ScreenPlayLab

ScreenPlayLab is more than 3,800 upbeat producers, actors, writers, directors, agents and executives helping each other in their careers at studios and networks.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Four More Members Sign with Agent

Congratulations! Four more ScreenplayLab members have signed agent representation after being referred through other ScreenplayLab members. Having an agent in Hollywood is crucial, a powerful endorsement. It proves that somebody besides your mother believes your talent is worth real money! With these four it brings our total count to 28 who've signed with an agent from a ScreenplayLab member's referral. Without a referral from someone who already has representation, it's very difficult to get an agent.

Actors Heather Ignacio [IMDB] and her two sons, Robert Murphy and Ryan Murphy, signed with the Sanger Talent Agency in April. Heather just passed the first level of Groundlings, one of only four actors in her class to do so (and on her first try). Twelve-year-old Robert is in the first episode of The Cartoon Network’s first live action/animated show RE-ANIMATED. Eleven-year-old Ryan, who could play a very young Brad Pitt, just did a commercial for Tomorrow’s Toys. Robert is SAG eligible now, and Heather says they’re still working on getting Ryan his SAG voucher. The boys have been featured extras in EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS (Robert) and UGLY BETTY (Ryan). Karl Sanger suggested to Heather that the boys take extra work because after three times as an extra, an actor can get into SAG. The boys are getting on TV series through Kids Management, which is like Central Casting but for kids.

Actor Jim McCaffree [IMDB] signed with the Sanger Talent Agency in February. Jim McCaffree is a character actor who relocated from Chicago. You may have noticed him in regional and national commercials, such for Arby’s. He’s in the live-action trailer of Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming DreamWorks film, BEE MOVIE. Jim’s in the pilot of the improvised spoof POLTER GUYS. This week Jim got a call at 10:30 Tuesday night from his agent Karl Sanger. By 11:30am the next day Jim was on location in a speaking role in THE PRINCE, THE PIMP, THE JACKAL, AND THE SPAYED. Jim had two twelve-hour days shooting that at Jimmy’s Nightclub on Santa Monica and Vine. Directed by Beni Atoori, the movie stars Bollywood actress Kashmira Shah. Besides the screen, Jim appears in the live murder mystery dinner theater show THE DINNER DETECTIVE in Culver City at Cucina Paradiso on a few Saturdays a month.

For me as a writer, having an agent is the difference between being told, "We're not looking" and hearing, "We're looking at everything!". ScreenplayLab helped me get an agent, too. It was one of our speakers who introduced me to my agent. Below is a list of some of the artists who ScreenplayLab has helped find representation over the past two years. Not a complete list. If you know of more please let me know.

Actors Signed:

Jason Avalos
Corey Blake
Kirk Bovill
Widow Centauri
Dennis Martin Clark
Daisy Garcia
Gena Gilcrease
Jenn Gotzon
Elisabeth Granli
Heather Ignacio
Robert Murphy
Ryan Murphy
Charmagne Jacobs
Kathleen LaGue
Algerita Lewis
Jim McCaffree
Anthony Ray Parker
Monique Soltani
Roy Samuelson
Matt Valenti
Adolphus Ward
Yetem Worku

Writers Signed:

Gabrielle Pantera
Robin Rowe

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

LAST CALL: ABC Fellowship Director on Friday June 1st

On Friday we have the director of talent development at ABC Disney speaking. The deadline to apply for the ABC Disney Writing Fellowship is just one month later, on July 1st. That's still enough time to prepare if you knew exactly what you had to do. Don't miss this event!

Winners of the Disney fellowship gain a year's studio employment at $50k, but more importantly they often springboard into executive positions in Hollywood.

Note that this special ScreenplayLab event is on a Friday night at the 199-seat Hollywood Playhouse, not our usual studio lot location or time. By the way, so far we have 149 RSVPs.

Disney ABC Fellowship Director Frank Gonzalez on Friday June 1st...

ScreenplayLab presents Disney ABC Television Group Director of Talent Development Frank Gonzalez who oversees the day to day operations of The Disney ABC Writing Fellowship Program, The IAIA Summer Television & Film workshop for American Indians, the Directors Guild of America/ABC Directing Fellowship Program, talent hiring initiatives, talent tracking, grants, scholarships, and internships.

Presentation followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Get your questions answered! Hollywood Playhouse, 1445 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood. Friday, June 1st, 2007, 7pm to 9pm. Mingle starting at 6:30pm.

Free with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com!

What's ScreenplayLab?

