-27T12:00:21.877-07:00Thursday, November 10: Marc & Elaine Zicree<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Writers & Producers</span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"> Marc & Elaine Zicree</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, November 10, 7 pm</strong></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><br /><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara <br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Writing both individually and as a team, <strong>Marc</strong> and <strong>Elaine</strong> <strong>Zicree</strong> have over 100 credits to their name, including series such as <em>Star Trek - The Next Generation</em>, <em>Sliders</em>, <em>Deep Space Nine</em>, <em>Lazarus Man</em>, <em>Beyond Reality</em> and <em>Babylon 5</em>, plus multiple pilots for NBC, ABC and Showtime. They have written for virtually every major studio and network, and their work has been nominated for the Humanitas Prize, Diane Thomas Award, and American Book Award.<br /><br />Marc and Elaine served as Executive Producers on <em>Real Story</em>, a pilot presentation they wrote and produced in association with <em>OZ</em>'s Tom Fontana, starring <em>Buffy</em>'s Armin Shimerman. They also co-wrote <em>Two Sisters</em>, a MOW for Warners, to which director Tony Bill was attached, and <em>Magic Time</em>, a two-hour pilot for Henson, which was spun off into a best-selling series of books published by HarperCollins from 2001-2005. <br /><br />Author of <em>The Twilight Zone Companion</em>, Marc Zicree has written 15 screenplays and over 100 teleplays. He has been a guest on over 100 radio and TV shows, including The Today Show, <em>All Things Considered</em> and <em>Entertainment Tonight</em>. He currently writes best-selling novels, writes and produces TV series, network pilots and feature films, and has also been a commentator on NPR's <em>Morning Edition</em>.<br /><br />Elaine Zicree has served as a writer, actress, director and producer Off-Broadway and in LA. She is currently working on <em>Caesar</em>, an independent feature she has written and will be producing. She and Marc have also recently written multiple episodes of PBS's <em>Liberty's Kids</em>, a dramatic series about the American Revolution starring Walter Cronkite, Michael Douglas, Billy Crystal, Dustin Hoffman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which garnered them the Humanitas Prize nomination.</span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-5154572187320330252011-10-17T10:00:00.000-07:002011-10-17T11:56:47.483-07:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, October 13, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >By Adrienne D. Wilson</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" ><br />Jamie Fleming</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">, </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/people.html">Director of the Ojai Film Festival</a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> opened the lecture by encouraging the packed audience to attend the upcoming movies and the festival in Ojai. There will be 77 films shown this year. He smiled, saying that Ojai was another universe but just a stone’s throw from Santa Barbara and well worth the trip especially for the festival. A listing of films can be seen at on</span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/events.html"> their website</a><span style="font-family:courier new;">. The festival runs </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >October 20th through the 23rd</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">. Fleming mentioned that the film </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family:courier new;" >Jolene </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">would have a special scree</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">ning at the Matilija Auditorium with a question and answer session afterward with </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >Greg Laemmle</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> and the filmmakers. Watch the </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFtqn-HbIMoto">trailer for <span style="font-style: italic;">Jolene</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> to get an idea of the caliber of the </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >Ojai Film Festival</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">. “We’ve got oranges, great restaurants and the pink glow of the mountains just a few minutes away,” Fleming laughed. </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/ticketing_box_office.html">Arrange for tickets</a><span style="font-family:courier new;">, and it sounds as if a wonderful weekend can be yours. </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">______________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> A screenwriter’s hands. That’s so</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">mething to watch, because those hands produce magic on the page. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >Walter Halsey Davis</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> has a magnificent pair of hands and they were in constant motion, sculpting the air itself as he talked to the audience about writing. “People think we write dialogue, but it’s like building a house,” he said. “You have to create a world before you can have anybody talk.” You can build that world from the very first shot, he added. “A world, a time, a certain set of expectations...”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Every scene has to be a mini-screenplay. “Start at the top of a scene and get out as fast as you can</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">.” Davis said he learned this credo from </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >Waldo Salt</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">, screenwriter for the film </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family:courier new;" >Midnight Cowboy</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">. You can </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://sfy.ru/?script=midnight_cowboy">take a look at the screenplay</a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> to see how fast it moves. “Start at the top of a scene and get out as fast as you can.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> “All you have to do is be brilliant.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Like say, the film </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family:courier new;" >Network</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">. Davis used this film classic as an example of “emotional events” in movies. He strode over to the board and wrote this line: “I have n</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">othing to say.” You can watch </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzj1ViCA6RI">the scene Davis referenced on YouTube</a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> to see how dialogue shapes everything about drama and character.</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I6UzkfdZp7N0Y3OgvEjagk7j3VHpO5xvMRuITmANOXu08KgvioB3OyshZWUhlQHveBy8nZH1mycQnMWlGX-iHCnZhBs1BB1ngpC8PEVQGB3a2kWlYG4wJYWTxPBE7_sTnAnaKhhYVio/s1600/wdavis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I6UzkfdZp7N0Y3OgvEjagk7j3VHpO5xvMRuITmANOXu08KgvioB3OyshZWUhlQHveBy8nZH1mycQnMWlGX-iHCnZhBs1BB1ngpC8PEVQGB3a2kWlYG4wJYWTxPBE7_sTnAnaKhhYVio/s320/wdavis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664535599843588914" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">“When you do your plotting yo</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">u have to make each scene a surprise, but it has to seem completely inevitable.” On cutting, Davis told the audience that every frame either adds or subtracts -- no frame is neutral. “Every word adds or subtracts from the screenplay itself.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> “Each scene has to change the condition of the story, and that action is not always physical, it can be psychological.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> “Anything that makes a bad dream makes a good movie,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> What you want are noble characters with flaws. This makes characters unforgettable to the audience. “Put the main character into a scene where the character has to do something that is the hardest thing in the world for that character.