Sarah Phillips, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni, Wins Founder’s Circle Award at the Louisiana Film Prize

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Congratulations to Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni Sarah Phillips (IMDB) for winning the Founder’s Circle Award at the Louisiana Film Prize for her film Supplements!

Sarah Phillips, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni, Wins Founder's Circle Award at the Louisiana Film Prize

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Sarah Phillips, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni, Wins Founder's Circle Award at the Louisiana Film Prize

The year is 2289, and all that’s left on Planet Earth is the domed city Old Centauri, roaming sun flares that scorch the land, and the nomadic tribes that mitigate the two. Kiirke comes from one such tribe, and she must travel to Old Centauri, along with her stowaway younger brother, to seek a small fortune to save her family – But the only way to make money as a newcomer to the city is to enroll in Supplements Labs as what the locals call a “lab rat”.


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Dr. Rosanne Welch Is Keynote Speaker at 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar in São Paulo, Brazil – October 15-17, 2019

I’m so excited to have been invited to be the keynote speaker at the 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar being held on the campus of the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in São Paulo, Brazil – NEXT WEEK!

Rosanne Is Keynote Speaker at 10th Screenwriters´(hi)Stories Seminar in São Paulo, Brazil - October 15-17, 2019

Click through for more information in Portuguese and English

It’s all thanks to my friend and colleague from the Screenwriting Research Network (who is actually the president of the network this year) Carmen Sofia Brenes who suggested me to the committee planning the seminar.

I’ll be speaking on “Why Researching Screenwriters (has Always) Mattered” which will be focused on the importance of storytellers in all cultures, and how screenwriters have become this last century’s most powerful storytellers thanks to the reach of technology. 

It’s a daunting thing to be asked to be a keynote speaker and I’ve been writing my speech for a few weeks now, still in a bit of a fog that such a fun thing should happen – but the tickets came today so now it’s a reality. I have to finish this speech (and the Google Slides that goes with it) – and PACK!

Here is a summary of my talk. I hope to have it recorded, too. Watch this space for information on a possible live stream of this event.

SUMMARY

​To understand the world we have to understand its stories and to understand the world’s stories we must understand the world’s storytellers.

A century ago and longer those people would have been the novelists of any particular country but since the invention of film, the storytellers who reach the most people with their ideas and their lessons have been the screenwriters. My teaching philosophy is that: Words matter, Writers matter and Women writers matter. Therefore women writers shall be my focus. Why? Because they have been the far less researched and yet they are over half the population. We cannot tell the stories of the people until we know what stories the mothers have passed down to their children. Those are the stories that last. Now is the time to research screenwriters of all cultures and the stories they tell because people are finally recognizing the work of writers and appreciating how their favorite stories took shape on the page long before they were cast, or filmed, or edited. But also because streaming services make the stories of many cultures now available to a much wider world than ever before.

#MentorMonday 2 – Bri Castellini – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Today’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday spotlights the multi-talented Web series queen Bri Castellini! (IMDB)

#MentorMonday 2 - Bri Castellini - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Bri Castellini is an award-winning independent filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She has an MFA in Writing and Producing for Television and a B.A. in creative writing, studying in New York and Oregon, respectively.

By day, she’s a crowdfunding specialist for Seed&Spark, the community director for Stareable, and an adjunct professor for Long Island University-Brooklyn and Stephens College. She is known for the short films Ace and Anxious (2017, writer/director) and Buy In (2019, director/co-writer) and the web series Brains and Sam and Pat Are Depressed (2015-2016, 2017-present respectively, creator/writer/star) as well as the upcoming web series Better With You (2019, director). She has been described by collaborators as a “human bulldozer” and is honestly kind of flattered.


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Netflix Premieres “Raising Dion” by Executive Producer Carol Barbee, A Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Guest Lecturer 

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Support the friends of the  Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni by checking out their new works when they premiere.

This week Netflix dropped “Raising Dion” – the new show by guest lecturer Carol Barbee, who will discuss the creation of the show at our January workshop.

Netflix Premieres

Read a review of Raising Dion from The Los Angeles Times


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The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli: A New Book By Adam Parker, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni [Read Now]

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Our very own Adam Parker, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni just published a novel! — The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli

New Book By Adam Parker,  Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni, The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli [Read Now]

Buy Now: Amazon  | Apple Books | Nook

Read the First Chapter (PDF)

Listen to an interview with author, Adam Parker


Luca Pacioli stood beside the great Leonardo da Vinci and gazed at The Last Supper. He saw immediately that something was terribly wrong.