ScreenplayLab is more than 1,400 screenwriters, actors, and filmmakers. Our mission is to nurture artists on a studio or network track creating upbeat commercial films and television. It costs nothing to join and our weekly events are usually free.

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SPAGHETTI VS. NOODLE story in Variety

Congratulations to ScreenplayLab member Michael Yuen!

Michael Yuen has attached Chinese action director Yuen Wo-ping and Paramount-affiliated producer Dede Nickerson to his screenplay SPAGHETTI VS. NOODLE as a $20 million action comedy with Taewon Entertainment, a South Korean company that recently raised $50M. The picture will lense for two weeks in San Francisco before completing production in China. Yuen Wo-ping is known in the U.S. for directing Uma Thurman in the action scenes in KILL BILL and for his work on THE MATRIX. More in Variety:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117965380.html

SPAGHETTI VS. NOODLE is Michael Yuen's first screenplay. You may remember this screenplay from when ScreenplayLab presented it at a workshop on June 4th, 2006. This romantic comedy asks the question, who had pasta first, the Italians or the Chinese?

"That first reading at ScreenplayLab was really, really helpful," says Yuen. "I found out where people laughed at the comedy, and cut the rest." Yuen said it also helped him test and hone his one-sentence pitch, and that lead to him winning the Sundance Producers Lab pitch contest. "Sundance opened a lot of doors for me," says Yuen. "After winning that I could call any producer in town and get my script read."

Yuen traveled to Sundance, Cannes, Hong Kong, and Beijing, seeking support for his film. "I may move to Beijing to produce Chinese films," says Yuen, who is bi-lingual in Chinese and English.

Way to go Michael! See you at ScreenplayLab.

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Saturday, May 26, 2007

FIRE BEAR screenplay completed

Thank you to everyone who helped workshop FIRE BEAR, my feature animation screenplay about a bear who fights forest fires. Hearing it read by actors in front of a live audience and getting positive feedback from the actors and audience is a great process for generating a polished screenplay on the first or second draft. It also helped motivate me to finish the screenplay faster.

This week my fabulous agent Karl Sanger is sending FIRE BEAR out as requested material to many animation studios. Several people in ScreenplayLab have asked me lately, does your agent get you good contacts? That's not really his job. It's his role to submit promptly (to strike while the iron is hot), to be my advocate, and to negotiate deals for me. An agent should be too busy booking his clients to be cold-calling. For example, Karl booked two dozen of his agency's actors just in one movie this week. Many artists have a manager to beat the bushes for them, but I do that myself. I like calling.

Writing a feature comedy musical animation screenplay seems hard, but I had a lot of fun doing it. Animation screenplays are rarely written on spec. They're hard to sell because of the big budget. Budgets of $60M to $120M are common in feature animation. For example, the budget for THE INCREDIBLES was $92M according to IMDBpro. Pixar and Disney are reading FIRE BEAR as a writing sample. They don't buy spec animation screenplays because they prefer to hire writers to develop ideas that the studio has.

It was DreamWorks Animation creative executive Karen Foster who first encouraged me to write for animation, for which I'm grateful. Many of you have met Karen and know how kind she is from when she came to speak to us at ScreenplayLab. She's currently very busy working on HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, the Cressida Cowell children's book that DreamWorks Animation is making into a movie for 2009 release.

ScreenplayLab has so many great people helping each other. Often I'm busy finding ways to help you, but today I'm putting a call out for me. In the next paragraph is a description of FIRE BEAR. If you have a contact, an executive you know would love to read a charming animation screenplay, please let me know. I'm interested in opportunities as a writer, producer, or creative exec.

FIRE BEAR feature animation comedy screenplay by Robin Rowe. Coming of age story of the outcast Black Bear Fango, who finds redemption fighting forest fires. Very funny and moving, misunderstood bad boy hero, sassy mockingbird sidekick, road trip, buddy picture, cinematic...intended to appeal to audiences that like SHREK. Speaks to the heroism of firefighters and forest rangers, the importance of family, friends and community, and with a subtext on overcoming prejudice. Works for kids and adults.

Thank you for all your help and support!

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Warner Bros. Animation President Speaking June 3rd

We're in a 40-seat theater and have the president of Warner Bros. Animation speaking. If you want to get into this FREE event, I urge you to RSVP immediately. I expect it to overflow and to cut off RSVPs.

Warner Bros. Animation President on June 3rd...

ScreenplayLab presents Warner Brothers President of Animation Sander Schwartz, executive producer for JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER and SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. Speaking and then an hour of audience Q&A. Get your questions answered! Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, Hollywood. Sunday, June 3rd, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Free with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

Getting the Word Out About ScreenplayLab...

