Past DSA Speakers
2024
AUGUST 2024
Mike Farris
Author of Fiction and Non-Fiction – Retired Entertainment Attorney
Past DSA President
Mike Farris is a retired attorney whose law practice in Dallas included commercial litigation as well as entertainment law focusing on the movie and publishing industries. He is a 1983 cum laude graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law, where he was associate editor of the Texas Tech Law Review and was inducted into the prestigious honor society Order of the Coif. Mike has served as chair of the State Bar of Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Section, as well as of the Dallas Bar Association’s Entertainment Art and Sports Law Section, and was editor of the State Bar’s Entertainment and Sports Law Journal.
Mike is a multi-time published author of both fiction and non-fiction, with sixteen published books to his name, including the Amazon best-selling Hawaiian true crime book, A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow. His current book, the Amazon bestseller Blowhard: Windbaggery and the Wretch Ethics of Clarence Darrow, is an analysis of, and commentary on, four seminal cases in the career of Clarence Darrow.
Mike is an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he teaches Constitutional Law, Entertainment Law, and a course of his own design called Lawyers in Popular Culture. In addition to writing and teaching at UTA, Mike is also a book reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, with more than eighty-five published reviews.
May 2024
Paula Goldberg
Storyteller, Educator,
Lover of Coffee and Salt
Paula Goldberg is someone who is fiercely optimistic that at 52 percent of the population, women can be a political and artistic force. Continuously reinventing herself, she has worked in corporate America, academia, and artistically as a content writer, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. Her feature writing credits include the screenplay for The Perfect Family starring Kathleen Turner and Emily Deschanel. Her screenplay Unimaginable was a semi-finalist in the Dallas International Film Festival Screenplay Competition in 2024. She teaches screenwriting at UTD and offers acting and writing workshops through her own studio, Well Told Gold.
May 2024
Marilyn Atlas
MARILYN R. ATLAS is a talent and literary manager, author, and award-winning producer. Among her credits as a film producer are Real Women Have Curves for HBO, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently being developed as a Broadway musical for 2025. A Certain Desire” starring Sam Waterston; and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival. In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/pay TV market, Marilyn has produced live theater. She co-produced the West Coast premiere of the musical God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Ashman and Menken (the writers of Enchanted and Tangled). She also co-produced the award-winning play To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, which was made into a film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Peter Gallagher. In 2014, she co-produced the play Detained in the Desert at the Guadalupe Theater in San Antonio, TX. Her additional credits as a producer in live theater include Today’s Special and As I Sing.
Previously, Marilyn developed the Brides’ March for Lifetime Television as well as a limited television series. She produced the musical version of Real Women Have Curves in Los Angeles in 2009. Real Women Have Curves is currently in development as a musical for Broadway. Additional credit was the Lifetime movie The Choking Game based on the YA book by Diana Lopez aired in Summer 2014.
Marilyn has long been committed to issues surrounding diversity in Hollywood. As a member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, she spoke at many of their writers’ and producers’ retreats. Atlas is a mentor in DIVERSE WOMEN IN MEDIA INITIATIVE. She has lectured at the DGA sponsored LA Asian Film Festival, as well as various other symposia for the Sherman Oaks Experimental College. She is a founding member of Women in Film’s Luminas Committee, which supports the portrayal of women in non-stereotypical roles in film and television. She has spoken at events such as The San Francisco Writers Conference, the Santa Fe Screenwriters Conference and Richard Krevolin’s USC Screenwriting Retreat.
Marilyn has been a guest speaker at various colleges and writers’ conferences all over the country, including at Harvardwood, UCLA, USC, Emerson, Providence College, University of Incarnate Word, University of Redlands, and the University of Wisconsin. She has spoken at the Texas Bar Association and was a guest lecturer at Whittier Law School. She has served as the professional-in residence (in theater and film) at Ball State University and was the speaker at the International Writer’s Conference at Hollins University. Additionally, she was a guest lecturer in the Writing Program at USC, where she previously taught a class every year on creating three-dimensional, non- stereotypical characters. In Italy, she spoke at the International Women’s Writer Conference in 2014 and Publishing Day in 2016.
In addition to Marilyn’s film/TV credits, she has sold (first time) novels Chasing the Jaguar to Harper Collins, Hungry Woman in Paris to Grand Central Publishing, Ave Maria Bed & Breakfast to Hachette Publishing, and the Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole to Source Books.
Marilyn is currently developing a TV pilot based on the Gary Phillips series of novels High Hand and Shooter’s Point featuring strong-willed African-American protagonist Martha Chainey. She is additionally developing a Chinese historical epic with the Metan Development Group and the Wolper Organization, as well as The Trouble with Dreamers in association with NEO Studios and the pilot Under The Devil’s Sky. Marilyn is featured in the book “Write Now!” from Penguin/Tarcher. She is also the coauthor of a relationship-based, screenwriting guide called Dating Your Character, about an organic approach to character creation for Stairway Press’s 2016 catalog.
2023
October 2023
Jonathan Maberry
5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, and president of
the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers
JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, anthology editor, writing teacher, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder.
He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include the Joe Ledger thrillers, Kagen the Damned, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, The Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), NectroTek, Mars One, and many others.
Several of his works are in development for film and TV. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, and others.
His comics include Black Panther: DoomWar, The Punisher: Naked Kills and Bad Blood.
He is the author or co-author of several nonfiction books on supernatural folklore: The Vampire Slayers Field Guide to the Undead (writing as Shane MacDougall), Vampire Universe, The Cryptopedia (co-written with David F. Kramer), They Bite (co-written with David F. Kramer), Wanted Undead or Alive (co-written with Janice Gable Bashman), and Zombie CSU: The Forensic Science of the Living Dead. His Rot & Ruin young adult novel was adapted into the #1 horror comic on Webtoon and is being developed for film by Alcon Entertainment. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California.
Very Late 2023
Danny Aguilar
Dallas-based Independent Filmmaker
Born and raised in the Philippines, Danny Aguilar has a passion for storytelling in the areas of fiction and non-fiction.
After completing his degree in Chemical Engineering, Danny came to the U.S. He then continued his studies in Master of Science (MS), and followed by Master of Business Administration (MBA). He founded Quality Eagle Consulting Services in Dallas, Texas, advising Fortune 500 companies in the areas of engineering, quality, compliance, and process improvement.
His entry into film started as a hobby, then became a passion. He did a short stint as a volunteer at the Sundance Film Festival and other festivals, then studied with the Hollywood Film Institute. He was accepted into the Sundance Collab Director's Mentorship Program, where he was mentored by a Sundance award-winning director.
His practical business acumen and engineering skill helped him quickly master the work of producing and directing film. In 2017, Danny founded Carpe Diem Pictures, LLC, based in Dallas, aiming to produce and finance independent films. In a few short years, Carpe Diem Pictures has launched eight film projects, both documentary and narrative.
