AFTRA birthday event Nov. 29th

AFTRA 70th Birthday Celebration and Screening Nov. 29th...

Presented by SSG, join AFTRA in celebrating its 70th birthday, with special guests including TOM BERGERON (Dancing with the Stars), BOB BARKER (The Price is Right), a panel discussion on the importance of member involvement, and a special screening of the documentary 'AFTRA: Commitment to Action'. Also, SSG Screening Series Talent Showcase: Minister of Comedy TJ MCGEE and Ten Commandments - What if another actor did the voice of God? Participate in the new SSG Screening Series Talent Showcase! Present your material of 30 seconds up to 2 minutes. Make your own break: Stand-up comedy, Monologue, Scene, Singing, Dance, etc. Series producer Bob Nuchow. Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Nov. 29th, 7pm. FREE with RSVP online at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

'Christmas Caper' on ABC Family Nov. 28th...

Producer Karen Spiegel, when she spoke at ScreenPlayLab in March, described the Christmas movie she was working on starring Shannen Doherty. It's completed, and you can watch it on the ABC Family cable network on Nov. 28th at 7pm. Logline: While baby-sitting her niece and nephew, a professional thief hatches a new scheme.

http://shorl.com/lapafrebodudra

Review of 'Enchanted'...

If you're looking to watch a movie this week, you may want to check out my reviews:

www.movieeditor.com

Call for Entries: The Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship...

Nickelodeon is offering writing fellowships in live action and animated television to writers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Participants will have hands-on interaction with executives writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. The program, developed to broaden Nickelodeon’s outreach efforts, provides a salaried position for up to one year. The next submission period runs from January 2 to February 28, 2008. Submission rules:

www.nickwriting.com

We recently had Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship director Karen Kirkland as a speaker at ScreenPlayLab. If I can summarize an hour talk, send Karen a killer half-hour spec comedy script of a popular show like MY NAME IS EARL. Nickelodeon's outreach program seeks talented unknown writers looking for their first big break. FREE.

Join Jeff Gund's Info List...

Jeff Gund is a musician who started a little email list to tell his friends about parties and job openings. It keeps growing and growing. I remember when the Gund List was a Hollywood secret, that you only got on the list if someone referred you to Jeff personally. It's now called the Info List, and you can register for free on Jeff's website:

www.infolist.com

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,200 filmmakers, actors and screenwriters creating upbeat mainstream films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. There are no membership dues and events are free. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!

Mr. Magorium or Beowulf?

If you're looking to watch a movie this week, you may want to check out my reviews of MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM and BEOWULF here:

www.movieeditor.com

As a freelance journalist, I've made many successful pitches lately. I'm writing for more than a dozen publications now. I just wrote my first story for VARIETY'S BELOW THE LINE. That's an interview with UGLY BETTY showrunner Silvio Horta. I have another cover story coming up in LINUX JOURNAL, this time about the Paramount film THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. My LIONS FOR LAMBS cover story in the MOTION PICTURE EDITORS GUILD MAGAZINE is now online if you want to read that. Find that under the 'Filmmaking' tab. I'm writing a couple articles for WRITERS DIGEST next.

Here's my first published humor article, poking fun at writer-producers:

http://movieeditor.com/humor.html

Hope you get a laugh from it. I'm a writer-producer myself. Many people assume I'm a member of WGA, but actually I'm not. Because I'm not a union member, non-signatory scripted projects are still open to me. And, I'm fortunate to have an agent who also reps reality shows, so I can pitch those too. Unfortunately, my big budget projects have been kept on hold the past six months in anticipation of the writers strike.

Don't forget to check out Gabrielle's articles under the 'Book Reviews' tab. She reviews new books every week for the newspaper BRITISH WEEKLY. To make it easier to find our story clips, I took the past two days organizing the MovieEditor.com website. Enjoy! By the way, I do all the website maintenance myself for MovieEditor.com and ScreenPlayLab.com.

ScreenPlayLab Thanks Fox SVP Chris Aronson...

Thank you Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson! Chris spoke on studio distribution of such hit films as THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. He gave a great presentation. If you weren't there, you really missed it. This was our first event at the magnificent downtown Los Angeles Theatre, with its soaring six-story lobby. We had over a hundred people in the audience.