Our group's two-year anniversary party is next Monday night (RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com). We've grown from nothing to almost 1,500 members. Let's double the number of members to 3,000! Have you told your industry friends about ScreenplayLab? It costs nothing to join and practically all our events are free. Each week in Hollywood we have fabulous industry speakers, fantastic actor/writer workshops, and marvelous networking. All people need to do to join is send an email to info@screenplaylab.com with the subject 'subscribe'.

*** More Great Upcoming Events ***

PIRATES screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio on May 24th...

The Writers Guild Foundation presents Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the writers of mega-hits PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and SHREK. Ted and Terry are great storytellers. Don't miss it! Presentation and cocktail reception. Thursday, May 24, 7:30pm. The Writers Guild Theater, 135 S Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, $15. https://www.wgaw.org/WgaSite/catalogItems.aspx?Category=Events

THE HOLIDAY screenwriter Nancy Meyers on June 21st...

The Writers Guild Foundation presents writer-director Nancy Meyers who's written or co-written PRIVATE BENJAMIN, IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, THE PARENT TRAP and SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE. Presentation and cocktail reception. Thursday, June 21, 7:30pm. The Writers Guild Theater, 135 S Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, $15. https://www.wgaw.org/WgaSite/catalogItems.aspx?Category=Events

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.

What's ScreenplayLab?

ScreenplayLab is more than 1,400 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 practically all our events are free. To join send an email to info@screenplaylab.com with the subject 'subscribe'.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Disney Fellowship speaker on Friday June 1st

Winners of the Disney fellowship gain a year's studio employment at $50k, but more importantly they often springboard into executive positions in the industry. Don't miss your opportunity to get tuned in how to succeed. And for all you guys who can't do Sunday afternoon or Monday night, note that this ScreenplayLab event is on a Friday night at a new Hollywood location.

Disney ABC Fellowship Director Frank Gonzalez on June 1st...

ScreenplayLab presents a special Friday event! Disney ABC Television Group Director of Talent Development Frank Gonzalez oversees the day to day operations of The Disney ABC Writing Fellowship Program, The IAIA Summer Television & Film workshop for American Indians, the Directors Guild of America/ABC Directing Fellowship Program, talent hiring initiatives, talent tracking, grants, scholarships, and internships. Dialog with an hour of audience Q&A. Get your questions answered! Hollywood Playhouse, 1445 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood. Friday, June 1st, 2007, 7pm to 9pm. Mingle starting at 6:30pm. Free with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

CBS Diversity Writers Fellowship Deadline June 1st...

The CBS Diversity Institute’s Writers Mentoring Program is now accepting applications for 2008. The CBS Writers Mentoring Program is a unique program for new and emerging diverse writers, with a focus on writers of color. Of the three graduating classes, 13 careers were launched out of a total of 19 participants. www.cbsdiversity.com

Enhanced Handout from Last Sunday's Pitch and Story Clinic...

http://screenplaylab.com/pitch.steps.html

*** More Events Coming Up ***

Writers Jose Rivera and Susannah Grant on May 23rd...

The Writers Store presents screenwriters Jose Rivera (Motorcycle Diaries) and Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). These experienced screenwriters will discuss their films and answer all your burning questions. May 23, 2007 6pm-7:30pm. Free with RSVP. The Writers Store,
2040 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. Call 310-441-5151 or online at http://www.storylink.com/event/70.

CARTOON OVERLORD Comedy Show on May 27th...

Final performance of CARTOON OVERLORD live comedy cartoon improv show. Stellar cast of who've appeared on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno', 'Curb your Enthusiasm', 'That '70s Show' and 'Scrubs'. At the beautiful 99-seat ACME Comedy Theatre in Hollywood. 135 N. La Brea Ave. Sundays, 8pm. Tickets $12. Or, $10 if you draw your own cartoon character. Info at www.comicstripnetwork.com. Box office 323-525-0202.

'24' Executive Producer and Director on May 30th...

Women In Film presents Jon Cassar, the executive producer and Emmy-winning director of the hit series '24'. McCormick and Schmick's, Two Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 6pm-8pm. $20. RSVP required. 310.657.5144. Tickets will not be sold at the door. www.wif.org

WGA Animation Writers Caucus on May 30th...

The WGA Animation Writer’s Caucus meets on Wednesday, May 30th, 7pm. At Hamburger Hamlet, 9201 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood.

Warner Brothers President of Animation on June 3rd...

ScreenplayLab presents Warner Brothers President of Animation Sander Schwartz. Dialog with an hour of audience Q&A. Get your questions answered! Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, Hollywood. Sunday, June 3rd, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Free with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

Screen Gems Horror Producer Nick Phillips on June 10th...

