Writers on Writing – Page 8 – On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Screenwriting Research Network Conference 2019, Porto, Portugal, All Sessions

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Here’s a look at the program for the Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) conference that just concluded last Saturday in Porto, Portugal.

I deeply enjoyed making my presentation on Writers Rooms in the U.S. but even more I enjoyed the presentations I attended.

This program is chock a block full of new international films to learn about (did you know there’s a Portuguese film with the name “Django” in it that has nothing to do with the one by Tarantino?) and new ways to teach writing students how to take in all the (often negative) notes they receive and decide which constructive ones to use to make their scripts stronger?

Just skimming the schedule shows the breadth of new ideas that are running around in my head right now. — Rosanne

12th SCREENWRITING RESEARCH NETWORK CONFERENCE
Porto, September 11-14, 2019 · School of Arts, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

PROGRAMME

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Theme: Foundation and Crisis of Europe in Screenwriting

Chair: Paolo Russo

Pablo Echart
Savage continent, united continent: the writing of a feature film screenplay about the “founding fathers” of the European Union

María Noguera / Miguel Muñoz-Garnica
Narrative detours in the cinematic representation of Europe in crisis: Ulysses’ Gaze, A Talking Picture and Our Music

Daniel Sierra / Marta Frago
Young Winston and Darkest Hour’s films: Winston Churchill as British Hero in a Changing Europe

Theme: Modes I

Chair: Nelson Zagalo

Ruth Gutiérrez Delgado
Causality is not casual in a film despite it seems to be: A Perfect Day

Paolo Braga
The line between fate and chaos in Collateral

Armando Fumagalli
Order and chaos in the ending of a film

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Save The Date! — Panel Discussion: Location as Character: The Craft of Writing Place – WGA – October 1, 2019

Location as Character: The Craft of Writing Place
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
7:30 PM 9:00 PM
The Writers Guild Foundation, 7000 West 3rd StreetLos Angeles, CA, 90048United States

Whether big city or small-town USA, a show’s location can have a powerful impact. We are teaming up with Columbia College Chicago on this special evening to sit down with a panel of TV writers for a discussion about how writing location, whether real or fictional, sets the scene and can shape the motivations of the characters.

Panelists:

Ayanna Floyd – Writer, Executive Producer, The Chi
Anthony Sparks – Writer, Executive Producer, Queen Sugar
Stay tuned for more panelist announcements!

Moderated by Dr. Rosanne Welch.

Doors open at 7pm. Event starts at 7:30pm.

All events advertised on our Events page are open to anyone who wants to buy a ticket—not just WGA members!

In the case the event is sold out, we will have a first come, first serve stand-by line at the event. The stand-by line does not guarantee entry into the event and we will only accept credit card transactions for any released seats.

Proceeds benefit the Foundation’s library, archive and other outreach programs.

Got a question about events? E-mail us at events@wgfoundation.org.

Fall 2019 Written By Magazine Features Transgender Writers (And On The Cover!); Entry- Or Mid-Level Writers; LGBTQIA+ Writers; Female Writers; And Writers Of Color

Read Online for FREE Now!

Just on time for your Labor Day Reading! The Fall 2019 issue of Written By magazine, the magazine of the Writers Guild of America, West is now available online.

Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Executive Director Dr. Rosanne Welch, who serves on the Editorial Board of the magazine (along with program friend Glen Mazzara) is proud of this truly groundbreaking issue: it’s the first issue featuring transgender writers (and on the cover!); entry- or mid-level writers; LGBTQIA writers; female writers; and writers of color in every story.

Listen to the latest “How I Wrote That” Podcast with Screenwriter/Producer Tara Hernandez of The Big Bang Theory [Audio]

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Tara Hernandez started working on The Big Bang Theory as an assistant to the executive producer in season 4, and became a staff writer in the middle of season 5. From there she rose in the ranks to be a co-executive producer, helping to craft the series finale before moving to work on the show’s spin-off Young Sheldon.