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> “Comedy and drama work by the same rules,” Davis cautioned mentioning Socrates -- “the unchallenged life is meaningless.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Your writing is like a metronome going in a symphony in terms of the volume, colors of the instruments -- your screenplay can’t be loud the whole time or stay intense the whole time. “Study acting and get in plays,” he said. To learn about dramatic pacing and how actors work the material.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Davis has long been on the faculty at the </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.sbwriters.com/">Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference</a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> and it was an honor to listen and watch the hands of such an accomplished writer and playwright as they flew through the air, sculpting the lecture. He has won the following awards for his work: An Emmy, a Writers Guild of America Award and two Nominations, an Edgar Allan Poe Award, two Christopher Awards, the Lucille Ball Comedy Writing Award, the Goldwyn Writing Award, the Texas Bicentennial Playwriting Award, the Red Cross Prize at the Monaco International Television Festival, The Peabody Award, The Humanitas Prize, a Golden Globe nomination, and the American College Theater Festival Playwriting Award (Region V). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> To see some of his work you can check </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family:courier new;" >Netflix</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">, and a </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002890">list of his films are on IMDB</a><span style="font-family:courier new;">. </span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-330447468684877412011-09-29T16:13:00.000-07:002011-09-29T16:17:15.163-07:00Thursday, October 13: Walter Halsey Davis<div style="text-align: center;"><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span> </div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Screenwriter & </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Playwrigh</span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">t</span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><span style="font-family: Courier New;"> Walter Ha</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">lsey Davis</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, October 13, 7 pm</strong></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">*Come early to join in interactive discussion, get to know each other, and network with local talent. The speaker presentation will start around </span></span></span><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">7:30 pm</span></span></span></strong><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>Brooks Ins</strong></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>titute</strong></span><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara <br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAsKsaOBAiBk0mA_L7o9m2hMfanp4FQUcxvzJ0udZcErGU9HchQgUm8HOYlU40Ot1ZoJLIBYy67NwQYkgomfsDviLDDem2JGAP4ywLPXWOWkBFdZaQN_xF-U1DprtQdn7i_5i1zZNU4I/s1600/davis1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAsKsaOBAiBk0mA_L7o9m2hMfanp4FQUcxvzJ0udZcErGU9HchQgUm8HOYlU40Ot1ZoJLIBYy67NwQYkgomfsDviLDDem2JGAP4ywLPXWOWkBFdZaQN_xF-U1DprtQdn7i_5i1zZNU4I/s320/davis1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657924124680252498" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">After serving four years in the Navy,<strong> Walter Halsey Davis</strong> went to France with the notion of writing a novel. Just when he was about to run out of money, he was mysteriously cast in a small part in a movie filming in Paris. This early exposure to the movies didn't take, however, and he took off for Austria where he worked in a ski factory until sawdust and solitude drove his north into Germany where he worked as a television repairman while he attended the University of Mainz.<br /><br />Davis returned to his native California. He attended UCSB where he took a Bachelor and Masters Degree in English literature, and went on to UCLA where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts.<br /><br />Davis' first play, <em>The Tapioca Misanthropa</em> (a verse drama cum cosmic vaudeville), was produced for ABC television in Santa Barbara and later broadcast in Los Angeles on the PBS station KCET. "Tapioca" won the Lucille Ball Comedy Writing Award and was published by Painted Cave Books in Santa Barbara.<br /><br />Davis' second play, <em>Panhandle</em>, a chronicle of a Texas family's struggle through the Great Depression, was first produced at UCSB, then the Oxford Playhouse in Los Angeles, the Scott Theater in Fort Worth, North Texas State University, Texas Tech University, and in New York at the Walden Theater. <em>Panhandle</em> won the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award, the Texas Bicentennial Playwriting Award, and the American College Theater Festival Playwriting Award (Region V). On the basis of <em>Panhandle</em>, Davis was selected to be a playwright in residence for one year at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.<br /><br />Davis' third play, <em>Tilden</em> (written in collaboration with <strong>Pierre Delattre</strong> and <strong>Lew Catching</strong>), is based on the life of the tennis champion <strong>Big Bill Tilden</strong>. It has been produced in Minneapolis.<br /><br />Davis sold his first screenplay, a science fiction piece called <em>The Locus</em> while he was still a graduate student at UCLA. Since then he has worked constantly as a screenwriter and has written feature films, television mini-series, and movies for television. In an effort to maintain a greater degree of control over his material, he has managed to become a producer on his more recent projects and is looking forward to directing.<br /><br />He has won an Emmy, a Writers Guild of America Award and two Nominations, an Edgar Allan Poe Award, two Christopher Awards, the Lucille Ball Comedy Writing Award, the Goldwyn Writing Award, the Texas Bicentennial Playwriting Award, the Red Cross Prize at the Monaco International Television Festival, The Peabody Award, The Humanitas Prize, a Golden Globe nomination, and the American College Theater Festival Playwriting Award (Region V). <br /></span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-58827801890298161462011-09-18T12:02:00.000-07:002011-09-18T12:24:41.804-07:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, September 8, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >By Adrienne D. Wilson</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Lisa Angle</span>, new President of the Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara, opened the lecture at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brooks Institute</span> by taking a few questions about the Association which began 35 years ago as an offshoot of a class at Santa Barbara City College. The group once had a “script library” but with the nature of screenplays being available online that had fallen by the wayside. There was interest in making the library available again.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Lisa mentioned resources available for writers in Santa Barbara, such as <span style="font-weight: bold;">“The Table”</span> at <a href="http://www.maxsrestaurantsb.com/">Max’s Restaurant</a> every Wednesday at 6:30 pm where screenwriters gather and ta</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">lk film. <a href="http://indiecoop.ning.com/">Indiecoop</a> is a directory for local independent producers and those working on independent film in this area.