ScreenplayLab presents Screen Gems producer and development executive Nick Phillips [IMDB]. Screen Gems is Sony Picture's indie division. Nick was a producer for Miramax on the TV series Project Greenlight for the Weinsteins where he produced the horror movie Feast. Dialog with an hour of audience Q&A. Sunday, June 10th, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, Hollywood. Mingle starting at 6:30. Free with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

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Saturday, May 19, 2007

Our ScreenplayLab Journey

ScreenplayLab started as a way to workshop a screenplay that Gabrielle and I were writing together. Soon we added industry speakers. It's hard to believe it's two years later, that we've been hosting ScreenplayLab weekly for all that time. It's an unexpected path that led us here.

Once upon a time, I had a beautiful office at DreamWorks Animation and was working on their renderfarm technology. DreamWorks executive Karen Foster (later a ScreenplayLab speaker) hosted an employee pitch contest, launching me on the long path to becoming a screenwriter. Because I was a contractor and not an employee, I was told I should have an agent submit my material to DreamWorks instead of through the employee contest. All I had was a 1-page treatment. Getting an agent seemed impossible.

On her own initiative, my partner Gabrielle Pantera optioned a very funny best-selling novel. THE CORSET DIARIES by Katie MacAlister is a chick lit comedy in the genre of BRIDGET JONES. Gabrielle knows many writers and their agents and managers from when she was president of a chapter of Romance Writers of America. And, she was literary book critic for the magazine Romantic Times for many years.

After toiling through many drafts of THE CORSET DIARIES, we felt the comedy in our screenplay somehow wasn’t as funny as in the book, that we should workshop it with actors in front of an audience. Gabrielle knows many actors from casting movies and from casting a series of actor workshops at the Strasberg. The Writers Store offered us the use of their space to workshop THE CORSET DIARIES. From that first night, ScreenplayLab was such a success that we’ve met weekly ever since. After the Writers Store cut back their hours, Raleigh Studios came to our rescue. When Raleigh became too busy to have space for us, many other Hollywood theaters helped fill the gaps.

At a ScreenplayLab event we met our future agent, Karl Sanger, who was referred through one of our ScreenplayLab speakers. On the basis of that referral and the strength of the best-selling novel, Gabrielle and I were able to sign with an agent. We signed with an agent before we’d written our first screenplay. It can be done. Karl mostly represents actors, only a few writers. Over time he’s signed more than two dozen actors referred through ScreenplayLab. The easiest way to get an agent is to know someone who has one.

While we were writing THE CORSET DIARIES, Gabrielle co-wrote a political theme romantic comedy with New York speechwriter Jason Haber. He had submitted that to Karl Sanger as an over-the-transom script called JUST ME. Karl liked Jason’s query, but without a referral the script was of course on the bottom of the reading pile. It took a year for Karl to read it, but Jason succeeded in getting an agent the hard way: on a cold query with an original screenplay. Karl suggested Jason team with Gabrielle to refine the script and find a better title. It became A MORE PERFECT UNION, where an out-of-work attorney has everyone convinced he’s a Congressman just so he can get a girl.

In December we completed THE CORSET DIARIES screenplay and gave it to our agent. We targeted production companies with studio deals. It’s an agent’s job to field offers and submit you as opportunities appear. A manager may be more proactive, but I didn’t have one. I called development executives myself. I’d ask for the boss because I knew the name from the Hollywood Creative Directory, but it was really the assistant I was out to win over. I’d introduce myself as the writer of a comedy screenplay based on a best-selling novel. I asked, is that was the sort of thing your boss is looking for? Would you like my agent to send that to you? Most said yes.

Important Films, the people of TEAM AMERICA and SOUTH PARK, was the first place to finish reading THE CORSET DIARIES. They’re amazingly quick, a two-week turnaround. They asked to meet with us right away. Although the script wasn’t a good match for them, their exec liked our writing and asked to see anything else we do. In the following months we got glowing reactions from other companies, but no bites. I asked producer Jordan Kerner for advice. He said this type of project (comedy/romance) is hard to set up. Jordan is the guy who sold CHARLOTTE’S WEB to the president of Paramount over a breakfast meeting. I asked Jim Belushi. He said he thinks it’s hard, that it’s easier to develop a hit TV show. Jim, of course, developed ACCORDING TO JIM.