Danny brings know-how and innovation to the process of conceiving the idea, building the team, gaining the support, and producing each screen project. Strong relationships are at the core of all he undertakes. The film business is a people business, he believes, and good storytelling starts with caring about people, and benefiting them in their lives.
2022
August 2022
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Jennifer Hutchins
Producer
Jennifer Hutchins has produced over 200 episodes of docu-series, studio and variety television for CBS, A&E, Paramount Network, TLC, SYFY, Discovery, Fox Sports, NatGeo, YouTube Originals, Amazon, Travel Channel and her most recent CBS All Access series with directors Richard Linklater & Bill Guttentag.
Jennifer's highlighted feature films include, "Most Likely To Die" distributed by
Mar Vista Entertainment, "Time Toys" directed by Mark Rosman (A Cinderella Story) starring Ed Begley Jr. (Pineapple Express), Greg Germann (Ally McBeal) , "Unfollowed" produced by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch) and Expendable Assets starring Jake Busey (Starship Troopers).
She currently is in post-production on a documentary about Bipolar and in development for a slate of films. She is founder of networking platform All Entertainment Business that connects entertainment professionals across
the globe. The group has 20,000 members.
May 2022
Tom Vaughan
Screenwriter, Educator
Tom Vaughan has been writing professionally for twenty-five years and teaching the subject almost as long. He studied at the University of Houston with Broadway legend Jose Quintero and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee. It was his work as a writer and director in Houston theatre that got him recognized by Hollywood.
He was soon writing screenplays for, among others, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, Disney, ABC, NBC, CBS, Phoenix Pictures, TNT, MTV Films, and Castle Rock Entertainment. He has developed screenplays for Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, Barry Sonnenfeld, Chow-Yun Fat, and many others.
WINCHESTER, the film he co-wrote starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke, about the infamous Winchester Mystery House, opened nationwide in 2018. Tom just finished work on QUEEN MARY, about the famously haunted cruise liner in Long Beach, California which just wrapped production. His next film is DADDY'S GIRL for XYZ Films with Derrick Borte (UNHINGED) directing, which is slated to start filming later this year.
Recently, Tom set up MOST WANTED at Miramax with director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND, VENOM) attached.
His feature film debut was the action film UNSTOPPABLE, starring Wesley Snipes. In 2011, he completed his directorial debut, PLAYING HOUSE, based on a script written with Kristy Dobkin. His past productions include BLACKOUT with Jane Seymour for CBS, and CRITICAL ASSEMBLY with Katherine Heigl for NBC. He served as writer as well as Co-Producer on ATOMIC TWISTER with Sharon Lawrence and DEAD IN A HEARTBEAT with Penelope Anne Miller and Judge Reinhold, both for TBS.
Even while living in Los Angeles, Tom kept his UH season tickets for football and basketball and would come home for as many games as he could. After moving back to Texas in 2019, he fulfilled a long held ambition and now teaches screenwriting at his beloved alma mater.
January 2022
Joey Tuccio
Roadmap Writers Founder
Joey Tuccio founded Roadmap writers as an avenue to help hardworking, talented writers get the opportunities they deserve to make it to the next level in their careers.
Roadmap Writers launched 5 years ago and has helped over 250 writers get signed, optioned, staffed and produced. He is currently producing projects with Josephson Entertainment and New Republic Pictures.
Joey started in the industry at Bold Films (Drive, Nightcrawler, Whiplash).
He has read for Hugh Jackman's company, George Clooney's company, as well as Night and Day Pictures, to name a few.
The only thing Joey is more passionate about than helping writers is rescuing dogs.
2021
November 2021
James Moorer
Diversity and Inclusion Advocate
James Moorer is an author, screenwriter, producer and motivational speaker who loves to find a way to succeed.
James has also worked as an actor and voice talent on numerous projects. He's passionate about finding the story within the story and helping writers find their own given greatness.
His other passion is being the San Fernando valley's expert on finding the best Pancakes.
June 2021
Dave Trottier
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Script Consultant Par Excellence
Dave Trottier has sold, optioned, or developed numerous screenplays and screen stories for The Walt Disney Company, York Entertainment, On the Bus Productions, Hill Fields (for ABC television) and New Century Pictures. Titles include Igor's Revenge (produced), Zorro the Gay Blade (produced, but not credited), The Muppet's Hockey Movie – The Comeback Kids (not completed due to Jim Henson's death), Ratman From Saturn, Kumquat, The New Musketeers, and A Window in Time. He
co-wrote and co-produced the cult comedy, Hercules Recycled. More recently, he wrote A Penny Promise (produced; winner of awards at two film festivals) and sold Hemingway's Twin, an inspiring story about the Hemingway women.
As a teacher and script consultant, Dave has helped hundreds of writers sell their work, break into the biz, and win contests (including two Nicholl Fellowship winners and a National Play Award winner). Dave rated in the top 5% of the "Cream of the Crop" category of Creative Screenwriting's report "The Best Movie and TV Script Analysts and Consultants as Rated by Screenwriters."
Dave also conducts his own online courses and screenwriting workshops, one-on-one mentoring program, and Sundance Retreat; plus he teaches courses at Screenwriter's University. His major work, The Screenwriter's Bible, is now in its seventh edition. He has authored 8 books in all, including Dr. Format Tells All, Double Your Creativity, and Two Screenplays.
He has been a senior writer for Script Magazine since 1989. His column "Ask Dr. Format" is the longest-running screenwriting column in the industry. Dave is known as Dr. Format because he has been the go-to guy for screenplay formatting. His book The Screenwriter's Bible was the basis for the software Script Thing, which later became Movie Magic Screenwriter. He was a content advisor for Screenwriting Pro, and has conducted a formatting webinar and
written articles for Final Draft. If you are curious, see the article, "How I became Doctor Format".
With his B.A. in business administration (from Cal-State, Fullerton), Dave has a strong business and marketing back-ground. He served for five years as the marketing manager and then executive vice president for a distributor of memorabilia and precious metals (about 100 employees). Dave has an M.A. from Goddard College and is a graduate
of both the Hollywood Scriptwriting Institute and the Hollywood Film Institute. He served on the board of the Arts & Humanities Department of Cal-State, Long Beach, before moving to his present home near Sundance, Utah, where he married Virginian artist and educator Marsha Sawyer.
May 2021
Johnathan Brownlee
Producer - Director - Writer
CEO and President of the Dallas Film Society
Johnathan Brownlee is an award-winning Canadian-American director, producer, writer and actor with a diverse international body of work. His feature films, documentaries, television series and digital content have been viewed in more than 100 countries in 14 languages.
With decades of experience as a director, writer and host on television, and as a supervising producer in film, Brownlee founded Torfoot Films to write and direct more narrative features.