RUGRATS Director Speaking on Nov 19th...

Presented by Animation Army, Emmy Award-Winning Animation Creator Ron Noble as part of the Animation 21 Lecture Series. Includes screening of 'Living With Ridalyn' and 'Hope Springs Eternal'. Ron will talk about production process on these films as a one man studio. Also, he will talk about life as director on big shows like Rugrats and where he thinks the future of independent animation will go vs. big studio animation. Monday November 19, 2007, 6:30PM, The Big Room, The Art Institute of California, 2900 31st Street, Santa Monica.

Robin Rowe Hosting Radio Talk Show HOLLYWOOD CALLING on Nov 27th...

I'm launching a new talk show where you can call in to ask questions about show business, whether you're a writer, actor, filmmaker or anyone who wants to know more about the biz. Join us live for this call-in talk show that's recorded for broadcast. The way it works is up to 100 people can call in to participate in the telephone conference call live, then the show is edited and broadcast later. I don't know yet if it will be on AM, FM, XM Satellite or the Internet. This is the pilot episode. Tuesday, Nov. 27th, 2007, 6pm to 7pm. FREE with RSVP at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Jim McCaffree in CARPOOLERS airing Tuesday, Nov 27...

Congratulations ScreenPlayLab member Jim McCaffree! Jim is one of dozens of ScreenPlayLab members who signed with an agent after a ScreenPlayLab member referral. In fact, it was Gabrielle and I who referred him to our own agent, Karl Sanger. Jim participates in many of our ScreenPlayLab readings. We look forward to seeing him in an upcoming episode of CARPOOLERS. By the way, ScreenPlayLab speaker Marsh McCall is an executive producer on the show. He was the showrunner on JUST SHOOT ME. When Marsh spoke to us back in April he didn't know what his next show would be. CARPOOLERS is a production of ABC Studios.

Patty Guggenheim Signs with Agent...

Congratulations ScreenPlayLab member Patty Guggenheim! I met Patty a year ago at the Friar's Club at a producers event hosted by Gary Shusett's Sherwood Oaks Experimental College. I was there as a panel moderator. Patty wasn't there as a speaker or guest. She was a waitress. Patty had only moved to Hollywood the week before and was picking up some temp work. It was obvious she was an actress. When I asked Patty about that, she said she'd worked on Comedy Central's 'Showbiz Show with David Spade' and on a show with National Lampoon. Within a couple weeks she had a meeting with my agent, Karl Sanger. It took a while, but now signed.

Call for Entries: The Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship...

Nickelodeon is offering writing fellowships in live action and animated television to writers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Participants will have hands-on interaction with executives writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. The program, developed to broaden Nickelodeon’s outreach efforts, provides a salaried position for up to one year. The next submission period runs from January 2 to February 28, 2008. Submission rules:

www.nickwriting.com

We recently had Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship director Karen Kirkland as a speaker at ScreenPlayLab. If I can summarize an hour talk, send Karen a killer half-hour spec comedy script of a popular show like MY NAME IS EARL. Nickelodeon's outreach program seeks talented unknown writers looking for their first big break. FREE.

Join Jeff Gund's Info List...

Jeff Gund is a musician who started a little email list to tell his friends about parties and job openings. It keeps growing and growing. I remember when the Gund List was a Hollywood secret, that you only got on the list if someone referred you to Jeff personally. It's now called the Info List, and you can register for free on Jeff's website:

www.infolist.com

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,200 filmmakers, actors and screenwriters creating upbeat mainstream films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. There are no membership dues and events are free. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!

LAST CALL Fox exec speaking Wednesday

Coming up is our first event in downtown Los Angeles. Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson will be speaking. We have 175 RSVPs so far for this event. Normally that would seem a lot, but this time we have a 2,100-seat theater. Please forward this announcement to anyone interested or bring a thousand of your closest friends. Free with RSVP online at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Thank you Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Director Karen Kirkand...

Karen gave a fantastic presentation on Sunday at ScreenPlayLab. She talked about her experiences as an actor, film festival producer, and fellowship director. Nickelodeon fellowship opens for entries in January. Looking unproduced writers looking for unproduced writers break, not solely a diversity program like ABC Disney Fellowship. Nickelodeon Fellowship and the ABC Disney Fellowship are the only paid fellowship programs. Looking for writers who want to write kids entertainment, live or animation. Paid fellowship for a year as staff writer for 4 selected. Costs nothing to submit.