Literary manager Colin O’Reilly spoke recently at ScreenplayLab. He suggested that there are three ways to sell a spec script: convince two studios that each other wants it, get stars, or get financing. Maybe a great script isn’t enough? In THE CORSET DIARIES, an independent American woman finds mystery and romance as a reluctant participant a British reality television show. It’s a star vehicle for a female lead who wants to be funny and strong. We went shopping for stars who can get a film made. The Hollywood Reporter helpfully provides the annual Star Salary Top 10:

1. Nicole Kidman ($16 to $17 million per film)
2. Reese Witherspoon ($15 million)
3. Renee Zellweger ($15 million)
4. Drew Barrymore ($15 million)
5. Cameron Diaz ($15 million)
6. Halle Berry ($14 million)
7. Charlize Theron ($10 million)
8. Angelina Jolie ($10 million)
9. Kirsten Dunst ($8 to $10 million)
10. Jennifer Aniston ($8 million)

Agents are usually looking for projects that are financed, but managers can take a longer view. Again, having a best-selling novel and an agent made it seem easy for me when I made the calls. I called both managers and agents. Again, I focused on calling just a few, not everyone, and on winning over assistants. As when calling production companies, I would offer a reason why they in particular would be interested in this script. One star had said in an interview at a movie premiere the night before that she wanted to do a comedy next. That call took less than two minutes to get to yes. Another star wasn’t interested because she’s tired of doing romantic comedies. Two stars from the top ten list are looking at THE CORSET DIARIES. By looking I mean their managers’ assistants are reading it first, then their managers, then the stars. That takes time, even more so because each is reading the novel first, then the screenplay.

A finance company found us through ScreenplayLab and asked to see a budget top-sheet for THE CORSET DIARIES. Producer Jim Tripp, who’s spoken at ScreenplayLab, put together a budget that I used as a guide to put together a $20M top-sheet for THE CORSET DIARIES. I met Jim on an indie shoot where I was script supervisor. Jim was the producer and had brought his TV crew from EVE, the UPN sitcom. They worked really fast, shooting many scenes in just one take. I didn’t know we were shooting 35mm film until I arrived on the set. It was my first 35mm film shoot. I had the opportunity to be script supervisor on a Panavision shoot because I’d done uncredited punch-up on the director’s script.

After completing THE CORSET DIARIES, Gabrielle and I wrote separately two more screenplays. FIRE BEAR is an animated adventure comedy I wrote, sort of Smokey the Bear meets WEST SIDE STORY. Gabrielle is putting the finishing touches on THE GLAD GAME, a post-9/11 modernization of the classic tale of POLLYANNA. A lot of production companies want to see that. We’ll soon have four scripts out: A MORE PERFECT UNION, THE CORSET DIARIES, FIRE BEAR, and THE GLAD GAME. I’ve already written half of my next script, THE BOOK OF Z, an action adventure Kung Fu comedy. After THE GLAD GAME, Gabrielle is thinking about writing a spec script for GREY’S ANATOMY.

We’ve gotten a tremendous amount of encouragement from executives and producers who’ve read our work. They’ve told us not to be discouraged, that it can take a while to find the perfect match. It took Penny Marshall seven years to get a greenlight on BEWITCHED (but only a week after Nicole Kidman said she was interested). MTV Films executive Luke Ryan mentioned during his recent talk at ScreenplayLab that it took THE LAST MIMSEY many years to get a greenlight at New Line, and that was written by the president of New Line!

ScreenplayLab has helped us get our screenplays done, find an agent, gain insightful advice every week from industry experts, and make great contacts. Through ScreenplayLab all of us have learned a lot. Since Gabrielle and I founded the group two years ago we’ve grown to over 1,400 members. Thank you for your support! We love you guys!

4 Comments:

Hi, Robin,

Your and Gabrielle's story is an
interesting and familiar one. As a screenwriter myself, I know of which you write regarding agents,
producers, calling, submitting,
etc.

Ancient Hollywood Proverb:
"Persistence and Determination
Alone are Omnipotent...but
Connections don't hurt!"

Mike Vernon
Screenplay Lab Member

By Blogger Unknown, at 8:07 PM  

Congratulations! I can't believe it's really been two years since you started!

-Corey Blake

By Blogger Corey, at 9:29 PM  

This comment has been removed by the author.

By Blogger Robin Rowe, at 12:11 AM  

Forwarded post:

Hi Robin,

Couldn't figure out how to post a comment on the blog as I don't have a Google account, but I wanted to add my congratulations on your two year anniversary. I remember when you started and it is amazing that you and Gabrielle have accomplished so much in two years.

Cheers,

Angela McEwan (Actor)

By Blogger Robin Rowe, at 12:14 AM  

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Free Pitch and Story Clinic on May 20th

Free Pitch and Story Clinic on May 20th...