Johnathan Brownlee co-produced the feature films Decoding Annie Parker (2013), Three Days in August (2016), Occupy, Texas (2016), Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018), and The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018). Currently, he is active as the writer/director for The Eyes Of Jefferson and Montserrat.
In 2017, Johnathan was named CEO and President of the Dallas Film Society and Executive Director of the Dallas International Film Festival. In 2018, he created the Veterans Institute for Film and Media (VIFM), a program of Dallas Film that prepares veterans for careers in film and media production through education, mentorships, and job placements.
Johnathan received a Leo Awards Best Host – Information Series honor in 2003 for his television show, Johnathan Brownlee's at Home. He received five Leo Award Nominations, including Best Lifestyle Series, Best Writing – Lifestyle Series, Best Information Series, Best Screenwriting – Information Series, and Best Host – Lifestyle Series.
March/April 2021
Workshops
Marilyn Atlas
Marilyn Atlas is a talent and literary manager and award-winning producer. Her clients have appeared in shows such as Star Trek, Fringe, Pretty Little Liars, How to Get Away with Murder, 90210, Revenge, Hart of Dixie, NCIS:LA, True Blood, Dexter, Chuck, Castle, and Criminal Minds. She was film producer on Real Women Have Curves for HBO, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival; A Certain Desire, starring Sam Waterston; and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival.
In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/pay TV market. In live theater, Marilyn co-produced the West Coast premiere of the musical God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Ashman and Menken (the writers of Enchanted and Tangled). She also co-produced the award-winning play “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.”
Marilyn herself has been in development on pilots for Showtime and ABC Family. In addition to Marilyn’s film/TV credits, she has sold (first time) novels Chasing the Jaguar to HarperCollinsto Hachette, book Ave Maria Bed & Breakfast to Grand Central Publishing, as well as the Hungry Woman in Paris, Group, and the Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole to Sourcebooks.
Her Lifetime movie The Choking Game, based on the YA book by Diana Lopez, aired in summer 2014. She is also featured in the book Write Now! from Penguin/Tarcher. She is the co-author of a relationship-based, screenwriting guide called Dating Your Character, about an organic approach to character creation for Stairway Press’s Summer 2016 catalog.
March 2021
Bart Weiss
Bart is an award-winning independent film and video producer, director, editor and educator, who has lived in Dallas since 1981.
He is mostly known as the director and founder of the Dallas VideoFest. He produces the TV show Frame of Mind on KERA TV in Dallas, and is the artistic Director of 3 Stars Cinema. He has traveled to Nigeria Pakistan and China to show American Documentaries for the US State Department.
Bart has taught film and video at Texas A&M's Visualization Lab, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Austin, and West Virginia State College, and is currently an Associate Professor at UT Arlington.
He is a former President of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF), former (and founding) board member Dallas Artists Research and Exhibition (DARE), past Vice President of the Texas Association of Film and Tape Professionals (TAFTP), founder and past President of the West Virginia Filmmakers' Guild, and co-founder of the Dallas Video Festival and the Video Association of Dallas. He has been a video columnist for The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald, and United Features Syndicate.
2020
NOVEMBER 2020 - online
Gary W. Goldstein
Writer, Producer ...
Gary W. Goldstein has produced some of Hollywood’s biggest box-office hits, including Pretty Woman, Under Siege, The Mothman Prophecies, generating over One Billion Dollars in worldwide revenue, receiving multiple Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe, among other honors.
Long before he produced his first low-budget film Cannibal Women in
the Avocado Jungle of Death, Gary founded his own boutique literary management firm and launched successful careers for Matt Reeves (director of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and writer-director of War
for the Planet of the Apes, as well as The Batman due out in 2021), J.F. Lawton (Pretty Woman and Under Siege, among others), and dozens of other writers, directors and producers in both film and television. All of whom were unknown at the time.
Gary’s no less passionate and committed today to helping all creatives master the business, learning how to turn their talent into a sustainable career more rapidly than most think possible.
Gary’s book Conquering Hollywood: The Screenwriters Blueprint for Career Success has become the top-selling book teaching ‘career’ (versus ‘craft’) for creatives in front of and behind the camera.
Along with his popular ‘live’ group coaching, Gary’s greatest contribution to advancing the careers of professionally-younger talent is undeniably his much-celebrated Creative Edge: Masterclass. This 6-module course-work applies strategy on a personalized level to insure each of his students breaks out from the pack and gets traction in Hollywood.
A former criminal defense attorney, Gary later served as president of two divisions of IAM.com, an internet entertainment company successfully funded at $50MM. Gary also founded an independent record label based out of Los Angeles and Montreux, Switzerland, which he ran for four years.
Gary believes in kindness and lives on a steady diet of curiosity and optimism.
SEPTEMBER 2020 - online
Bennett Litwin
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Writer, Producer ...
Bennett Litwin is a writer, public speaker, business consultant, real estate professional, investor, and producer of film and books, with transactional experience in commodities, commercial real estate, and with a film professional's focus on task, value, and quality.
Bennett approaches film making with a variety of skills:
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breaking down complex ideas into simpler terms and concepts;
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translating different styles of thinking as a negotiator, comedy writer, screenplay writer, story teller; and
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coordinating various tasks towards the same goal;
bringing a team together.
In 2020, Bennett discussed the locally developed film Frackers and presented a couple of Trailers as wells as Video on Demand access information.
JULY 2020 - online
Barri Evins
Producer and Consultant
A working film producer and longtime industry exec, Barri has packaged and sold projects to all the majors including Warners, Universal, Disney, Nickelodeon, New Line, and HBO, and worked extensively with A-Listers.
Barri co-wrote treatments, Meet John Doe, sold in a preemptive six-figure sale to Warners and Unidentified Suburban Object for Fox Family.
As a teacher and consultant, Barri uses her industry expertise to enable writers to create the best version of their stories and advance them in the marketplace through story and marketing consultations, and mentorship.
Barri has taught at Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, UCLA Graduate Producers Program and AFI, and spoken at conferences around the country. She is a Contributing Senior Editor and monthly columnist for ScriptMag and a contributor to Writer’s Digest. A book, Creating Delicious Stories, is in the works.
APRIL 2020 - online
Heather Hale
Author, Screenwriter, Former American Film Market Host
Heather’s new book How to Work the Film & TV Markets: A Guide for Content Creators was published this summer.
Her Story$elling: How to Develop, Market and Pitch Film & TV Projects was published in 2019.
FEBRUARY 2020
Loglines, Outlines, Pitch Decks, Oh My!
Douglas King
Screenwriter, Producer, Columnist, ...
Author of, Loglines: The Long and Short on Writing Strong Loglines
Over his career, Douglas King has worked in a variety of disciplines within the entertainment industry. Having studied screenwriting and directing in courses at the American Film Institute, King optioned two television scripts to TriStar Television and was hired by various independ-ent studios and producers to write screenplays. His spec feature scripts have been finalist in the Kairos Prize screenplay competition and the Big Star Screenplay Competition, two years in a row.
