On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch
Writing, Film, Television and More!
Congratulations to alumna Sarah Phillips Batchelder (Class of 2017).
The pilot she wrote and directed this year — Supplements — is in the Drama Series competition in SeriesFest, which starts online this Thursday.
Don’t forget to vote for Sarah and her team for Audience Award!
Watch the Supplements trailer on YouTube.
For a few years running my colleague Warren Lewis has asked me to be a panelist for the semi-annual Film Spark event for ASU (Arizona State University) discussing pitching on a panel and then listening and giving notes to students during an afternoon pitchathon.
This year, due to our sheltering at home during the virus the event used Zoom so for the first time they recorded the hour long panel – and here it is.
We were each asked to give advice based on the stories of our best and worst pitches, which provided a few good laughs and hopefully a lot of good advice.
![Creative Career Kickstart: Catching and Pitching Panel - ASU Film Spark Program [Video] (1 hour 15 minutes)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/asu-fim-spark.png)
Because I believe that you can’t change things unless you challenge them, whenever I see a newspaper article about a film where the writer uses the director’s possessive (as in “Spielberg’s Lincoln) and never mention the writer (which in that case was Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Kushner – Spielberg has never won a Pulitzer Prize), I try to write a letter to the editor explaining the mistake.
Often they print them. Once my letter appeared alongside a letter with a similar point, written by the author of one of our History of Screenwriting textbooks (who has come to speak to our students during Workshop – Tom Stempel).
This morning the LA Times published this letter. — Rosanne
To the editor: Your editorial elevated “compelling storytelling” as a quality that makes a movie great, but when listing examples of noteworthy films — “Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Shining” and “Vertigo” — you used the director’s possessive to identify the films, not once mentioning the writers (both novelists and screenwriters).
“Lawrence of Arabia” came to screens thanks to the book by T.E. Lawrence, which was adapted by screenwriters Robert Bolt and the blacklisted Michael Wilson. “The Shining” came from the mind of prolific novelist Stephen King, whose book was adapted by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson, with Kubric directing. “Vertigo” is based on the novel “D’entre les morts” by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, which was adapted by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor.
I’ve never understood why newspaper writers forget to name screenwriters when discussing movies. It seems an absurd example of internalized artistic oppression.
How can I be able to teach up-and-coming screenwriters their own value if journalists keep naming films as the property of the directors?
Rosanne Welch, Van Nuys
Always nice to find my book cited in someone else’s writing – and on this post blogger Matthew Trzcinski also embedded a link to “Daydream Believer”… — Rosanne
Beatles: Why Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Called Their Songs ‘Elevator Music’ via Showbiz Cheatsheet
[…]
Stipe did care about one of the bands inspired by Beatlemania: the Monkees. According to Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture, Stipe said the Monkees mattered much more to him than the Fab Four. He said the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” was his favorite song as a child and remained a guilty pleasure. Stipe even cited the Monkees as a musical influence. Given that the Fab Four inspired the Monkees, Stipe did take some influence from the Beatles, just not directly.
[…]
Read Beatles: Why Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Called Their Songs ‘Elevator Music’ via Showbiz Cheatsheet
Want to learn more about The Monkees? Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture 
A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.
Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.
This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.
Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition | Bookshop
Thanks to the wonderful women of the Stephens College advancement office who arranged a Virtual Open House for our MFA.
This gave us the chance to meet potential students (and a few who had already been accepted) and answer questions about how the program operates.
It’s always fun to engage with people and share our enthusiasm about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting – and nowadays part of the fun of Zooming is checking out other folks’ backgrounds whether they are virtual (are they using the TARDIS of the Golden Gate Bridge) or their real office bookshelves. (Hey – I have that same book on my bookshelf!).
If you have any questions that weren’t answered during this Open House, send them directly to me at rwelch@stephens.edu and I’ll be glad to answer them.
![Learn More About the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting with this Open House Session [Video]](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mfa-open-house.jpg)
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What is the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting? Here is a short introduction.
We’re pleased to present a new slideshow designed by graphic artist Phoenix Bussey, a Stephens College undergrad, using photos taken by MFA candidates during the last few years of workshops. We think it tells our story well. Write. Reach. Represent.
Visit the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting web site to apply today!
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Click To Register For The Conference
Online Open House with
Program Executive Director Dr. Rosanne Welch
and Director of Admissions Sally Bohlinger
Stephens College Low Residency M.F.A in TV and Screenwriting
Learn more about this ground-breaking program focused on bringing more female and underrepresented voices into the mainstream media. The MFA boasts an impressive record of success and some of the best faculty and mentors in the industry.
RSVP for Conference Links to gradmissions@stephens.edu
Due to the COVID19 crisis, the following personal events and events the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting were planning to attend and present athave been cancelled. I will update this list as necessary. We’ll be announcing online events to be held during this time. — Rosanne
CANCELLED
Bad Ass Movie Motherhood: From Leia to Ripley and Back Again
March 24, 2020 — Cal Poly Pomona University Library
CANCELLED
Society For Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Conference
April 1-5, 2020 — Denver, Colorado
CANCELLED
Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Conference with NAB
April 18-22, 2020 — Las Vegas, Nevada
Beyond the Books: Writing TV Shows Based on Novels
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
7:30 PM 9:00 PM
The Writers Guild Foundation7000 West 3rd Street, 2nd floor, Los Angeles, CA, 90048
What do you do when your series continues beyond the original book upon which the show is based? On this special evening, we join forces with Columbia College Chicago to welcome a panel of TV writers who’ll discuss how they navigate the uncharted territory of writing for a show that has diverged from the original novel.
Panelists:
Event Sponsored By
Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival
The Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting is always proud to help sponsor the Athena film festival. This year we were happy to send mentor Valerie Woods to discuss her career and love of writing.
Val’s ability to share that love makes her a treasured mentor in our program.
Storytellers and film fans discussed skills and strategies during an #Athena2020 Masterclass on Writing with writer/producer @vcwoods24, moderated by @KenLaZebnik and sponsored by @MFAscreenwriter. pic.twitter.com/GrNwXvZNjC
— Athena Film Festival (@Athenafilmfest)
Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?
Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.
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