People keep asking, when's our next pitch and story clinic? It's this Sunday! Don't miss it! Build your confidence pitching. Bring in your pitch to practice in front of a live audience. Opportunity to test your story pitch, get feedback how to focus your story idea, and practice pitching yourself as a writer, actor or filmmaker.

With help from the audience, Robin Rowe [that's me] will give suggestions how to build on the best part of your pitch. Due to time constraints, not everyone gets to pitch. Robin Rowe is a screenwriter with experience pitching to studios and networks. But, wait...there's more!

Agents from Studio Talent Group on May 20th...

ScreenplayLab presents literary manager-agent Phil Brock [IMDB] and Talent Representative Kathy Boole [IMDB] of Studio Talent Group, blending the services of a licensed California Talent Agent with the personal touch of management. Phil Brock is a Director Emeritus of the Talent Managers Association. Kathryn Boole heads the Literary Department at Studio Talent Group. Half hour presentation followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Note that the speakers will not be accepting pitches or headshots at this time.

Two events in one, same great price...FREE!

Sunday, May 20th, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Mingle starting at 2:30. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Avenue (across from Paramount), Hollywood. FREE with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

ScreenplayLab is more than 1,400 screenwriters, actors, and filmmakers. Our mission is to nurture artists on a studio or network track creating upbeat commercial films and television.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Agents from Studio Talent Group on May 20th

Agents from Studio Talent Group on May 20th...

ScreenplayLab presents literary manager-agent Phil Brock [IMDB] and Talent Representative Kathy Boole [IMDB] of Studio Talent Group, blending the services of a licensed California Talent Agent with the personal touch of management. Phil Brock is a Director Emeritus of the Talent Managers Association. Kathryn Boole heads the Literary Department at Studio Talent Group. Sunday, May 20th, 2007, 3pm to 6pm. Mingle starting at 2:30. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Avenue (across from Paramount), Hollywood. FREE with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

ABC Disney Fellowship director Frank Gonzalez on June 1st...

ScreenplayLab on a special night! Friday, June 1st, from 7-9pm. Our first event at the Hollywood Playhouse. FREE with RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Upcoming Free ScreenplayLab Events

Margarita Party on May 14th...

It's a party! Mingle with working screenwriters, actors and filmmakers. The friendliest group in town. Cheap margaritas and inexpensive Mexican food. Acapulco Mexican Restaurant (In the Cabo Backroom), 385 N La Cienega Blvd (north of Beverly Center), West Hollywood, CA 90048. Monday, May 14th, 2007, 6pm to 9pm. We order food at 7pm. No cover. If you work late and can't make it until later please note that in the comment field. RSVP online at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Free ScreenplayLab Events...

2007.05.14 Mon - Margarita Mixer
2007.05.20 Sun - Studio Talent Group agency
2007.05.27 Sun - Dark (Memorial Day)
2007.05.28 Mon - Margarita Mixer
2007.06.03 Sun - Warner Bros Animation president Sander Schwartz
2007.06.10 Sun - Screen Gems producer Nick Phillips
2007.06.17 Sun - Dark (Day Time Emmys and Father's Day)
2007.06.18 Mon - Mixer and Gabrielle Pantera's Birthday Party!
2007.06.24 Sun - Comedy Central executive Zoe Friedman
2007.07.01 Sun - Dark (Independence Day)
2007.07.02 Mon - Margarita Mixer
2007.07.08 Sun - TBA
2007.07.15 Sun - National Lampoon executive Barry Layne

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More Exciting Events Coming Up

Development Executives Panel on May 12th...

Scriptwriters Network presents Lionsgate Sr. VP of Production, John Sacchi, New Line Cinema VP of Production, Jeff Katz, Warner Horizon Television Senior VP of Scripted Programming, Shelley Zimmerman, and Artfire Films, Ara Katz. What the industry looks for in a screenplay, and how development executives and producers work with screenwriters. Chaplin Theater at Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. 1pm. $15. www.ScriptwritersNetwork.org

WG Foundation TV Day on May 19th...

The Writers Guild Foundation presents TV Day event "Breaking Into the Box: Making Your Start in Television". What you need to know about writing for the small screen. Large group of panelists. 9am-8pm, Saturday, May 19, 2007. At the Writers Guild of America,7000 West Third Street, Los Angeles.
$150 includes food. www.wgfoundation.org

Presentation on film directing on May 19th...