Douglas King has also worked in the publishing industry for 29 years, beginning as a columnist for a small-town paper and working up to the founder and publisher of the internationally distributed architecture and design magazine Hawaiian Style. His writing has appeared in over a dozen magazines world-wide. He helped launch and was editor-in-chief
of Dallas Style & Design until 2019 when he decided to pursue publishing coffee table books about art and design.
In addition to film and writing work, King has been hired by Sony Entertainment, Laser Storm, Minotaur Amusements, Celebrity Cruise Lines, and others to design and develop themed entertainment attractions with a focus on interactivity and virtual reality. He was one of the lead designers for the Dream Park project, a fully interactive theme park based on the Larry Niven and Steven Barnes novel of the same name.
JANUARY 2020
Mystery Writers Night
Daniel J. Hale
Mystery Writer
Past Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America
Daniel J. Hale is an FAA-licensed remote aircraft. He specializes in aerial captures of architecture, landscapes and abstract nature images. Hale's fine art photography career is the result of a happy accident. While checking on a tract of family timberland with an airborne camera drone, he noticed the surprisingly broad range of colors and textures of a creek bed on the remote visual display. He pointed the camera straight down, snapped a photo and then posted it on lnstagram. Three successful gallery exhibits later, Hale's aerial platform work now includes commercial projects for enterprises such as petroleum companies and architectural firms.
An Agatha Award-winning author, Daniel J. Hale holds degrees from Cornell University, the Bowen School of Law and Southern Methodist University. He served two terms as Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America (presenter of the Edgar® Awards). He's a licensed attorney, and he speaks fluent French.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Hale travels extensively by air & by Airstream.
Harry Hunsicker
Mystery Writer
Past Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America
Harry Hunsicker is the former executive vice-president of the Mystery Writers of America and the bestselling author of eight crime thrillers.
He serves as executive producer for the film adaptation of his novel The Devil's Country, currently in development. His work has been short-listed for both the Shamus and Thriller Awards.
Hunsicker's story "West of Nowhere", originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, was selected for inclusion in the anthology The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 . His latest novel, Texas Sicario, was published in January 2019 by Thomas & Mercer.
Johnathan Brownlee
Producer - Director - Writer
CEO and President of the Dallas Film Society
Johnathan Brownlee co-produced the feature films Decoding Annie Parker (2013), Three Days in August (2016), Occupy, Texas (2016), Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018), The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018), and Satanic Panic (2019).
In 2017, Johnathan was named CEO and President of the Dallas Film Society and Executive Director of the Dallas International Film Festival. In 2018, he created the Veterans Institute for Film and Media (VIFM), a program of Dallas Film that prepares veterans for careers in film and media production through education, mentorships, and job placements. In 2019, Johnathan founded Dallas Film's second festival, the North Texas Film Festival (NTXFF), which premiered September 26–29 in 2019.
Johnathan received a Leo Awards Best Host – Information Series honor in 2003 for his television show, Johnathan Brownlee's at Home. He received five Leo Award Nominations, including Best Lifestyle Series, Best Writing – Lifestyle Series, Best Information Series, Best Screenwriting – Information Series, and Best Host – Lifestyle Series.
Preston Fassel
Story Editor – Staff Writer
Preston Fassel is a three-time Rondo Award nominated journalist and author whose work has appeared in Rue Morgue Magazine, Screem Magazine, and on Cinedump.com.
He was born in Houston, Texas and grew up between St. Charles, Missouri and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. In 2004, he was a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award, Gold Level, for work conducted with the Broken Arrow Police Department evidence room. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lone Star College-Montgomery with an AA in 2009 and Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University with a BS in 2011.
He is the author of Remembering Vanessa, the first published biography of British horror star Vanessa Howard, printed in the Spring 2014 issue of Screem Magazine.
From 2015 to 2017, he served as the assistant editor of Cinedump.com; in 2017, he joined Cinestate as story editor and staff writer for Fangoria magazine.
Our Lady of the Inferno is his first novel.
Mike Farris
Author – Copyrights Rights Counselor
Past DSA President
Attorney/writer Mike Farris was lead counsel for the plaintiff in the recent Fifty Shades of Grey litigation in Fort Worth, involving royalty rights, that resulted in a $13.25 million judgment in favor of his client. His nonfiction collaboration with his client to tell the story of that case, Fifty Shades of Black and White: Anatomy of the Lawsuit Behind a Publishing Phenomenon (Stairway Press 2018), is an Amazon bestseller and winner of the American Book Fest’s Best Book Award in the category of Law.
As an entertainment attorney, Mike has been heavily involved in negotiating film rights agreements, including negotiating the sale of film rights to the non-fiction The Free State of Jones for his client, University of North Carolina Press, which was made into a major motion picture starring Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey and directed by multi-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Film rights to Mike’s Hawaiian true crime book, the Amazon bestselling A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow (Skyhorse Publishing 2016) have been optioned by Aaron and Jordan Kandell, two of the writers on the Disney hit Moana and writers/co-producers of the feature film Adrift.
Mike’s most recent true crime book, Poor Innocent Lad: The Tragic Death of
Gill Jamieson and the Execution of Myles Fukunaga (Untreed Reads 2018), was released in 2018. Also in the world of non-fiction, Mike collaborated with rodeo cowboy-turned-actor-producer Robert Hinkle to write Bob’s memoir of his years in show business, Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood (University of Oklahoma Press 2009). In the world of fiction, Mike is the author of seven published novels, including thrillers such as The Bequest and Manifest Intent, and the Hawaiian historical fiction Isle of Broken Dreams.
Now retired from law practice, in addition to writing, Mike is a book reviewer
for the New York Journal of Books and is an adjunct professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Texas at Arlington.
JUNE 2019
Pablo De Leon
Executive Producer - Actor - Author
Pablo De Leon (Born Pablo Contreras) had his first on-screen debut on Fox's The Good Guys. He then landed roles on NBC's Chase and Friday Night Lights.
Pablo went on to have a supporting role in the independent short feature, The Ugly. He then made his first independent full-length feature debut in Crossing the Enemy as Roma the hired hitman. He also played a supporting role as Joe in the short independent feature It's Complicated.
In addition to acting Pablo is also credited as an associate producer in The Ugly and executive producer on It's Complicated and Wrong Girl.
Recently, Pablo added to his repertoire Natural Hair: The Movie and Ghost Note, which premiered at the 2017 Barebones International Film Festival.
MAY 2019
Jason Mirch
Feature Film, TV, Branded Entertainment,
Digital Content Producer and Executive
Most recently, he produced a 3D animated feature film starring Jacob Tremblay, Christopher Lloyd, Mel Brooks, Kenan Thompson, and Carol Kane.
