Cheered by critics and audiences everywhere, IL POSTINO (THE POSTMAN) is the record-breaking Academy Award(R)-winning (Best Dramatic Score, 1995) romantic comedy that delivers heartfelt laughs! Mario is a bumbling mailman who’s madly in love with the most beautiful woman in town … and who’s too shy to tell her how he feels. But when a world-famous poet — Pablo Neruda — moves into town, Mario is inspired. With Neruda’s help, he finds the right words to win the woman’s heart! This unforgettably funny comedy proves that passion … with some artful deception … can win the most improbable love!
It’s always fun when a new issue of the Journal of Screenwriting arrives in my mailbox, but this one’s pleasing on several fronts.
First, in my capacity as Book Reviews Editor, I’m able to publish several of my now-graduated students, often for the first time.
In this issue I am also the co-author of an article extolling the marvelously successful conference held at Otago University in 2017.
Also, two of the articles come from that conference – one by my friend Carmen Sofia Brenes (Chairperson, full professor of poetics and screenwriting at the School of Communication of Universidad de los Andes) is about the 2016 film Jackie, about the life of American icon Jackie Kennedy, written by an American, Noah Oppenheim, and directed by Chilean Pablo Lorrain.
The second article is (not so jokingly) “10 Ways to f#ck up Your Female Characters” by two New Zealand female producers, Fiona Samuel and Kathryn Burnett. I’ve already talked about that one with many an MFA student.
I had such a fun catch up lunch with 2017 Stephens MFA alums and Val yesterday at, of all places, IKEA because alum Amy Banks was in town to attend an all day workshop at the Disney Studios for writers with First Nation backgrounds (in their continued work to provide diversity on their channel).
Amy set it up with me and fellow mentor, Val Woods. Then alums Julie Berkobien and Lauren Smith were also free to drop by. I loved hearing about the various work they were all doing and how their MFAs both helped them get hired and, more importantly, helped them excel in their new positions! It also served as an accidental reunion of several writers of our When Women Wrote Hollywood book of essays, which we will be launching to the Columbia, Missouri community in just a few weeks, during the Citizen Jane Film Festival!
“Frederica Sagor Maas moved to Hollywood in 1924 and as was true for many young women, those who were considered good looking were pushed towards being seen on screen. Being the strong willed woman that she was, Mass decided she still wanted to be a writer.”
The Best Revenge Is Outliving Them All: The life and heartbreak of Frederica Sagor Maas Mikayla Daniels
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2018 Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Location: Special Events Room 4829, Cal State Fullerton Pollack Library, 800 N State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92831 Campus: Building 15
In her talk screenwriter and professor Rosanne Welch will discuss everything Star Wars from George Lucas to Leigh Brackett to Lawrence Kasdan. From Luke Skywalker to Han Solo to Lando Calrissian (both original and prequel versions) to Poe. From Leia Organa to Rey to Jyn Erso. From Jaws to the whole Star Wars franchise to Raiders of the Lost Ark in a look at how Star Wars changed films and fandom forever.
“In 1911, Meredyth began working as an extra at the Biograph Company, and eventually wound up as a stock player for D.W. Griffith. In addition to acting at Biograph, she also began to write and direct one- and two-reeler films. It had occurred to Meredyth that she could make more money if she both wrote and acted, so she began doing so for several different studios.”
You’d Better Learn to Hold Your Liquor: Bess Meredyth and A Career in Early Hollywood Sydney Haven
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
You have stories to tell. We’re here to make it happen. Come to Hollywood to learn from some of the best working writers in the industry. Stephens is an institution on a mission: To increase the voices and impact of women in television and film.
WHY STEPHENS?
Our program — with its bold, daring mission — has drawn the attention and the support of some of the most successful and well-known writers in Hollywood. Our faculty includes some of the best working writers in the profession, and our curriculum includes an in-depth look at the business side of TV and screenwriting. Explore more: program highlights, student achievements and stories.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Stephens is proud to be the first college in the nation to offer a low-residency MFA program specifically for TV and screenwriting. Our students come to Los Angeles twice a year for 10-day workshops at the beautiful Jim Henson Studio. Between workshops, students work one-on-one online with at least four different mentors over two years. Two years + four workshops in Hollywood = your M.F.A.
As in past years, my Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting students will presenting on important women screenwriters during the festival, too. — Rosanne
Today’s Stephens College newsletter has a great piece about the Los Angeles launch party for When Women Wrote Hollywood with details about our upcoming launch at the Skylar Bookstore in Columbia, Missouri during the Citizen Jane Film Festival. — Rosanne
Book launch party on Aug. 11 in L.A. Pictured (L-to-R): Sarah Phillips ’17 M.F.A., Khanisha Foster ’17 M.F.A. (with her daughter), Lauren Smith ’17 M.F.A., Laura Kirk ’17 M.F.A., Amelia Phillips ’17 M.F.A., Julie Berkobien ’17 M.F.A., Toni Anita Hull ’04 B.F.A., ’17 M.F.A. and Dr. Rosanne Welch, book editor/Stephens professor.
Stephens College’s M.F.A. program now proudly boasts “When Women Wrote Hollywood,” a book of essays that focuses on the lives of female screenwriters of Golden Age Hollywood. The book, which published in July, is written by members of the inaugural graduating class of the Stephens M.F.A. in TV and Screenwriting. In the collection of 23 essays, Stephens Class of 2017 alumni write about female writers like Anita Loos, Adela Rogers St. Johns, and Gene Gauntier, whose work helped create unforgettable stories and characters beloved by audiences — but whose names are excluded from most film histories.“The mission of our M.F.A. program matched the mission of this book brilliantly — to increase the number of female screenwriters and female-centric stories told in Hollywood,” said Dr. Rosanne Welch, the book’s editor, and a Stephens assistant professor. She said her students used the essays as a way of thanking the earlier pioneering female writers who came before them.“When I introduce our Screenwriting History course, I remind students that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us,” said Welch, a veteran television writer and scholar of screenwriting history. “Students are shocked at how many of these women were left out of most history books and are passionate about researching them for their final projects. When I read this first batch of essays, I knew they were worthy of publication.”The book is available on Amazon. It can also be purchased during Stephens’ Alumnae Leaders Weekend (Nov. 2-3) at the coinciding Citizen Jane Film Festival. In addition, a book launch event with local contributors will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Nov. 3 at Skylark Bookstore in downtown Columbia. Books can be purchased and signed by the authors.
“In an interview with Pamela Green the director of the soon to be released documentary Be Natural, a film that takes the exploration of Alice Guy Blaché’s life and career to new depths, Green shared, “Anytime you mention early cinema, she has to be mentioned. If you talk about Hollywood before Hollywood, she has to be mentioned. If you talk about an artist and an entrepreneur at the time, she has to be mentioned.””
The Nature and Genius of Alice Guy Blaché Khanisha Foster
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
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