The Writers Store presents "The Film Director Prepares" with Myrl Schreibman, UCLA adjunct professor and author of The Indie Producer's Handbook. Demonstration and lecture on telling a story using the camera and images. The Writers Store, 2040 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. May 19, 2pm-3:30pm. Free. RSVP 310-441-5151.

Screening of the Documentary "The Road to Broadway" on May 21st...

Back Stage & SSG presents as part of their screening series, 'Show Business: The Road to Broadway'. Going behind the curtain to capture the most controversial, passionate, risky and high-profile Broadway season in decades. Moderated by STEVE FARBER of REEL TALK. FINE ARTS THEATRE, 8556 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills. Monday, May 21st, 7:30pm. Free with mention of ScreenplayLab. ($2 Validated Theatre Parking at 8484 Wilshire Blvd.) RSVP at RSVP@StudioScreenings.com.

'24' Executive Producer and Director on May 30th...

Women In Film presents Jon Cassar, the executive producer and Emmy-winning director of the hit series '24'. McCormick and Schmick's, Two Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 6pm-8pm. $20. RSVP required. 310.657.5144. Tickets will not be sold at the door. www.wif.org

'Elephant Bucks' Book Launch on June 16th...

The Writers Store presents television writer and producer Sheldon Bull, producer of SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH, and a former M*A*S*H writer. How to get ahead in TV writing. The Writers Store, 2040 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. May 19, 4pm-6pm. Free. RSVP 310-441-5151.

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Margarita Party on May 14th

Join ScreenplayLab co-founders Robin Rowe and Gabrielle Pantera for a fun get-together. It's a party! Mingle with working screenwriters, actors and filmmakers. Cheap margaritas and inexpensive Mexican food. No cover charge. We order food at about 7pm. You're encouraged to mingle...so meet as many people as you can. We usually have about forty guests. No speaker or workshop, just relaxing and making connections.
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant (In the Cabo Backroom), 385 N La Cienega Blvd (north of Beverly Center), West Hollywood, CA 90048. Monday, May 14th, 2007, 6pm to 9pm. No cover. RSVP online at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

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Yeah party on!

By Blogger gap, at 9:51 AM  

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Robin at ComedySportz Musical Improv, Class #2

Notes from my Monday night musical improv class taught by James Bailey at ComedySportz. I'm half way through the 4-week course. Sixteen of us warmed up singing as a group: SING A SONG. (The Carpenters first sang this on Sesame Street, before making it a hit record, words and music by Joe Raposo.) Then we did scat (la la la) where the soloist becomes whoever is holding a roll of toilet paper. Safety tip: maintain eye contact before throwing the roll. Glad we weren't dodging wrenches like in DODGEBALL.

We continued to work on 7-5 rotating quartet combinations from last week. Maybe due to the Santa Anna's, everyone (well, me at least) sounded stuffy and off-key. James said if you take a wrong note to "own it". That is, hold it and repeat it so our accompanist (the great Bob Remstein) can shift keys to match it. In other words, let the keyboards rescue you instead of making a mistake obvious by hunting for the note. Bob pointed out that fast music tempo suggests slow words and vice versa, to avoid matching the beat note for note. James said that whatever is "offered" to "take it". James revealed and demonstrated his emergency rhyme of "do" and "you".

We did scat in groups of three where one singer sang "la" slow, another sang "dah" moving, and the third sang "bah" intermittently (that was me). In the midst of this James gave us the offer that we're all in France. We had to switch mid-song from scat to words as improv. James said, "The ability to listen for what's missing is very important." In other words, don't copy what others are doing and fall into PIRATES OF PENZANCE. James warned us to avoid "the 1-note song" and said "to give yourself some more notes" by going up and climbing back down the register. He said "find all the spots in your voice" and to "give yourself permission to get off the note."

We learned to sing duets this week. All as improv and with suggestions off the cuff for topic. A superheroes suggestion became the story of feeble supers Captain Apathy and Loose Change. A cute suggestion was feral cats who share an alley. James demonstrated how songs that tell a story don't have to rhyme. My duet suggestion was Hansel and Gretal. I sang with enthusiasm, "I am Hansel, and I am handsome!", which got a laugh. We learned to work more together with partners in a duet, to avoid becoming two soloists.

"Create the chorus first," was our final suggestion of the evening. The offer was toys. James gave us a simple chorus: "Gotta have my toys, yeah! Gotta have my toys," which was a lot of fun. Singing in a circle, one singer at a time would step out to improv two bars then we'd all sing the chorus. James said to keep the chorus simple so everyone, including the audience, can remember and sing along with it. As always, James used examples of funny goofs and smooth recoveries in his own singing experiences to put us at ease.