Mirch was the Head of feature and TV development at Image Nation, a finance and production company based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. There, he supervised the Image Nation contributions in the development of Flight, The Help, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Contagion, Careful What You Wish For, Ghost Rider 2, Midnight Sun, and 100 Foot Journey. Prior to his work at Image Nation, Mirch was Co-Head of Development at Zadan/Meron Productions (Chicago, Footloose, The Bucket List) where he was actively involved in developing a slate of feature film projects for New Line, Paramount, Summit Ent., and CBS/Paramount. He also developed and sold television projects and mini-series to CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, and Lifetime.
He has lectured on all areas of filmmaking, speaking on panels at the Producers Guild of America, the Harvard Screenwriting Group, American Film Market, University of Southern California Film School, as well as several international film festivals and markets. In addition, he has consulted brands, including Burberry and Creative Artists Agency, on the expansion of their operations into emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia.
Mirch graduated Cum Laude from Chapman University’s School of Film and Television, where he received a B.F.A., in Film Production, with an emphasis in Writing and Directing. He was mentored by Academy Award Winning Writer/Director David S. Ward, in the spring of 2004, and is the winner of Chapman University Student Filmmaker Award, for Best Director for his film Ally.
APRIL 2019
Tom Rogers
Animated Films Screenwriter – Author
Tom Rogers is a novelist and the screenwriter of numerous animated films. Originally from Texas, he now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and tango partner, Jennifer.
Tom's animated film credits include: The Lion King 1-1/2, Kronk's New Groove, LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers, and Disney's Secret of the Wings and Legend of the NeverBeast.
Tom Rogers uses a step-by-step process when he creates a new, expansive, animated world with his fellow writers and animators at Disney Pictures.
One example is the development of the animated world of the new Tinker Bell series. Back in 2007, Rogers was part of a group of Disney filmmakers who began building Pixie Hollow and its cast of characters that would surround one of the most famous of the ferries of all time, Tinker Bell.
Since then there have been six movies from this world. The latest is Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast. In this film, the ferries suddenly find themselves in the company of a new visitor – a NeverBeast. They’re just not sure if he’s friend or foe.
Eleven is Tom's first novel. Written for young adults, Eleven follows the journey of a boy who turns eleven on 9/11.
MARCH 2019
Tom Huckabee
Film Maker - Photographer - Poet - Musician - Journalist
Tom Huckabee graduated from the RTF program of UT Austin, was the drummer and songwriter for The Huns and Reversible Cords, and has made his living in the entertainment business for forty years, including 25 years in Los Angeles as a writer, director, producer, quality control supervisor, and development executive. He currently resides in Fort Worth.
He was the founding director of the Lone Star Film Festival and has enjoyed considerable acclaim on the festival circuit with his semi-autobiographical feature, Carried Away, available for rental or purchase on Amazon.
Tom is the founder of GoldAlchemy, an arts and entertainment co-op, dedicated to the evolution of human consciousness, from which he offers a wide variety of creative services, including screenwriting, script doctoring, research, and event planning - plus workshops and tutoring in story structure and verbal presentation.
An autodidact in mind expansion, wellness, and comparative religion, Tom has just started practicing Pilates again, which he believes is one of the secrets to enjoying a long, happy, and healthy life in preparation for a noble and blissful demise.
Loving to barter, conspire, and collaborate, he works and plays well with others.
JANUARY 2019
Bart Weiss
Tonight, Bart Weiss will introduce DSA members to a new art form: the GoShow. It tells a serial story through a digital app for smartphones and tablets that sends out episodes via push notifications. In this respect it works like a podcast subscription: when there’s a new episode, you get a push notification. The GoShow uses video, audio podcasts, still images, songs, and gifs. At every turn, we choose the particular medium that would do the best job of telling that particular part of the story.
Bart is an award-winning independent film and video producer, director, editor and educator, who has lived in Dallas since 1981.
He is mostly known as the director and founder of the Dallas VideoFest. He produces the TV show Frame of Mind on KERA TV in Dallas, and is the artistic Director of 3 Stars Cinema. He has traveled to Nigeria Pakistan and China to show American Documentaries for the US State Department.
Bart has taught film and video at Texas A&M's Visualization Lab, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Austin, and West Virginia State College, and is currently an Associate Professor at UT Arlington.
He is a former President of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF), former (and founding) board member Dallas Artists Research and Exhibition (DARE), past Vice President of the Texas Association of Film and Tape Professionals (TAFTP), founder and past President of the West Virginia Filmmakers' Guild, and co-founder of the Dallas Video Festival and the Video Association of Dallas. He has been a video columnist for The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald, and United Features Syndicate.
2018
NOVEMBER 2018
Preston Fassel
Story Editor – Staff Writer
Preston Fassel is a three-time Rondo Award nominated journalist and author whose work has appeared in Rue Morgue Magazine, Screem Magazine, and on Cinedump.com.
He was born in Houston, Texas and grew up between St. Charles, Missouri and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. In 2004, he was a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award, Gold Level, for work conducted with the Broken Arrow Police Department evidence room. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lone Star College-Montgomery with an AA in 2009 and Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University with a BS in 2011.
He is the author of Remembering Vanessa, the first published biography of British horror star Vanessa Howard, printed in the Spring 2014 issue of Screem Magazine.
From 2015 to 2017, he served as the assistant editor of Cinedump.com; in 2017, he joined Cinestate as story editor and staff writer for Fangoria magazine.
Our Lady of the Inferno is his first novel.
SEPTEMBER 2018
Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris was born on June 3, 1972 in Jersey City, NJ. Eddie's father, a former actor, was a consummate storyteller and the person Eddie credits with nurturing his early appreciation of the arts.
After studying Drama and Communications at Trenton State College in Trenton, NJ, Eddie began working at The A Group, a commercial and music video production company. While with The A Group, Eddie learned the art of film making and directing. A random meeting with Ray Murphy (president of Eddie Murphy Productions) quickly turned Eddie’s focus from directing towards screenwriting after Eddie got a chance to read the script for Nutty Professor 2.
With his astuteness, passion and hunger to learn, Eddie has gone on to write numerous screenplays for films of different genres - which are dynamic, high energy scripts with real commercial potential and franchises.
Now a more seasoned writer, Eddie has worked as a freelance writer in the film industry on various projects for many years. Eddie wrote the screenplay for, House Of Bodies. This horror film, which is produced by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Productions, stars Oscar nominees Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard, and Oscar Winner Peter Fonda. House of Bodies was released 2013 on Netflix and aired on BET television.
Eddie has penned projects for Wesley Snipes, Eddie Murphy Enterprises, Master P, famed music video Director Lil X, to name just a few. Recently, Eddie wrote an indie film entitled Steps that was eligible for a NAACP Image Award. He is also one of the executive producers for Steps along with Shaquille O'Neal. Steps premiered in Denton earlier this year. (see STEPSTHEMOVIE.INFO)
JULY 2018
Heather Hale
Author, Screenwriter, Former American Film Market Host
Heather’s new book How to Work the Film & TV Markets: A Guide for Content Creators was published this summer.