In January, submit a spec of MY NAME IS EARL or some other popular current half hour comedy. Submitting a spec of a Nick show is not recommended. Entries are judged blind, on writing only. The 20 who make the cut will be asked for a second spec which is expected to be already written. Final selection based on 2nd script, resume and interview. Karen also looks for potential staff writers and show creators, unrelated to the fellowship. If you're submitting a festival short (that is, not for the fellowship) it doesn't have to be for kids, but you must want to do a kids TV show. By the way, Karen is not connected to Nickelodeon movies which is run out of Paramount with development VP Luke Ryan who spoke recently at ScreenPlayLab.

Thank you Pitch Clinic participants....

We workshopped two pitches:

J Pinder: caper comedy
Stogie Kenyatta, urban comedy

It's much easier to analyze a pitch when it's not you doing the pitch. Pitching is a type of performance. Kudos to our pitchers for the courage to stand up and test themselves in front of a live audience. The formula for a pitch logline is to give the title, genre, flawed hero, hero's goal, and hero's obstacle. Having this is a good first step in preparing a pitch. If you have a good hook you lead with that before the logline, but there's no formula for a hook. The hook may be the tagline for the movie ("Hide all the bridesmaids" for WEDDING CRASHERS), a personal revelation, or something else that's surprising and charming. It's usually better to avoid the rhetorical question hook (e.g., "what would you do if you found a bag of money?") because your audience may relate to the question in a way you didn't anticipate or think it's not that interesting a question. More info about pitching in the links on our home page.

Fox SVP of distribution on Nov. 7th...

ScreenPlayLab presents Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. 30-minute talk followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Chris creates company distribution policy for the U.S. and Canadian sales divisions for movies such as THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. This is a must-see event for producers and filmmakers ready to learn the art of domestic distribution and how to work with major studio distribution. No workshop tonight. Featured speaker only. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (in downtown historic district), Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 2007, 8pm to 9:30pm. Networking at 7:30pm. FREE with RSVP online at wwww.ScreenPlayLab.com.

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,000 producers, directors, actors and screenwriters creating upbeat mainstream films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. There are no membership dues and events are free. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!

LAST CALL Nickelodeon's Kirkland speaking Sunday Nov 4th

This event is almost full. Last call to RSVP for ScreenPlayLab's event on Sunday with Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Director Karen Kirkand. We'll also have a pitch clinic:

Caroline Magbojos: rom-com
Ed Friesema: adventure
J Pinder: caper comedy
Stogie Kenyatta, urban comedy

These four will be pitching, maybe more if we have time. I'll give general tips on how to construct and deliver a pitch. Together with the audience we'll say what's most effective in each person's pitch and offer suggestions how to improve it. We all face the same challenges in pitching. Everyone can learn something new from this session.

ScreenPlayLab presents Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Director Karen Kirkand [IMDB]. 30-minute talk followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Also, Pitch Clinic with Robin Rowe. Open forum for practicing pitching your projects in front of a live audience. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. 3-6pm. Free with RSVP online at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Fox SVP of distribution on Nov. 7th...

ScreenPlayLab presents Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. 30-minute talk followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Chris creates company distribution policy for the U.S. and Canadian sales divisions for movies such as THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. This is a must-see event for producers and filmmakers ready to learn the art of domestic distribution and how to work with major studio distribution. No workshop tonight. Featured speaker only. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (in downtown historic district), Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 2007, 8pm to 9:30pm. Networking at 7:30pm. FREE with RSVP online at wwww.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Photography by Robin Rowe...

Need headshots?

http://movieeditor.com/photography/

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,000 producers, directors, actors and screenwriters creating upbeat mainstream films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. There are no membership dues and events are free. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!

ROMEO & JULIUS stage play premieres

We don't usually cover plays, but this one has many ScreenPlayLab members. Will Bowers plays Romeo. Stefany Northcutt plays Paris. Cast by ScreenPlayLab co-founder Gabrielle Pantera. Produced by Dan Decker, a ScreenPlayLab speaker. Saro Solis is stage manager.