The key to pitching sitcoms – there’s the event and then there’s the story. The event is the thing that happens but the story is her emotional realization that comes from the event… So for my first story that sold on Big Bang Theory was about the time Bernadette was getting married and Amy was going overboard so the girls decide to go dress shopping without Amy. That was the event that happened and then, because she was so devastated, Sheldon had to step up as a boyfriend and comfort her and it lead to their first cuddle. – Tara Hernandez

Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Tour Warner Bros. Studios and Speak With Michael Lawshe (Sound Supervisor) and Bob Berens (Producer, Supernatural)

On Wednesday the 2nd year Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting candidates were treated to a tour of the backlot of Warner Bros. Studios courtesy of Emmy-winning Sound Supervisor Michael Lawshe…

…which culminated with a one-hour Q&A with Supernatural Executive Producer Bob Berens, discussing the crafting of their final season.

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Producer/Screenwriter Cindy Chupack on the “How I Wrote That” Podcast from the Stephens MFA in TV and Screenwriting Program [Podcast]

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Producer/Screenwriter Cindy Chupack on the “How I Wrote That” Podcast from the Stephens MFA in TV and Screenwriting Program [Podcast]

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Cindy Chupack has won two Emmys and three Golden Globes as TV writer/producer whose credits include “Sex and the City,” “Better Things,” “Divorce,” “Modern Family,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and most recently Showtime’s darkly comic hour “I’m Dying Up Here.” She is the author of two comic memoirs: the New York Times bestseller The Between Boyfriends Book: A Collection of Cautiously Hopeful Essays, and The Longest Date: Life as a Wife. Last year she directed her first episode of television for “I’m Dying Up Here,” and her first feature, OTHERHOOD, starring Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, and Felicity Huffman. OTHERHOOD is a comedy Chupack co-wrote that premiered this week in select theaters and on Netflix.

It feels very paint by numbers so it seems so easy – but it’s not.
As soon as I get good and comfortable I want to take a risk. To challenge myself.

-Cindy Chupack

“Write Like A Mother” Panel with the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting and hosted by the Writers Guild Foundation

On Friday, August 9th, I had the great pleasure of moderating a panel on working mom screenwriters for the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting and hosted by Writers Guild Foundation.

I thank them for being so honest and real about describing the way they balance the lives they love and the work they love. It’s never easy for any of us and sometimes that’s the best lesson of all. Though each of the writers talked about how the skills of being a mother are so perfectly attuned to the nurturing and multitasking required of showrunners in television.

We also learned about offices that have nurseries provided for their writing staff and the fact that, as with all things in life, moms have to make tough decisions between being on set when your pilot is filming or catching your 2nd grader’s talent show… But we also all admitted that it’s a privilege to make the stories that are watched by other people’s children – and to share stories with your own children all their lives. — Rosanne

From the Writers Guild Foundation…

Talking TV writing and motherhood with writers/producers and working moms Julia Brownell (THIS IS US), @jamiedenbo (AMERICAN PRINCESS), Valentina Garza @totalvaligirl (JANE THE VIRGIN), and moderator @RosanneWelch.

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Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop visits producer/writer Rob LaZebnik and The Simpsons writer’s room

A field trip to the writers room of The Simpsons served as yesterday’s highlight for the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Class of 2021.

Thanks to producer/writer Rob Lazebnik for showing our students around and explaining what makes a good Simpsons script – a story that involves the whole family, which is hard to come by after being on the air so many wonderful years…

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Alumni Screenwriter Sahar Jahani returns to share her screenwriting journey with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop

Last night the Class of 2021 shared a treat – a visit by alum Sahar Jahani (Class of 2018)

Since graduation she has written episodes for Ramy on Hulu and landed on the staff of season 4 of 13 Reasons Why, while also adapting a YA novel into a film.

She credited the spec script she wrote under the mentorship of Jon Vandergriff for helping open doors.

Thanks, Sahar, for sharing your journey with us!

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Screenwriter/Producer Cindy Chupack Interviewed at Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop for “How I Wrote That” Podcast

How much would you love to learn about the writing of an iconic episode of “Sex and the City”?

The Class of 2021 was treated to just that when guest Cindy Chupack, who has won two Emmys and three Golden Globes as a TV writer/producer, was interviewed in front of our students for the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting program’s “How I Wrote That” podcast, hosted by Khanisha Foster. (Episode coming soon!)

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