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Our speaker was Director, Writer, Producer <span style="font-weight: bold;">John B. Macurdy</span>, who has written over a dozen original feature film screenplays and is a 2008 Telly Award winner. Films he has worked on include <span style="font-style: italic;">The Pharaoh Project</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Murder of Crows</span>, and the award-winning <span style="font-style: italic;">Nate and the Colonel</span>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Cool, calm and collected in a pea green shirt, the best thing Macurdy </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">gave the group was the idea that if thirty peopl</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtvLmql71TEWitEw78rNb4GnyZUE_wh-UqsChWYrPtXKLtPgLHEmJH_XU9puDRbOvwmsm2oannA5TC5E8z7j0trfcbEbtS2-gXnW1mC_85BTCPPVU0vYagwYNy4FRGGJee31m5wC2L6U/s1600/johnmacurdy.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtvLmql71TEWitEw78rNb4GnyZUE_wh-UqsChWYrPtXKLtPgLHEmJH_XU9puDRbOvwmsm2oannA5TC5E8z7j0trfcbEbtS2-gXnW1mC_85BTCPPVU0vYagwYNy4FRGGJee31m5wC2L6U/s320/johnmacurdy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653779469480190162" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">e wanted to make a film and all had their hearts in it, and all don</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">ated $1,000 each, it could be done! “You know why?” he asked. “They are go</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">ing to want their names on the credits.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">In big Hollywood’s current focus on comic book heroes, franchises, remakes and so forth, “go independent,” he told the group. “We as writers need to stop putting obstacles in our way. I </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">always wrote my screenplays because I wanted to see them.”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />“Moviemaking is creative problem solving.”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Macurdy made the group laugh when he told us about Stonehenge. “Do you really need to go to England or can you use stock footage and then just have your actors posed against a rock as a backdrop?”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Need people in costume?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">“Get Historic Reenactors.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">“They already have the costumes and they love what they do,” he said, chuckling.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Most important is a cinematographer you can rely on, because an experienced cameraman will let you know what shots you are missing. Macurdy gave the group his definition of a script: “A screenplay is a condensation of significant events arranged or organized for maximum dramatic effect.”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />On directors, Macurdy spoke of the importance of a script analysis because that will give the sense of each character’s “dramatic spine.” Details in a script give the actor and director something to chew on, “but the actor might not do that” the way the writer wrote it. He told the group that screenwriting draws the picture, but it is in the collaboration that the magic occurs.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />“One of the hallmarks of low budget films is white walls,” he laughed. “Get colors!”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />“Get the best sound you can.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Independent film is all about stories with a heart. “Take an acting class to understand how to be a director,” he said. This is to help learn about locations, set design, costumes and what the camera is going to do. Watch the film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082783"><span style="font-style: italic;">My Dinner with André</span></a> and you will understand what can be done with just two characters. </span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />He left the audience with this thought: “If you have a story you want to tell, you can do it. You can make your movie.”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Making a film just might be sailing off to sea in a beautiful pea green boat if everyone’s collective heart is in it. Take a look at <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265521">The Pharoah Project</a> </span>and see how you can be inspired!</span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-66700134039977200192011-08-22T23:21:00.000-07:002011-08-22T23:23:03.317-07:00Thursday, September 8: "From Screenplay to Production"<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association
<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">"From Screenplay to Production"</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: smaller"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">with</span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">
<br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">John B. Macurdy, PhD</span></span></strong></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">2008 Telly Award Winner</span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, September 8, 7 pm</strong></span>
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span></a><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">
<br />27 East Cota Street
<br />Downtown Santa Barbara
<br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong>
<br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span></strong></span></span>
<br /></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Director, Writer, Producer <strong>John B. Macurdy, PhD</strong> has written over a dozen original feature film screenplays and is a 2008 Telly Award winner. Films he has worked on include <em>The Pharaoh Project</em>, <em>A Murder of Crows</em>, and the award-winning <em>Nate and the Colonel</em>. He has also produced and written series pilots for <em>Target</em>, <em>Chance of a Lifetime</em>, and <em>Against the Wall</em>. His workshops on “Feature Film Directing” and “Micro-Budget Feature Film Production” were offered in Santa Barbara this last summer, and he plans to offer more workshops soon.</span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-22818993909094002722011-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:38:53.323-07:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, August 11, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;">By Adrienne D. Wilson</span></span>
<br />
<br />The Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara convened at <a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp">Brooks Institute</a>, which generously donated a classroom to the group. It was fitting to be at the premier center for photography and film making in California, in a real classroom with abstract felt grayscales dangling from the ceiling and a gorgeous student show lining the halls.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;">
<br />
<br />Changes were in order as outgoing President <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rashi Bahri</span> conducted elections. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa Angle</span> of <a href="http://www.ninetydegreesmedia.com/">Ninety Degrees Media</a> was voted in as the new President, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ernie Witham</span> of <a href="http://www.erniesworld.com/">Ernie’s World</a> accepted the Vice President position, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Faith Ellington</span> agreed to be Publicity Director. The Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Director positions will be determined later.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">This month’s speaker was <a href="http://www.thestorycoach.com/">The Story Coach</a>, and what a coach he was. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Patrick A. Horton</span> has been called “one of the most empowering and innovative guides for story and storytelling” and he lit up the room with nonstop illumination about what drives the heart of good writing. His background is a blend of scholarly cultural anthropology and the lecture began with how fast change is happening in our society and the industry. “In a world that increasingly has no maps you are going to have to get bett</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoFaxArkGFsleGr_kbbocN4YnPQVzBR8Kx2gXFEDgrHOZve9sZqjsVh8Stxw1IayJEzB2UPZCYIeXCP2fvqHjlhvxiDpfhk3zYtJ2fCsCfnBLcCJoavlZbtTJiwSLm1d54eIcoFh3V58/s1600/patrick81111.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoFaxArkGFsleGr_kbbocN4YnPQVzBR8Kx2gXFEDgrHOZve9sZqjsVh8Stxw1IayJEzB2UPZCYIeXCP2fvqHjlhvxiDpfhk3zYtJ2fCsCfnBLcCJoavlZbtTJiwSLm1d54eIcoFh3V58/s320/patrick81111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641141715735148562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">er at finding your own compass.”</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">“Be unstoppable,” he said, grinning.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;">
