One Advanced Screenwriting Course a semester is taught an eminent Screenwriter. These classes are made possible by the generous support of Jon Avnet.
Writing for the screen has been called an "architectural" skill. The writer creates a narrative by framing a structure. This course will be a workshop in which writers can try out this very particular and peculiar craft. (Along with sharing gossip with professional screenwriters and discussing good movies!)
At several points during the semester, students will meet with visiting screenwriters, who will also make public presentations at the Kelly Writers House.
in this advanced screenwriting workshop students will develop a screenplay which will focus on the nuts-and-bolts of structure, plot, character and dialogue and how a story is told visually.
Wolk has written screenplays for every studio, and teleplays and pilots for every network including HBO'S Emmy-winning FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. He received the Writer's Guild Award for NATICA JACKSON starring Michelle Pfeiffer and was nominated for the Award for the movies CRIMINAL JUSTICE and DELIBERATE INTENT, each of which he also directed along with episodes of many shows including THE SOPRANOS, WITHOUT A TRACE and THE PRACTICE. He has served as a Creative Advisor and Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute's Screenwriting Labs.
Wolk lives and works in Los Angeles. He will make at least three extended visits to Penn. Students must be available for meetings on Thursday evening, all day Friday, and Saturday morning during these three periods which are tentatively set for:
When Mr. Wolk is not at Penn, the class will meet Fridays with his teaching assistant and will confer with Mr. Wolk by phone/conference call. Mr. Wolk will also work individually with each student by email and phone.
Writing for the screen has been called an "architectural" skill. The writer creates a narrative by framing a structure. This course will be a workshop in which writers can try out this very particular and peculiar craft. (Along with sharing gossip with professional screenwriters and discussing good movies!)
At several points during the semester, students will meet with visiting screenwriters, who will also make public presentations at the Kelly Writers House.
Sokolow has written 47 screenplays, including TOY STORY (1995), GOODBYE, LOVER (1999), and CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (2003). For TOY STORY he received an Academy Award nomination. He was also a staff writer and segment producer for several television shows, including The Arsenio Hall Show. He has written a musical play, a children's book and numerous TV pilots.
Sokolow lives and works in Los Angeles. He will make three extended visits to Penn. Students must be available for meetings on Thursday evening, all day Friday, and Saturday morning during these three periods:
In addition, the class will meet Fridays with teaching assistant Blake Martin and will confer with Alec Sokolow by phone/conference call. Mr. Sokolow will also work individually with each student by email and phone.
Writing for the screen has been called an "architectural" skill. The writer creates a narrative by framing a structure. This course will be a workshop in which writers can try out this very particular and peculiar craft. (Along with sharing gossip with professional screenwriters and discussing good movies!)
At several points during the semester, students will meet with visiting screenwriters, who will also make public presentations at the Kelly Writers House.
Mark Rosenthal, a graduate of Temple University, Vermont College, and the University of the Pacific (D.A. in Medieval Studies) has been a highly respected Hollywood screenwriter for nearly twenty years. His film credits as a screenwriter include Mona Lisa Smile, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, Mercury Rising, Mighty Joe Young, The Beverly Hillbillies, Star Trek VI, Superman IV, and Jewel of the Nile. His latest projects, with co-writer Lawrence Konner, are screenplays for Flicka (Fox 2005) and Eragon (Fox 2005). In addition to his active career in the film world, he has lectured extensively at film classes, seminars, and universities, and has worked with numerous arts organizations