Her Story$elling: How to Develop, Market and Pitch Film & TV Projects will be published in 2019.
Heather will share critical advice about how to package and pitch at the Film Markets.
JUNE 2018
Greg Green
Screenwriter, Cinematographer & Director
Greg Green is the award-winning writer and director of the psychological thriller, 3 of a Kind.
Greg Green Films develops and produces feature films for a national and international audience. He also writes BLOGs featured on Stage32 for indie filmmakers and screenplay writers.
He's currently in development for his newest feature, Magpie Funeral.
Greg won Best Picture and Best Director at the Houston International Film Festival for his feature 3 of a Kind.
He also has to his credit 4 regional Emmy Awards, a national Clio Award, numerous Addy Awards, and a Pro Max Award.
Born in Oshkosh, WI, Greg Green started making films at the age of nine and hasn't stopped since. He was accepted to the Warner Bros. National Film Workshop, and received his film degree from the University of Iowa.
MAY 2018
Roger Lindley
Cinematographer and Director
Roger Lindley has over three decades of experience in the production of award-winning films and other video content. Early in his career, Roger was Producer, Director and Editor for Marriage Today, an international marriage relations television program.
Roger was Director of two feature films including Taken By Grace with Angus McFadyen and Haylie Duff.
He was the Director of Photography of three feature films including Meant To Be with Della Reese, Dean Caine and Erika Eleniak.
He was Producer and Editor of the award-winning documentary, The Kurdish Factor, featuring General David Petraeus and the Iraqi Amabassador to Great Britain.
Roger also worked as:
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Director of Photography for Investigation Discovery and Travel Channel, Field Producer/Shooter for Discovery Canada, ABC News World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline
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Camera Operator for CNBC, Country Music Television and Telemundo
MARCH 2018
Win Shields
Executive Producer & former Staff Writer
For 37 years, Win Shields was a staff writer at Universal Studios where he worked on Murder She Wrote, Columbo, Charles in Charge et cetera.
For the past 25 years, he has been President & Executive Producer in Win Shields Productions with offices in Dallas, Hawaii, and the United Kingdom.
Win is a frequent speaker and lecturer at meetings and conferences for writers organizations teaching classes in Basic Screenwriting, Character Development, Writing for Commercial Television, Adapting the Printed Word for the Screen and many others. Examples of Win's work include:
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Adjunct Professor National University – Orange County California Campus
(4 years) Under Graduate Classes in Humanities (Film as Art, History of Film, Modern American Culture through Film, Comparative Religion) Graduate Classes in Human Behavior (Personal and Professional Ethics, Human Communication, The Nature of Human Kind) -
Producer/Director of Classic Plays for Public Television (Produced and Directed The Rivals, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and Doctor Faustus. Produced only The Importance of Being Ernest and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury)
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Director of Media Relations for The American Heart Association (Volunteer Position) 1 Year - Wrote and directed 25 Heart Association Public Service Announcements (PSAs) Wrote and directed TV series Health Safety and You 16 - 30 minute Episodes
Highlights
The attendees divided into four teams , each of which functioned as a Writers Room group of Staff Writers for an hour or two. Each Writers Room created a precis as per Win's previous description of Staff Writing.
FEBRUARY 2018
Mike Farris
Author of Fiction and Non-Fiction – Copyrights Rights Counselor – Past DSA President
Mike Farris is the author of both fiction and non-fiction, Mike’s most recent non-fiction book is A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow, which follows the historical record of a rape/murder case in 1931-1932 Honolulu that saw Clarence Darrow come out of retirement at the age of 74 to travel to the Territory of Hawaii for what would be his final courtroom battle. Film rights to the book have been optioned by Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell, writers on the Disney hit Moana and writers/producers of the upcoming film Adrift, which will star Shailene Woodley (co-star of The Descendants).
Mike’s next non-fiction project, set for release later in 2018, is also true crime and also from the Territory of Hawaii (in pre-statehood days). Titled Poor Innocent Lad: The Tragic Death of Gill Jamieson and the Execution of Myles Fukunaga, the book draws upon trial transcript, court records, and contemporaneous news reports to tell the story of the abduction and murder of the ten-year-old son of an executive with the Hawaiian Trust Company in 1928 Honolulu.
Mike is a 1983 cum laude graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law, where he was an associate editor on the Texas Tech Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. In 2014, Mike was the Chair of the Dallas Bar’s Entertainment Art and Sports Law Section, after also having served as Chair in 2009 and 2012, and Vice-Chair in 2011.
He is the chair for 2016-2017 of the State Bar of Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Section, and was past editor of the Entertainment and Sports Law Journal. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas in its Sports & Entertainment Manage-ment MBA program, where he served on the Sports & Entertainment Advisory Board. Mike is now retried from the active practice of law.
2017
NOVEMBER 2017
Tom Huckabee
Film Maker - Photographer - Poet - Musician - Journalist
Tom Huckabee graduated from the RTF program of UT Austin, was the drummer and songwriter for The Huns and Reversible Cords, and has made his living in the entertainment business for forty years, including 25 years in Los Angeles as a writer, director, producer, quality control supervisor, and development executive. He currently resides in Fort Worth.
He was the founding director of the Lone Star Film Festival and has enjoyed considerable acclaim on the festival circuit with his semi-autobiographical feature, Carried Away, available for rental or purchase on Amazon.
Tom is the founder of GoldAlchemy, an arts and entertainment co-op, dedicated to the evolution of human consciousness, from which he offers a wide variety of creative services, including screenwriting, script doctoring, research, and event planning - plus workshops and tutoring in story structure and verbal presentation.
An autodidact in mind expansion, wellness, and comparative religion, Tom has just started practicing Pilates again, which he believes is one of the secrets to enjoying a long, happy, and healthy life in preparation for a noble and blissful demise.
Loving to barter, conspire, and collaborate, he works and plays well with others.
SEPTEMBER 2017
Michael Stokes
Screenwriter - Director - Producer
Michael Stokes is a Humanitas Prize winning screenwriter whose diverse body of work includes big budget action features like Expendables 4, independent thrillers such as the Dallas-shot Exit Speed, and studio writing assignments like MGM’s Roadhouse remake, Millennium’s South China Sea, and Fox Searchlight’s Keys to the Street.
He has also written for numerous critically acclaimed children’s programs, including Paw Patrol and the Beatles-inspired Netflix series Beat Bugs. He was the creator and head writer on Babar and the Adventures of Badou for Nelvana, and tapped by Lucasfilm Animation to develop stories for the television spin-off of Clone Wars.