<br />
<br />Horton has a new model for finding the heart of the story and the levels of depth story can reach to effect change. “Being a storyteller gives permission for others to find their voice.” Writing involves the A and B story - A being the surface plot line with all its action, tangles and twists and B being the depth of it all where the emotion lives. “The story is never what it is really about,” he said. The meaning depends on which characters the audience resonates to most. </span> <span style="font-family:courier new;">
<br />
<br />The audience wants to know “this feels real,” Horton told the group. “Great storytelling always means raising the right questions.” That’s the B story. What questions do you want to raise in your writing? “In order to re-frame the world you have to convince the audience it is okay to be open to the scary stuff because there will be something on the other side.” This means that the writer should not fear to tread into the deepest parts of self in order to mine the material. The writer has to let go of something in order for the audience to learn something new. “Tell the stories that matter to you,” he advised the writers. “Authenticity is everything.”</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;">
<br />
<br />In funny asides Horton spoke about actors needing real material from the writer in order to inhabit the character. “Writers want to write great deep emotional stuff without being connected emotionally to it,” but that won’t work, he cautioned the group. “Whatever you have gone through in life, it’s material.”</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">That’s the gift of his “practical magic” and the way screenwriters can find deeper levels of voice and meaning on the page. “Glean what moves and matters to you and that will be your best story.”</span>
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<br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Thursday was a prelude to the free workshop Horton offered Saturday at Brooks. For more information you can visit <a href="http://www.thestorycoach.com/">www.thestorycoach.com</a> and see his book on screenwriting, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mastering the Power of Story</span>.</span>
<br />screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-52683064756167604752011-08-02T10:15:00.001-07:002011-08-03T00:55:46.530-07:00Thursday, August 11: Patrick A. Horton, PhD / The Story Coach<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">"Life As Screen Play"</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:smaller;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">with</span></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Patrick A. Horton, PhD / The Story Coach</span></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Divining the Life in Story - Defining the Story in Life</span><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;"> </span></em></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Thursday, August 11, 7 pm</strong></span><br /><a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp"><br /><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span></a><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><br />27 East Cota Street, Room C-3<br />Downtown Santa Barbara<br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="font-size:medium;"><strong><br /><span style="font-size:large;">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.thestorycoach.com/">Patrick A. Horton</a> is one of the most intuitively empowering and radically innovative guides for the development and promotion of story and storytelling of all kinds - not only for writers but for all those myriad collaborative players who must contribute along the way to bring any project from concept to fruition.<br /><br />In addition to being a paid and optioned writer, screenwriter, and script doctor himself, Dr. Horton is also a member of the <strong>Screen Actors Guild</strong>, founding principal of <strong>Wind & Thunder Productions</strong>, and an ongoing presenter, panelist, and mentor for a wide variety of media industry organizations, guilds, and professional groups. His workshops and forthcoming book are the first to speak effectively across professional media specialties to address both the private and collective aspects of the development process from conception to completion, and effectively merge the creative and commercial aspects of story development and promotion for a more artistically, commercially, and socially viable media. First and foremost, however, he remains an applied cultural anthropologist and change agent dedicated to promoting life affirming visions, and practical strategies for effective personal, social, and global change. </span></span></span><br /></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-38978550486083871292011-06-29T22:56:00.000-07:002011-06-29T23:08:28.766-07:00Thursday, July 14: Film Critic Leo Braudy<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Film Critic & Author</span><em><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"> </span></em></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">Leo Braudy</span></span></strong></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Thursday, July 14, 7 pm</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: x-large"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span><strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: large"><br />27 East Cota Street, Room C-3<br />Downtown Santa Barbara <br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><strong><br /><span style="FONT-SIZE: large">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Courier New"><span style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><a href="http://leobraudy.com/">Leo Braudy</a> is among America’s leading cultural historians and film critics. Currently University Professor and Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Southern California, he teaches Restoration literature and history, American culture after World War Two, popular culture and critical theory, including the histories of visual style and film genres. His work appears in journals such as <em>American Film</em>, <em>Film Quarterly</em>, <em>Genre</em>, <em>Novel</em>, <em>Partisan Review</em>, and <em>Prose Studies</em>—to name a few.<br /><br />His book <em>Jean Renoir: The World of His Films</em> was a finalist for the National Book Award. <em>The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History</em> was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written for the <em>New York Times</em>, the <em>Washington Post</em>, and <em>Harper’s</em>. His book <em>From Chivalry to Terrorism</em>, was named Best of the Best by the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> and a Notable Book of the Year by the <em>New York Times</em>.<br /><br />His most recent book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Sign-Fantasy-Reality-American/dp/030015660X"><em>The Hollywood Sign: Fantasy and Reality of an American Icon</em></a> (New Haven: Yale university Press, 2011). </span></span></span><br /></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-90385228809335816722011-06-28T22:26:00.000-07:002011-06-30T16:23:07.822-07:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, June 9, 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1FrPY9AowvGUyOzNRudqCS-TrDID4iLxImGIBFTwSd_N09X6zRUenjXqhaEtBVEkzuTXLXAT77SEuZTvt5O-yqkA5xNvmnaPpLensVKwY2AMNOqZGmkbsyjc2GnFJ4hQ6tSHPNb4YFk/s1600/melindaandsteve.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1FrPY9AowvGUyOzNRudqCS-TrDID4iLxImGIBFTwSd_N09X6zRUenjXqhaEtBVEkzuTXLXAT77SEuZTvt5O-yqkA5xNvmnaPpLensVKwY2AMNOqZGmkbsyjc2GnFJ4hQ6tSHPNb4YFk/s320/melindaandsteve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624157130817057426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Steve Beisner </span>offered several suggestions for "The Right Tech for Writing" at our June 9th meeting at our new venue, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brooks Institute</span> on Cota Street. His first piece of wisdom was that sometimes the right tech was low tech, like a pad and pencil. Occasionally, the best way to research for your writing is to keep your eyes and ears peeled, and use a cardboard box full of files. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">When talking about social media and email, he warned, “Don’t get obsessed or abuse it.” If we turn off the “You’ve got mail” signal, we’ll be less distracted while writing. When we do use email, he encouraged us to use it effectively, for example be sure to have a signature at the bottom with your contact information. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">For sparking the inspiration to write, Steve shared a trick he learned from a lady he once knew, who would write a letter everyday to somebody she admired, whether or not she sent the letters is beside the point – she wrote everyday. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Moving on to the more “high tech” tools, Steve recommended a whole list of software for research, record keeping, and drafting and rewriting. An example of these resources was <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnioutliner">OmniOutliner</a> (available for Mac and iPad), a program for brainstorming new ideas and organizing information. He also told us about some alternatives to the writing software many of us use, for instance <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">OpenOffice</a> is a free, open source, alternative to MS Word. Also on the list was the free program he developed himself, <a href="http://inkbyte.com/software_page/">InkByte Tracker</a> to help writers manage submissions to journals, publishers, agents, or any market. For the full list of programs Steve talked about, feel free to email him at <a href="mailto:beisner@alum.mit.edu%20">beisner@alum.mit.edu</a>. He welcomes writing-related tech questions from writers – it’s his way of “paying it forward” for all the help he’s gotten from other writers. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Then Steve gave the floor to his lovely wife <span style="font-weight: bold;">Melinda Palacio</span>, who opened by telling us, “If you remember one thing from tonight, I hope it’s that <span style="font-style: italic;">Ocotillo Dreams</span> would make a great movie.” This pitch to screenwriters who might want to adapt her new novel into a screenplay was a tongue-in-cheek lead in to her point about how important community is to writers. Her connection to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sojourner Kincaid Rolle</span>, who was in the audience that night, got Melinda her first reading as a poet. Ways she connects with other writers include blogging for <a href="http://www.labloga.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">La Bloga</span></a> and attending the <a href="http://www.sbwriters.com/">Santa Barbara Writers Conference</a>, where she and Steve met. She uses Facebook and Twitter to meet people she wouldn’t normal meet otherwise, and this is helpful for marketing. With <span style="font-style: italic;">Ocotillo Dreams</span> going to press soon, marketing is big on her mind, since publishers rely on authors to do the bulk of it. To illustrate her promotional efforts she brought along the book cover poster and postcards, which she also mails out to old friend. Her other plans include a virtual book tour as well as real time signings at independent bookstores. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">The problem is all this promoting takes Melinda away from her writing, and distractions are not good for a writer. She says she doesn’t compose on the computer because that’s too distracting. Sometimes she uses <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php">Scrivener</a>, one of the high tech tools on Steve’s list, to concentrate on composing and structuring, but mostly she begins her writing with the low tech pad and pencil. </span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-89219942148400550822011-06-03T11:03:00.000-07:002011-06-03T11:06:07.322-07:00Thursday, June 9: The Right Tech for Writing<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">Screenwriters Association<br /></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">of Santa Barbara</span></span></strong></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Presents</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">"The Right Tech for Writing"</span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:smaller;"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">with</span></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Melinda Palacio & Steve Beisner</span></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Publishers of </span><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Ink Byte </span></em></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Thursday, June 9, 7 pm</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.brooks.edu/aboutus/cota.asp"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Brooks Institute</strong></span></a><strong><span style="font-size:large;"><br />27 East Cota Street<br />Downtown Santa Barbara<br />(805) 617-4503</span></strong><span style="font-size:medium;"><strong><br /><span style="font-size:large;">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></strong></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">South Louisiana native, <strong>Steve Beisner</strong>, is a writer, musician, and computer scientist. He has published short stories and poems, and was recognized for his short fiction by the <a href="http://www.sbwriters.com/">Santa Barbara Writers Conference</a>. His short story "Matchbox" won the <em>Country Roads Magazine </em>fiction contest in 2008. He is currently writing a novel. Steve is an editor at Ink Byte Press, co-editing <a href="http://www.inkbyte.com/">Ink Byte</a>, a magazine for writers. Steve's long involvement as a developer and teacher of technology has led to a quest to make technology more accessible to writers more interested in magnifying their creativity than playing with gadgets. His free, professionally developed software for writers include <a href="http://www.inkbyte.com/software_page">InkByte Tracker</a> to help you organize and manage your submissions to journals, publishers, agents, or any market.<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><strong>Melinda Palacio</strong> grew up in South-Central Los Angeles. She holds two degrees in Comparative Literature—a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a Master’s from UC Santa Cruz. She co-edits <a href="http://www.inkbyte.com/"><em>Ink Byte Magazine</em></a> and writes a column for <em>La Bloga</em>. She is a 2007 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow and a 2009 poetry alum of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including <em>Askew Poetry Journal</em>, <em>BorderSenses</em>, <em>Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire</em>, <em>Buffalo Carp</em>, <em>Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature</em>, <em>Maple Leaf Rag III and IV: An Anthology of Poems</em>, <em>the Naugatuck River Review</em>, <em>New Poets of the American West: An Anthology of Eleven Western States</em>, <em>Oranges and Sardines Poets and Artists</em>, <em>PALABRA: A Magazine of Chicano and Latino Literary Art</em>, <em>Pilgrimage Magazine</em>, <em>Quercus Review</em>, <em>Strange Cargo: an Emerging Voices Anthology 1997-2010</em>, <em>San Diego Poetry Annual 2010-11</em>, <em>the San Pedro River Review</em>, <em>Squaw Valley Review</em>, and forthcoming in <em>Bop</em>, <em>Strut,Dance: A Post-Blues Form for New Generations</em> and <em>Southern Poetry Anthology IV: Louisiana</em> <em>(Texas Review Press 2011)</em>. Her poetry chapbook, <em>Folsom Lockdown</em>, is the Sense of Place winner, <em>Kulupi Press</em>, 2009. Arizona State University Bilingual Press will publish her first novel, <em>Ocotillo Dreams</em>, July 2011.