1 Comments:

Hey Robin it sounds like you had lots of fun! Maybe we can get people to try it out at one of our Mixers?

Gabrielle

By Blogger gap, at 4:21 PM  

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Monday, May 07, 2007

Visual Effects Panel from the Movie 300 on May 8th

You don't want to miss this one! For fans of the hit movie '300' who want to probe into its visual effects this is a must-see event! '300' is this year's huge surprise hit with $422M in worldwide box office. Every time I've heard Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Watts speak about '300' the event has been standing room only. It's my pleasure to invite him and this panel to speak at this special event. This may be your only chance to see such a distinguished group of visual effects supervisors present together on '300'.

VFX Supervisors of the Movie '300' on May 8th...

A panel of visual effects supervisors from the hit movie '300'. I've
invited my friend Chris Watts and a distinguished panel of visual
effects supervisors from many post-production houses that built
sequences for '300'. They'll screen clips from the movie and explain how
the visual effects and unique look of the film were created.

'300' VFX Supervisors Panel:

* '300' Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Watts
* Pixel Magic Tyler Foell
* Screaming Death Monkey Jeremy Hunt
* Scanline Stephan Trojansky
* Hydraulx Chris Wells
* Buzz Images Derek Wentworth

Barnsdall is a big venue, but getting there early is recommended.
There's no RSVP system for this event hosted through L.A. SIGGRAPH.
Outdoor reception 6:30-7:30pm, presentation 7:30-9:30. Barnsdall Gallery
Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Tuesday, May 8th, 2007.

$15 at the door (or $35 to join L.A. SIGGRAPH for the year http://la.siggraph.org).

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Thursday, May 03, 2007

How about a YOU-sical?

I had my first class in musical improv on Monday night at ComedySportz. What a blast! On my way to be the next Wayne Brady! Sixteen students in the class, mostly experienced improv actors and singers. After warm-up exercises and explaining to us the tried-and-true musical structure of great songs like the theme of 'Gilligan's Island', artistic director James Bailey had us singing songs off the cuff in no time. Four of us at a time took a topic suggested by the audience (other students) and invented/sang one line of the song singing in rotation. With the fabulous Bob Remstein on keyboards, who'd done some tracks for the movie 'Little Miss Sunshine'. Each of us had to think fast to sing something based on the two lines sung immediately before by other students in our group of four. A couple of our songs were really good. None of them were bad. Amazing!

ComedySportz 'U-Sical', the Improvised Musical, on May 4th...

This is a show where a full-length musical comedy is improvised based on the life of someone in the audience and featuring audience participation. I get to see the show for free because I'm a student at ComedySportz. I'm going to go check it out this Friday. Who else wants to go? Artistic director James Bailey said I can invite my friends for less than half price. Heh, heh, heh. I'm inviting my 1,400+ friends in ScreenplayLab! National Comedy Theatre, 733 N. Seward St. (NE of Melrose/Highland), Hollywood. Friday, May 4th, 10:30pm. Tickets normally $17, say "I'm Robin Rowe's friend" and pay $8. Reservations 323-856-4796. www.comedysportzla.com

Breakdown Services president Gary Marsh on May 5th...

Creative Actors Alliance presents Breakdown Services president Gary Marsh. Gary gave a great presentation when he spoke at ScreenplayLab. Here's your chance to see what you missed. Frankies New York Italian Restaurant, 7228 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles. No RSVP needed. Saturday, May 5, 11:30am. Free, but you buy your own lunch (prices moderate). www.creativeactors.com

'Find the Funny' Osgood Awards on May 6th...

Ernie Hudson of 'Desperate Housewives', Rex Lee of 'Entourage', Taylor Negron of 'The Hughleys', Barbara Niven of 'Pensacola', Patrick Gallagher of 'Night At the Museum', Dana Snyder of 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force' are all part of the show for the Find the Funny Osgood Awards for comedy. The Hollywood Improv, 8162 Melrose Blvd, Los Angeles. Sunday, May 6, 2007. OPEN BAR and APPETIZERS at 6pm. AWARDS SHOW from 7pm to 9pm. $45. http://findthefunny.com

Amazingly cool ScreenplayLab events coming in June...

FYI, so you can mark them in your calendar. RSVP system not open yet for these:

2007.06.3 Warner Bros Animation president Sander Schwartz
2007.06.10 Screen Gems producer Nick Phillips (Project Greenlight)
2007/06/18. Mixer and Gabrielle Pantera's Birthday Party
2007.06.24 Comedy Central executive Zoe Friedman

http://screenplaylab.com/calendar.html

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