ROMEO & JULIUS, a new play by Tess Smith, uses comedy to show people the folly of their own prejudices. "I morphed Shakespeare's classic tragedy into a modern day farce," says Smith, "because laughter is stronger than hate." Three week run at the historic Court Theatre, (by the Hollywood United Methodist Church), 6817 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90069. Proceeds benefit BODY POSITIVE, an H.I.V. & AIDS Research and Resource Center. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights through November 18th. Half-price tickets to ScreenPlayLab members who give product code 008.

http://www.romeoandjulius.com/
http://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=1204

ERNEST BORGNINE in A GRANDPA FOR CHRISTMAS on Nov 3rd...

SSG presents ERNEST BORGNINE in A Grandpa For Christmas. Premiere presentation. Screening with Q&A. Complimentary concessions provided by the Hallmark Channel. Saturday, Nov 3rd, 2pm. Free with RSVP online at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Director on Nov. 4th...

ScreenPlayLab presents Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Director Karen Kirkand [IMDB]. 30-minute talk followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Also, Pitch Clinic with Robin Rowe. Open forum for practicing pitching your projects in front of a live audience. (Email me to apply to pitch in clinic.) Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. 3-6pm. Free with RSVP online at www.ScreenPlayLab.com.

Fox SVP of distribution on Nov. 7th...

ScreenPlayLab presents Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. 30-minute talk followed by an hour of audience Q&A. Chris creates company distribution policy for the U.S. and Canadian sales divisions for movies such as THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. This is a must-see event for producers and filmmakers ready to learn the art of domestic distribution and how to work with major studio distribution. No workshop tonight. Featured speaker only. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (in downtown historic district), Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 2007, 8pm to 9:30pm. Networking at 7:30pm. FREE with RSVP online at wwww.ScreenPlayLab.com.

THE SAND PEBBLES screening on Fox lot on Nov. 9th...

AMIA presents THE SAND PEBBLES, a 4k restoration of the classic film starring Steve McQueen. Following the success of The Sound of Music, director Robert Wise chose to film Robert McKenna's prize-winning 1962 novel, The Sand Pebbles. Shot in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the film is about a Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River on the eve of the Chinese revolution in 1926. Friday, November 9, 2007 at 8pm, Zanuck Theatre on the Fox lot, Los Angeles. FREE with RSVP:

www.amianet.org/events/sand_pebbles.htm

Photography by Robin Rowe...

Need headshots?

http://movieeditor.com/photography/

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,000 producers, directors, actors and screenwriters creating upbeat mainstream films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. There are no membership dues and events are free. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!

Fox SVP dist speaking on Wednesday Nov 7th

Twentieth Century Fox SVP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson creates the distribution policy for hit movies like THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. It's exciting to have such a distribution heavy-hitter come speak at ScreenPlayLab. Don't miss this event! Learn about film distribution from one of the biggest.

This event is on a Wednesday night in downtown Los Angeles at the amazing Los Angeles Theater, not our usual Sundays in Hollywood. With 2,100 seats, we've never had a theater of this scale before. Please tell everyone you can to come. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (in downtown historic district), Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 2007, 8pm to 9:30pm. Networking at 7:30pm. FREE with RSVP online at wwww.ScreenPlayLab.com.

What's ScreenPlayLab?

ScreenPlayLab is a free grassroots Hollywood industry association that nurtures producers, directors, actors and screenwriters striving to make upbeat films and television. ScreenPlayLab presents weekly events providing an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn how Hollywood works and to meet executives. Recent speakers include Grey's Anatomy executive producer Krista Vernoff, National Lampoon executive Barry Layne, Comedy Central executive Zoe Friedman, ABC Disney Fellowship director Frank Gonzalez, Just Shoot Me writer-producer Marsh McCall, and Paramount vice president of development Luke Ryan.

There are no membership dues and events are free. From an initial group of just a few artists who met at The Writers Store in 2005, ScreenPlayLab has grown to more than 2,000 members. More than three dozen actors and many writers have signed agent representation after being referred though other members. To join send an email to info@ScreenPlayLab.com with the subject 'Subscribe'.

Love you guys!