An orphan from a small town in Italy, Pacioli came of age during the Renaissance seemingly destined for a life of struggle and obscurity. But Pacioli had the good fortune of meeting mentors who recognized his uncanny ability with numbers and introduced him to renowned artists and philosophers, royalty, and popes.

At a time when many still used Roman numerals and colleges didn’t even teach mathematics, Pacioli was determined to share his passion and make it accessible and understandable. Apprentice to an artist, but a terrible artist himself, he became a master at calculating mathematical perspective in paintings. Tasked with teaching mathematics with no textbook, he wrote his own—followed by books on double-entry bookkeeping, chess, and the divine proportion.

In this way, Luca Pacioli, “the father of accounting,” still has something to teach us—not just about mathematics—but about how we account for setbacks in our lives and how we determine what our legacy will be.

About the Author

W. A.W. Parker grew up Adam Parker, not knowing until he was twelve years old that his full name was William Adam Washburne Parker. Since this was a mouthful for a kid growing up in northeastern Montana, an area The Washington Post has dubbed “the middle of nowhere,” he remained Adam Parker until he earned his first film credit, found out he would have been the nineteenth Adam Parker on IMDb, and was thus in need of a pen name.

Adam discovered a lot of himself in Luca Pacioli. Moving around as a kid, Adam always made sure the first friend he made in every town was his local library. He studied at Harvard primarily because it is home to the oldest library system in the United States. As Luca does, Adam found that he could travel the world by roaming the stacks.

The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli is Adam’s first novel, but you’ll be able to read his second novel soon—about 20th-century architect Pietro Belluschi.

 


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#MentorMonday – Laura Brennan – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

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#MentorMonday - Laura Brennan - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Today’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday goes out to none other than the Pitching Goddess herself — Laura Brennan! (IMDB) We are so lucky to have her on staff as one of our mentors!

Laura Brennan’s eclectic writing career includes television, film, theater, web series, fiction and news. Behind the scenes, she has helped production companies develop movies, TV pilots and limited series. She has taught pitching workshops to executives at Netflix and Film Victoria, as well as MFA programs and undergraduate classes at universities including Stephens College, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Boston University and National University. A graduate of Yale University, Brennan has won awards for journalism, television writing and fiction.


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Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

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Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

Mothers Unleashed Storytelling Event with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Alumni

Myself and 2 of my Alums, Julie Berkobian and Amelia Phillips at this wonderful event.

This will be a monthly event with a different theme — centered on Motherhood — each month. Amelia was both host and reader. They also recorded for a podcast version of the event.

Follow @mothersunleashedla for more info.

 

 

1 Year Ago – When Women Wrote Hollywood Launch Party at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop

1 Year Ago! A fun, fun time – and we’ll be doing it again next August at the Autry!

The essays in When Women Wrote Hollywood were written by students (now alumni) of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

1 Year Ago - When Women Wrote Hollywood Launch Party at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop

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Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* 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

Dr. Rosanne Welch Joins The Executive Committee of the Screenwriting Research Network

Rosanne Joins The Executive Committee of the Screenwriting Research Network Opening Reception, Screenwriting Research Network Conference, Porto, Portugal via Instagram

Presenting my talk at most recent SRN Conference in Porto, Portgual

I’m pleased to announce that I am beginning the first year of a two year term on the Executive Committee of the Screenwriting Research Network.  I will assist with editing the newsletter and meet via Skype once a month with some of the most wonderful colleagues I’ve had the chance to work with so far in my career. 

The Screenwriting Research Network was established in 2006 by Ian Macdonald when it became clear that there was interest across the world towards research on screenwriting, but individual scholars tended to be isolated. I’ve been a member since I attended my first conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Since then I’ve presented at – and listened to fascinating presentations – in such wonderful international locations as Leeds, New Zealand, Milan and Porto, Portugal – with Oxford and Vienna next on the list. 

And I’m most excited about the fact that the 2022 conference will be held at my home campus of Stephens College!

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 45 in a series – Nick and Nora

Do you know about these women screenwriters? Many don’t. Learn more about them today!

Buy “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Today!

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood - 45 in a series - Nick and Nora

The success of The Thin Man (1934) led to plans for a sequel, the series would eventually go on to feature six films. David L. Goodrich wrote in his book The Real Nick and Nora: “The couple intentionally closed all three of their screenplays with intimate, emotionally charged and funny final scenes. In the first they deftly caught the delicious, naughty, only us feeling of exciting sexual encounters – and did so without resorting to today’s flesh shots and heavy breathing (113).

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett: The Most Beloved Couple in Hollywood
By Julie Berkobien


Buy a signed copy of when Women Write Hollywood or Buy the Book on Amazon

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* 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