</span></span></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Melinda and Steve live in Santa Barbara and New Orleans. </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-40577223432383217162011-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:002011-05-05T10:22:01.790-07:00Thursday, May 12: The Script-a-Thon Creator Anne Norda<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Screenwriters Association</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">of Santa Barbara</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Presents</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" >Filmmaker & Creator of The Script-a-Thon</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;" >Anne Norda</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;" >Thursday, May 12, 7 pm</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" >Karpeles Manscript Library </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">21 West Anapamu Street</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Downtown Santa Barbara </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">(805)962-5322</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;" >FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><a href="http://www.annenorda.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anne Norda</span></a> is a filmmaker and photographer. Her debut feature film, <span style="font-style: italic;">Red is the Color of</span> with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Irina Bjorklund</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">The American</span>) which she wrote, directed and produced won “Best Feature Film” at both the La Femme Film Festival and the Oxford International Festival, garnered international distribution and is available on Netflix. She studied photography and filmmaking at the Parsons School of Design in Paris and New York and was a Fulbright scholar. Hard to Love, a comedy short she wrote and directed, is on the festival route. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Anne is preparing to direct her second feature film, the comedy/horror <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oZlk_a5t8I"><span style="font-style: italic;">Stop, I’m Not Dead Yet!</span></a> The concept trailer for the project recently won The Bleedfest’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Inana Award</span>. She is a freelance writer for <span style="font-style: italic;">MovieMaker Magazine</span>, has a blog on their online edition, and teaches an ongoing creative writing workshop called “The Write Brain Workshop.” Anne is the creator and co-director of <a href="http://www.thescriptathon.com">The Script-a-thon</a>, a national screenwriting competition. She is a published poet and a produced playwright, collaborating on her first musical theater piece, <span style="font-style: italic;">Trouble</span>, with Broadway actors, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stephan Stubbins</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">Mary Poppins</span>) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Arielle Jacobs</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">In the Heights</span>). Anne holds both a Finnish (E.U.) and US citizenship. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Elections!</span> We will hold elections for our Board of Directors at our August meeting. If you would like to nominate yourself or somebody else for this opportunity to contribute to the Santa Barbara writing community, please email <a href="mailto:screenwriterssb@gmail.com">screenwriterssb@gmail.com</a> and let us know. </span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-72594994927401252972011-04-10T11:45:00.000-07:002011-04-10T11:46:38.544-07:00Townhall meeting in lieu of April Speaker<p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Courier New";">Townhall Meeting</span></strong><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Thursday, April 21, 7-9 pm</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Karpeles Manuscript Library </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">21 West Anapamu Street </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">in downtown Santa Barbara</span></strong></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Courier New";">As many of you know, the <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Goleta Borders</span></strong> will close by the end of May. The Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara is sorry to say a liquidation company took over the bookstore a couple weeks ago and as a result our <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">April</span></strong> speaker was <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">canceled</span></strong>. We are looking into alternative locations for our meetings beginning in May, and plan to continue to host speakers who inspire us in our creative endeavors. We assure you SASB will survive this transition.<br /><br />In lieu of a speaker in April we will hold a townhall meeting on <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Thursday,April 21, 7 pm at Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 West Anapamu Street in downtown Santa Barbara</span></strong>. We want everyone's input. So please come and bring your voice, your ideas and your opinions. Help keep SASB going! We're here for you!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Courier New";">Stay tuned! You will receive an email about our <strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">May 12th</span></strong> program in late April. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Courier New";">Please accept our apologies for the interruption in our schedule. We look forward to seeing you all at our townhall meeting.</span></p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-14866939569535312362011-03-12T23:57:00.000-08:002011-03-13T00:16:11.247-08:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, March 10, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;">The Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara convened in a cozy corner of Borders in Goleta for an evening with screenwriter, director, actor and keynote speaker <span style="font-weight: bold;">Perry Lang</span>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Prior to Mr. Lang’s introduction, association president<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Rashi Bahri</span> opened the floor to the audience for input on the Association itself in regards to what those present were looking for in future meetings. Email Rashi at <a href="mailto:rashi.bahri@gmail.com">rashi.bahri@gmail.com</a> with your input and suggestions. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Also announced was next month’s speaker: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">April 14</span> – Goleta Borders - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Leo Brady</span>, teacher and author of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hollywood Sign: Fantasy and Reality of an American Icon</span>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">For those planning to attend, please take note that Borders will be hosting a special event prior to 7pm, therefore <span style="font-weight: bold;">there will be no admittance into the store until 7pm</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Perry Lang was introduced and immediately opened up the floor for questions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">As for his current projects, he has created a twenty-one episode web show entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Bell</span>. The show can be viewed at: <a href="http://3minutepictures.com/index.php">3minutepictures.com</a>. In the past, he has written and directed action, comedy, broad comedy, drama and teen shows. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">He is teaching a class at UCSB this summer on making a pilot for a web series, where students learn to write, create and shoot a web pilot.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Perry described his process of writing as being flexible: sometimes he outlin</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">es or cards pieces out and sometimes he just starts writing. Once he reaches the stage where he’s writing in script form, he uses Final Draft. Starting out as an actor, it helped him become a ‘detective’, which only helped his writing. He wrote to keep himself engaged while acting; starting out with prose. His favorite genre to write is comedy, stating it’s just more fun. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Right now, it seems the advertising world still thinks television networks are worth investing in, but he thinks eyeballs are going toward the web these days. His idea is to take narrative drama and build sponsorship into that narrative. It’s product placement taken further, very much integrated. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Perry’s tips for y</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgB3g3clsytnmR7xUJuSMzxatetcx1nUMdQdSVUNT4srnzIPQkOl0TUZtMPBr64SSgG93cInQa3sAcFJ1CyfJdYfWLHWjMoYC7jE3i76-xgC5__Q7XVBl-aa8z94fbgYVfzpMrhnn3c70/s1600/perrylang.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgB3g3clsytnmR7xUJuSMzxatetcx1nUMdQdSVUNT4srnzIPQkOl0TUZtMPBr64SSgG93cInQa3sAcFJ1CyfJdYfWLHWjMoYC7jE3i76-xgC5__Q7XVBl-aa8z94fbgYVfzpMrhnn3c70/s320/perrylang.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583475214355912370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">our screenplay: Make it as succinct as possible. The people reading</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> your script want to love it. They want to start reading and get through it to the story. How does an idea germinate? The whole </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">narrative can fall off the boat or it can be like pulling teeth. You can always get started by making notes and writing stuff that may not work as a way of moving forward. One of the most valuable things he has learned in his writing are that character and structure are the same thing; they should live together. When you see your structure go awry, it’s usually the character going awry. As for how to work on writing weaknesses? Write, write, write and get a good mentor.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">The meeting adjourned at 8:50pm. </span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-90435322319688200322011-02-28T21:07:00.000-08:002011-02-28T21:14:51.416-08:00Thursday, March 10: Perry Lang at Goleta Borders<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;">Screenwriters Association</span><br /><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;">of Santa Barbara</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">Presents</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: courier new;">Screenwriter, Director, Actor</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;">Perry Lang</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">Thursday, March 10, 7 pm*</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">*Come early to join in interactive discussion, get to know each other, and network with local talent. The speaker presentation will start around 7:30pm</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family: courier new;">Goleta Borders </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">7000 Marketplace Drive </span><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">(805)968-1370</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family: courier new;">FREE and open to everyone!</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">Starting to work in film as an actor at 17, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Perry Lang</span> has acted in over thirty films and seventy hours of television. His film work includes Sam Fuller's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Red One</span>, Steven Spielberg's <span style="font-style: italic;">1941</span>, and John Sayles's S<span style="font-style: italic;">unshine State</span>, as well as <span style="font-style: italic;">Eight Men Out</span> where Perry played one of the indicated eight who threw the 1919 World Series. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">His television work as an actor includes <span style="font-style: italic;">M*A*S*H</span>, the title character in the Emmy winning television special <span style="font-style: italic;">Hewit's Just Different</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Rumor of War</span> and numerous guest appearances, including many projects that he has himself either written or directed. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">As a writer and director, Perry started professionally writing doing <span style="font-style: italic;">Tales From the Darkside</span> in New York. Among a number of studio assignments, he wrote the first film he directed, L<span style="font-style: italic;">ittle Vegas</span> then rewrote the second, the action adventure <span style="font-style: italic;">Men of War</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">Since then Perry has directed over sixty hours of television including <span style="font-style: italic;">NYPD Blue</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">ER</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Alias</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Weeds</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">NCIS:Los Angeles</span>. </span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-69982421285820690042011-02-21T10:46:00.000-08:002011-02-21T10:53:46.070-08:00Video meeting minutes for Thursday, February 10, 2011<span style="font-family: courier new;">Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara presented novelist and </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.sbwriters.com/" target="_blank">Santa Barbara Writers Conference</a><span style="font-family: courier new;"> owner </span><a style="font-family: courier new;" href="http://www.monteschulz.com/" target="_blank">Monte Schulz</a><span style="font-family: courier new;"> on Thursday, February 10 at Goleta Borders. </span><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20187662" width="400" frameborder="0" height="300"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20187662">Monte Schulz, Novelist</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/dolphingal805">dolphingal805</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-51756754523028896492011-01-25T22:52:00.000-08:002011-01-25T23:02:29.829-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Screenwriters Association</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >of Santa Barbara</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Presents</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Novelist and Santa Barbara Writers Conference Owner</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Monte Schulz<br /><br /></span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Thursday, February 10, 7 pm*</span></span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />*Come early to join in interactive discussion, get to know each other,</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> and network with local talent. The speaker presentation will start around 7:30pm</span><br /><a href="http://www.borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_406"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Goleta Borders</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">7000 M</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">arketplace Drive </span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />(805)968-1370</span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" ><br />FR</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >EE and open to e</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >veryone!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI2cs2Lhqbaf86ydAZaJqMFLFAi4TIvmX3cDLTUfdH8ACOUNN13G9bQHLHsilMGQ3oxawomVCd1OQWrmXTLJEycietIw-XWDoth21LE8KrOSM6Jy70XmDUyT1euvNds0gJvUB0uBw480/s1600/schulzmonte.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI2cs2Lhqbaf86ydAZaJqMFLFAi4TIvmX3cDLTUfdH8ACOUNN13G9bQHLHsilMGQ3oxawomVCd1OQWrmXTLJEycietIw-XWDoth21LE8KrOSM6Jy70XmDUyT1euvNds0gJvUB0uBw480/s400/schulzmonte.