Michael has directed two of his own screenplays: Haunting at the Beacon and the action-adventure Infiltrators. His spec script, Crash Bandits, was recently purchased by Millennium Films. One of his earliest movies, Bram Stoker's Shadowbuilder, has just been slated for a Special Edition re-release by MVD Entertainment Group.
Michael is a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of Canada.
Highlights
Michael led a tour-d-force review of subtext in screenplays.
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Why subtext makes a screenplay fun for the writer, the director, the actors, and (most importantly)
the audience. -
What subtext looks like in a screenplay.
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How to construct subtext from the ground up, dropping breadcrumbs in early scenes that pay off as the story develops.
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How to back-fill an existing screenplay with vital subtext.
The beauty (and challenge) of subtext is that it's what goes unsaid in a screenplay, the magical secrets that rivet everybody's attention to the more visible parts of the story.
Building on this, Michael focused a spotlight on two kinds of subtext.
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Linear subtext – a specific series of breadcrumbs that inform one or more characters' motivations
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Colliding subtexts – the storied explosions that occur when a couple of subtext lines become entangled
Russ Pond
AUGUST 2017
Author - Producer
With a background in technology and marketing, Russ experienced immediate success with telecom giants like Uniden and Nokia. His pragmatic and creative perspective regarding today’s business landscape created a variety of opportunities in the area of new business development and marketing communications. His 16 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies helped him gain invaluable experience and business insight in the medium of visual marketing.
In 1998, Russ launched Top Pup Media, a Dallas-based video production company. His knowledge of technology and product marketing helped build his clientele of technology companies such as AT&T, Nokia, Chase, MasterCard, BP, Progressive Insurance, American Express and FedEx.
Since starting Top Pup Media, Russ has produced three features films, numerous short films, a reality TV show and over a thousand corporate productions.
Russ is married with one son.
JULY 2017
Pablo De Leon
Executive Producer - Actor - Author
Pablo De Leon (Born Pablo Contreras) had his first on-screen debut on Fox's The Good Guys. He then landed roles on NBC's Chase and Friday Night Lights.
Pablo went on to have a supporting role in the independent short feature, The Ugly. He then made his first independent full-length feature debut in Crossing the Enemy as Roma the hired hitman. He also played a supporting role as Joe in the short independent feature It's Complicated.
In addition to acting Pablo is also credited as an associate producer in The Ugly and executive producer on It's Complicated and Wrong Girl.
Recently, Pablo added to his repertoire Natural Hair: The Movie and Ghost Note, which premiered at the 2017 Barebones International Film Festival.
MAY 2017
Win Shields
Executive Producer Win Shields was a staff writer in Los Angeles (Universal Studios) for 37 years, where he worked on hit shows such as Murder She Wrote and Columbo, and worked with some of the finest stars. For the last
20 years he has set up home in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area where he has continued to write and teach. He is also a Writer/Director/Producer of
classic plays for public television in Los Angeles.
Current Projects
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Professor Higa (US) -- Professor Higa is on loan from the University of Tokyo to a college in the US to teach Japanese philosophy and culture. One of his classes is called The Philosophy of Mysteries. He uses the things taught in his lectures (sometimes with the help of his students) to solve real mysteries in and around the college.
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Western Style (Dallas) -- A middle aged couple and their teenaged daughter come to a small rural town in Texas to run a western style restaurant named Western Style, with the help and sometimes interference of Wade a town good ole’ boy local who always means well but doesn’t always do well. They set up a stage for entertainment and a different famous western band performs at the end of every episode.
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Angels of Mercy (Maui) -- A rapid response team of medical professionals finds challenge and rewards as they render aid to victims of man-made and natural disasters around the world in the action drama.
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Smith and Weston (UK) -- Hugh Weston (a classic product of the British Public School system who is the Head of Security for the Prime Minister has to work with Alfie Smith a working class bruiser who is a member of the Metropolitan Police Drug Squad. In the pilot feature film they must protect and save the Prime Minister’s daughter from what, on the surface, appears to be dire jeopardy.
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Tea Room Tales (UK) -- An elderly woman from the US and an elderly woman from the UK find their mutual aunt has passed away leaving them a tea room in Siena, Italy.
Highlights
Win gave DSA members an insider's view how to be a staff writer. His key points were:
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A staff writer needs to learn to write fast, be creative and know the characters well.
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He also emphasized the importance of knowing the jargon, having a good memory and being well-versed in the news, business and industry.
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Staff writers don't have time to write their own story lines. They adhere to the characters developed for
the show and work within these boundaries as documented in a series canon.
Win reviewed the key steps in the development of screenplays for each weekly program in a TV series.
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A precis (pronounced PRAY-see) is developed. This is a concise synopsis that covers the beginning,
middle and denouement of the story. -
The precis provides the basis for the dialogue and other elements of the screenplay.
APRIL 2017
Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris was born on June 3, 1972 in Jersey City, NJ. Eddie's father, a former actor, was a consummate storyteller and the person Eddie credits with nurturing his early appreciation of the arts.
After studying Drama and Communications at Trenton State College in Trenton, NJ, Eddie began working at The A Group, a commercial and music video production company. While with The A Group, Eddie learned the art of film making and directing. A random meeting with Ray Murphy (president of Eddie Murphy Productions) quickly turned Eddie’s focus from directing towards screenwriting after Eddie got a chance to read the script for Nutty Professor 2.
With his astuteness, passion and hunger to learn, Eddie has gone on to write numerous screenplays for films of different genres - which are dynamic, high energy scripts with real commercial potential and franchises.
Now a more seasoned writer, Eddie has worked as a freelance writer in the film industry on various projects for many years. Eddie wrote the screenplay for, House Of Bodies. This horror film, which is produced by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Productions, stars Oscar nominees Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard, and Oscar Winner Peter Fonda. House of Bodies was released 2013 on Netflix and aired on BET television.
Eddie has penned projects for Wesley Snipes, Eddie Murphy Enterprises, Master P, famed music video Director Lil X, to name just a few. Recently, Eddie wrote an indie film entitled Steps that was eligible for a NAACP Image Award. He is also one of the executive producers for Steps along with Shaquille O'Neal. (see STEPSTHEMOVIE.INFO)
He also wrote a film slated to start production early 2017 in Atlanta and executive produced by Jacob York (Brotherly Love and The Perfect Match). Presently, Eddie is writing a script for award-winning film producer Lisa Cortes (Precious, Monster's Ball), as well as creating and developing several TV and Film projects TBA.
His creativity pushes him to projects that make calculated use of current technology while connecting with the generation that understands a vast array of genres and themes. Eddie writes to promote growth.
APRIL 2017
Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris was born on June 3, 1972 in Jersey City, NJ. Eddie's father, a former actor, was a consummate storyteller and the person Eddie credits with nurturing his early appreciation of the arts.
