ABC's Frank Gonzalez Speaks to Packed House

Yesterday was our biggest event ever! We filled the fabulous 199-seat Hollywood Playhouse Howard Fine Theatre. ABC Disney Fellowship director Frank Gonzalez gave a fantastic presentation, outlining the many writer, director and actor development and diversity programs that ABC offers.


Frank Gonzalez speaking to a packed house

The investment by ABC just to pay their union readers for evaluating the three thousand plus entries in the writing fellowship, which has no entry fee, is half a million dollars. There will be ten winners who are TV writers, and four writers for film, but only a quarter of the entries are expected to be for TV. Deadline July 1st. There's also a little known prime-time TV animation fellowship.

Screen Gems producer Nick Phillips on Sunday, June 10th...

ScreenplayLab presents Screen Gems producer Nick Phillips [IMDB] is a development executive at Sony Picture's indie division. He was a producer for Miramax on the TV series Project Greenlight for the Weinsteins where he produced the horror movie Feast. Sunday, June 10th, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, Hollywood. FREE with RSVP on web at www.ScreenplayLab.com (not email). Note: almost to capacity and will have to cut off RSVPs soon.

ScreenplayLab Party and Gabrielle's Birthday on Monday, June 18th...

Celebrate Gabrielle's birthday at the ScreenplayLab Margarita Mixer! ScreenplayLab co-founder Gabrielle Pantera does the workshop casting, crowd control and much more to make ScreenplayLab what it is. Please join us for a very special night. Network with working screenwriters, actors and filmmakers. Cheap margaritas and inexpensive Mexican food. We order food at about 7pm. At our last mixer we had forty guests. Acapulco Mexican Restaurant, 385 N La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. Monday, June 18th, 2007, 6pm to 9pm. No cover charge. RSVP on web at www.ScreenplayLab.com (not email). Birthday gift optional (contact me for suggestions).

Comedy Central VP Zoe Friedman on Sunday, June 24th...

ScreenplayLab presents Comedy Central vice president of current programming Zoe Friedman [IMDB]. Comedy Central series returning this fall include South Park, Futurama, and Reno 911. Sunday, June 24th, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Networking at 2:30pm. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, Hollywood. FREE with RSVP on web at www.ScreenplayLab.com (not email).

ScriptCopier Script Printing and Scanning...

Digital Printing of screenplays from Final Draft, Movie Magic, PDF or Script Ware at only 2 cents per page with free white covers and brads. Script submissions for only $10 per script including Priority Mail or FedEx Ground. Get your own private mailbox with a suite number on Wilshire Blvd. for $12 per month, includes email notification when mail or packages arrive for you. Visit www.ScriptCopier.com or email Maziar at 411@ScriptCopier.com. Tell him Robin sent you.

How to Write a Spec Screenplay...

Can't get started? Want the fast simple guide? Here we go... Think of a great evocative title. Write a treatment (one page max) that describes your story in three acts, with a climax at the end of each act. The first ten script pages reveal the main character and ordinary life. By page ten something extraordinary propels the lead into a new world and on a journey to become a hero. At first, our hero refuses the call, but then has to reconsider. The first act is about the lead character. The second act is about team-building (supporting characters) and our lead training to be a hero. The hero loses the battle at the end of act two. In act three the hero is forced to try again, and against even heavier odds. By an unexpected twist, the hero prevails in the final battle (climax) and returns home as a hero. Length 100 pages. Don't be depressing at the end. Have an empowering moral. Be funny.

What's ScreenplayLab?

ScreenplayLab is more than 1,600 screenwriters, actors, and filmmakers. Our mission is to nurture artists on a studio or network track creating upbeat commercial films and television. Each week we have fabulous industry speakers, actor/writer workshops, and networking. It costs nothing to join and our events are usually free. To join send an email to info@screenplaylab.com with the subject 'subscribe'. To enter a script in our workshop series or get notes for it costs $39.