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566385416072785730" border="0" /></a></span></span> </div> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><a href="http://www.monteschulz.com/">Monte Schulz</a> received his M.A. in American Studies from UCSB and published his first novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Down By The River</span>, in 1990. He spent the next twelve years writing a three-part epic, which he wrote for his father, the late cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz. The series of novels set in the Jazz Age began with <span style="font-style: italic;">This Side Of Jordan</span> and the second book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Last Rose of Summer</span>, is due out this March. Monte has been a workshop leader at the <a href="http://www.sbwriters.com/">Santa Barbara Writers Conference</a> since 2001 and bought the conference last year. The 2011 SBWC will take place <span style="font-weight: bold;">June 18-23</span> at the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hotel Mar Monte</span>. </span><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/17894699" width="400" frameborder="0" height="300"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/17894699">Literary Gumbo: Monte Schulz</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/literarygumbo">Literary Gumbo</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-33494567733119871232011-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:002011-01-23T12:04:44.188-08:00Meeting minutes for Thursday, January 13, 2011<span style="font-family:courier new;">Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara convened our first meeting of 2011 at our new venue at the <a href="http://www.borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_406">Goleta Borders</a> in the Costco shopping center. Queen of Espionage, and longtime SASB supporter, <a href="http://www.gaylelynds.com/">Gayle Lynds</a> spoke to a captivated group of writers.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">It took Gayle 20 years to write her latest novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Book of Spies</span>, the beginning of her first serie</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">s. She did a lot of research before and during the writing process, and enjoyed it. “Research,” she said, “is</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> better than sharpening penci</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">ls to avoid writing.” If she </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">hadn’t written about a subject that fascinates her, the book would never have been finished.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K57UAeuJoVq_3vwO2WdD1v0rj7aPG6L-BIRBQHp7lCFycQkaBnpYEuCNQ8JgAL6DlNUiICOyTJOBl5iAB3uV2lXJCyMF-HgihY8vA6zBzPw7vU9r0tMthpyR6hZBdeorvZiKIY6Qxjs/s1600/011311e.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K57UAeuJoVq_3vwO2WdD1v0rj7aPG6L-BIRBQHp7lCFycQkaBnpYEuCNQ8JgAL6DlNUiICOyTJOBl5iAB3uV2lXJCyMF-HgihY8vA6zBzPw7vU9r0tMthpyR6hZBdeorvZiKIY6Qxjs/s400/011311e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565473743716336802" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">Gayle knows a fraction of the ending before she starts to write. She doesn’t worry about ending chapters with a cliffhanger, rather she relies on the rhythm of the story to tell her where to break. At the end of a workday she writes one sentence at the top of a new page telling what will happen in the next scene or chapter so she has something to start with the next day. </span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />As a writer she makes a contract with the reader to give them something of value. She warns new writers against creating cardboard characters, and told us to make sure they come across as real people. The hero must be capable of action, plus have one flaw to make him appear human. The villain has to be a worthy opponent who believes in what he wants, not somebody we can ridicule, and he should have a redeeming quality to add to his realism. </span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Consistency is also important. If there’s violence throughout the story, she gives the reader violence in the end.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />Gayle offered excellent advice to beginning writers. “The way you learn to write is to just sit down and do it and make a lot of mistakes,” she said. For example she told us starting a story off with ‘If she’d only known…’ is amateurish. But she told new writers to make their mistakes now because when they get famous, people will know who they are.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br /><br />A true professional, Gayle is the award-winning author of nine spy novels and she ended the evening by signing her latest, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Book of Spies</span>.</span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759333042862577596.post-49611968759694259832010-12-28T10:22:00.000-08:002010-12-28T10:36:28.894-08:00Thursday, January 13: Gayle Lynds at Goleta Borders<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Screenwriters Association</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">of Santa Barbara</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Presents</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> bestselling Author</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Gayle Lynds</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" >Thursday, January 13, 7 pm*</span></span> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />*Come early to join in interactive discussion, get to know each other, and network with local talent. The speaker presentation will start around 7:30pm</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >Goleta Borders </span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >7000 Marketplace Drive </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" ><br />(805)968-1370</span> <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" ><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">FREE and open to everyone!</span><br /><br /></span></span> </div> <span style="font-family:courier new;"><a href="http://www.gaylelynds.com/">Gayle Lynds</a> is the award-winning author of nine spy novels and</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;">has been called the Queen of Espionage. Her newest, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Book of S</span></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-style: italic;">pies</span>, is the beginning of her first series. Gayle began her writing career as a reporter for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Arizona Republic</span>, where her investigative reporting made such an impact that it led to changes in state legislation. Later she was an editor with rare Top Secret security clearance at a government think tank. Soon she began writing short stories, which were published in literary journals, and at the same time in what some considered schizophrenic, she also wrote male pulp novels in the Nick Carter and Mack Bo</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">lan series.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">Her first Gayle Lynds novel <span style="font-style: italic;">Masquerade</span>, was a <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2J4D5da6Z1Gc5a3humDFST5rlf6ugIjaVeKToGkub5HPfHZOL_RZAjxvO3wAgEG8yKcxYP4O9AuZM6qhikNwRfTIS79IBvJB0IkmJK6-I38PJdrHhFf-v6CBepDNfloaIPG0UCC7m-nY/s1600/gayle.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2J4D5da6Z1Gc5a3humDFST5rlf6ugIjaVeKToGkub5HPfHZOL_RZAjxvO3wAgEG8yKcxYP4O9AuZM6qhikNwRfTIS79IBvJB0IkmJK6-I38PJdrHhFf-v6CBepDNfloaIPG0UCC7m-nY/s200/gayle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555802019281635730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> bestseller and a <span style="font-style: italic;">People</span> magazine “Page-Turner of the Week.” Other</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">s of her novels have been prizewinners. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Last Spymaster</span> won Bes</span><span style="font-family:courier new;">t</span><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Writers Society of America. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Coil</span> won Best Contemporary Novel from <span style="font-style: italic;">Affaire de Coeur</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Mosaic</span> was Thriller of the Year at <span style="font-style: italic;">Romantic Times</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Mesmerized</span> was a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">With Robert Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series and wrote three of the novels. One of them, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hades Factor</span>, was a CBS miniseries. Another, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Paris Option</span>, was <span style="font-style: italic;">People</span> magazine Beach Read of the Week.</span>screenwriters Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03592411023305542071noreply@blogger.com0