After studying Drama and Communications at Trenton State College in Trenton, NJ, Eddie began working at The A Group, a commercial and music video production company. While with The A Group, Eddie learned the art of film making and directing. A random meeting with Ray Murphy (president of Eddie Murphy Productions) quickly turned Eddie’s focus from directing towards screenwriting after Eddie got a chance to read the script for Nutty Professor 2.
With his astuteness, passion and hunger to learn, Eddie has gone on to write numerous screenplays for films of different genres - which are dynamic, high energy scripts with real commercial potential and franchises.
Now a more seasoned writer, Eddie has worked as a freelance writer in the film industry on various projects for many years. Eddie wrote the screenplay for, House Of Bodies. This horror film, which is produced by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Productions, stars Oscar nominees Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard, and Oscar Winner Peter Fonda. House of Bodies was released 2013 on Netflix and aired on BET television.
Eddie has penned projects for Wesley Snipes, Eddie Murphy Enterprises, Master P, famed music video Director Lil X, to name just a few. Recently, Eddie wrote an indie film entitled Steps that was eligible for a NAACP Image Award. He is also one of the executive producers for Steps along with Shaquille O'Neal. (see STEPSTHEMOVIE.INFO)
He also wrote a film slated to start production early 2017 in Atlanta and executive produced by Jacob York (Brotherly Love and The Perfect Match). Presently, Eddie is writing a script for award-winning film producer Lisa Cortes (Precious, Monster's Ball), as well as creating and developing several TV and Film projects TBA.
His creativity pushes him to projects that make calculated use of current technology while connecting with the generation that understands a vast array of genres and themes. Eddie writes to promote growth.
Highlights
Often, DSA presentations describe a cookbook for successful screenwriting.
Instead, Eddie Harris outlined a "Write Your Own Cookbook" plan.
Step 1: Be very, very, very sure you have a burning passion for screenwriting. The number of script pages you'll have to write to succeed could fill a library. If that doesn't sound like one of the two most fun things to do in life, then skip the other steps and find a different niche in the entertainment industry (the options are endless).
Step 2 ... 999,999: Write screenplay pages -- lots and lots of them.
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What to do with the screenplay pages: First, get them read by others (experts, friends, avowed non- experts...anybody who's sober). Integrate the feedback from this into rewrites and return to Step 2 for more mountains of fun. (Note: the DSA provides a monthly gathering of expert screenplay readers at
the Scene Reads. Membership has its advantages.) -
How to get the wider world to see your screenplay pages: Make a list of the jobs associated with getting screenplay pages produced. Decide which of these jobs you are qualified to do, and "hire" others to do the others. (Begging a friend for help counts as "hiring".)
For example: If you enjoy pressing the flesh and meeting people in order to meet other people to meet more people, then you can be your own agent.
Otherwise, "hire" one, perhaps by placing highly in a screenplay contest.
Last but by no means least ... Be sure to sign yourself up to be a producer (with a seat at the producer's table during production meetings). Failure to do this has a better than 98% probability of causing your screenplay to be something very different than the screenplay that appears on the screen.
MARCH 2017
Daniel Blake Smith
Highlights
Daniel Blake Smith, is an award-winning filmmaker who has written and produced several feature films and documentaries, including:
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Emmy-nominated FEBRUARY ONE: THE STORY OF THE GREENSBORO FOUR, which was broadcast on PBS’s “Independent Lens”
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TRAIL OF TEARS: CHEROKEE LEGACY, hosted by Cherokee film star Wes Studi and narrated by James Earl Jones
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BLACK INDIANS: AN AMERICAN STORY, also narrated by James Earl Jones
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TERROR OF THE SOUL: EDGAR ALLAN POE, a docudrama starring Treat Williams and John Heard (with music by Philip Glass).
Most recently Dan co-authored and produced the award-winning feature film, TEXAS HEART (Indie Rights, 2016), a crime thriller starring John Savage
(THE DEER HUNTER), Lin Shaye (INSIDIOUS), and Daniela Bobadilla (ANGER MANAGEMENT), which is now out on DVD.
His newest film project is also set in Texas, THE KISS, a romantic drama co-authored with Dallas filmmaker Elizabeth Anne Martin, now under consideration with award-winning producer Will Wallace (TREE OF LIFE
and THE THIN RED LINE).
Dan is also the author of four books in American history, among them the prize-winning An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears (Henry Holt, 2011) and Our Family Dreams: The Fletchers’ Adventures in 19th Century America (St. Martin’s Press, 2016).
A native Texan, Smith now lives in St. Louis, Mo.
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On the film front, Dan's top recommendation was to find a way to be a producer, so you can have the influence on what you write that is lost with just a screenwriter's role.
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Dan advised writing toward your ending. We have a tendency to get too caught up in a story when the ending is the key. Everything -- theme, pacing, character arc, etc. -- should point to the ending.
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Don't forget your audience. Dan warned that it's too easy to get caught up in self-indulgent stories.
Our stories need to be universal. -
One inspiring theme for Dan is courage. In this vein, he is most proud of the PBS documentary February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, a powerful civil rights drama from his pen.
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Dan provided a book recommendation as a guide to filmmaking (including his own documentaries)
Thinking In Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan by John Sayles. It reminds us that film is,
at its heart, a visual medium.
February 2017
Chad Gundersen
Chad Gundersen’s producing career began 17 years ago while in college at the University of North Texas. In 1998, Chad teamed up with writer/director Joe Scott to found Night & Day Films. Together they made numerous award winning commercials, music videos and short films.
Going out on his own in 2006 Chad started Gundersen Entertainment and since then has worked alongside studios and award-winning filmmakers to produce life-changing films.
Chad's recent production credits include:
Ace Wonder: Message from a Dead Man (Vertical, 2014) with HeuMoore Productions
Unlimited (Provident Films, 2014) starring Fred Thompson and Robert Amaya
The Redemption of Henry Myers (EchoLight Studios, 2014) starring Erin Bethea and Drew Waters
Hoovey (EchoLight Studios, 2014) starring Patrick Warburton and Lauren Holly
Owlegories (Gundersen Entertainment, 2014) Animated kids series
Chad is currently in development on numerous features, including The Lock-In, a teen comedy, The Delusion, a supernatural teen thriller, and a series of films based on the best-selling Song of Acadia Series by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn. He has been married to his wonderful wife, Amanda, for 10 years. They have two children, their son, Kai, and daughter, Kenlee.
Highlights
Chad Gundersen, Producer, shared insight into the world of writing scripts that will be attractive to production companies (e.g., scripts based on acclaimed books). He provided personal stories of how he got his start in the business and things writers should consider when writing their stories. His advice was to keep writing, because a serious writer will always have a stack of scripts available to demonstrate devotion to the craft.
Before 2016
Prior to 2016, records of DSA speakers were not maintained online, however ...
An anthology of selected past DSA speakers is provided by the Pinterest world’s catalog of ideas.