Introduce Yourself To The Group

[Kim Michael]

1. Name?

KIM Michael “MIKE” McCarthy

2. How many scripts you’ve written? Zero so far.

3. What you hope to get out of the class? Have a completed fully edited (all drafts done) professional script by the end of class.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?

Unique: I have the most years on this planet of anyone else in the class @ 70 years young! LOL

Special: I have been awarded several Daytime EMMY‘s as a contributor for “BEST SHOW”, working for Martha Stewart Living Television. ‘99 –’04.

Strange: I LOVE being a CREATIVE of MEDIA ARTS. I’m a LONE WOLF. 😊

Unusual: I’m a Dolphin @ HEART & a Lover of the Oceans.

[jaye Blohm]

Hi everyone!

My name is Jaye and I’m very happy to be part of this class.

I recently finished my fifth script and it feels good to keep the momentum going!

I look forward to elevating my current concept and writing an amazing first draft in 30 days or less. I am currently finishing up the ProSeries Class, and I can tell you that if you trust Hal and Cheryl, the process, and yourselves, breakthroughs will happen, and you will create something magical.

Something unique about myself, is that I like to make ASMR videos on YouTube.

I’m excited to be learning alongside all of you!

-Jaye

[Deleted User]

Hi Jaye, WOW! that sounds really encouraging. Thanks for the inspiration. And cheers to you, 5 scripts and counting!!!

Judy

[jaye Blohm]

Hi Judith, I just saw this! I appreciate your reply 🙂

I hope you’re enjoying this class as much as I am!

[Karin Hallen]

Hi everyone,

I’m really happy, inspired, and excited to be part of this class.1.

My name is Karin Hallén. I am definitely considered a late starter in this field. I started writing screenplays five years ago and have written four feature scripts. One of them I wrote as a writer for hire for a production company in Sweden. This will be my second screenplay in English. I was also hired to co-write all episodes of season 2 of a YA SciFi series for network TV in Sweden in 2019.

I hope to learn how to efficiently and effectively craft a solid screenplay from beginning to end in a much shorter time than I have been able to do before. I also hope to pick up other tricks of the trade.

I was born and raised on a farm in Sweden. I now live ca half the time in L.A. and half in Sweden. I have lived all over the world and have had a string of professions that while interesting I ultimately knew were not for me, from lawyer to model, wine-teacher, Jaguar product specialist, and translator, always avoiding my true passion; writing until it was the only thing left to go for. And I am so glad I finally took that plunge. I love trees and have a few tree friends around L.A. that I regularly go and visit and talk to. They are great and loving listeners. I also love sports and pretty much all sports movies and I would love to one day write one.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Karin Hallen.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Karin Hallen.

[Gregory Fitzgerald]

Hi, I’m Gregory Fitzgerald.

I’ve written a number of short plays and a few short screenplays. Most of my writing experience is in sketch comedy (25+ years) and my first jobs out of college were in TV news as a reporter.

What I hope to get out of this class is a finished draft of a full length screenplay. I’ve done a lot of short form, but never seem to finish anything that’s feature length. I want to change that over the course of this transformational journey.

Something special about me… I’m a creative jack of all trades for the stage and screen having done just about every job there is in some capacity. I’m also the Artistic Director of a local theater company.

Let’s get this thing started!

[Stafford Echols]

Greetings Fellow Scribes,

I’m Stafford Echols, a screenwriter based in Chicago, IL.

I’ve written 5 features and 1 pilot; more content cooking.

What I hope to gain from this class, is the discipline to successfully get drafts done faster. The quickest I’ve written a draft is 2 months. If I’m ever a writer for hire, I’ll love to adapt the skill of picking up the pace. I have so many seed ideas that I need to develop, this class could be a huge asset to my screenwriting journey.

Something unusual about me: I’m a writer; it’s too many things to name, lol.

This is the third course I’ve taken through ScreenwritingU, looking forward to connecting with you all. Happy Writing!

[Kay HUNDLEY]

Hello all! I’m Kay Hundley.

I’ve written several treatments and started a few scripts of stories I have to tell. I recently finished a draft of one of them, but want to get serious into writing again.

Life took me in another direction, but I started writing again late last year after finally getting a copy of Final Draft.

I’m looking forward to getting more tips on polishing and finalizing this and turning the other treatments into full fledged scripts.

Some fun things about me: I’m also an instructional designer, so I may be reviewing this course from two lenses. I started out my career in media production. I’m a massive music fan and produced several live DVDs for artists/festivals. Before I got into video production, I wanted to go to college for writing. It was always a passion of mine and I used to really love it. Then… life. Well, life is now allowing me (i.e., I’M now allowing me) to get back to what makes life worth living.

Cheers,

-K.

[Huguette Anhalt]

Hello everyone,

My name is Huguette Anhalt I’ve written five scripts. One I had optioned five years ago for two years. ,,,, they decided not to go further. I cried. It was called NOBODY’S PERFECT. I found people who wanted to do a play with it…. just before covid hit. I didn’t cry. I almost felt relieved. I didn’t write for at least eight months and decided to get out of my emotional slump and went to work on a project I’ve been hemming and thawing for the last thirty years. A story about one of the first female barbers in the 60’s. Got lots of notes and a very very rough script. ( if you can call it that). I’ve been a photographer, actress, singer, dancer and mother. This script is like giving birth to a personality I just found out about. I can’t wait to get started and to know better who this character is.

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best.

Huguette

[Rose Faissal]

1. Name? Rose

2. How many scripts you’ve written? 3 unproduced feature length scripts; and 2 short films and a number of short/ long form documentaries that I wrote and directed;

3. What you hope to get out of the class? I moved away from LA 10 years ago and have been out of the film industry (development/production and post) for a while– and I’d like to get back into it; would be nice to learn tips how I can write and complete a draft faster than I’ve done in the past; I have a lot of story ideas I’m attached to that I’d like to flesh out in my lifetime, but my writing and film projects have taken me (too) many years; I’d like the idea of being held accountable (with deadlines like this class) to motivate me to get my work/pages done in a timely manner;

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? I’m Burmese-American, I’m an Orthodox Christian (converted when I got married — think ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ but an Asian girl converts instead of a big white guy); I’m obsessed with plant based eating (and can veganize almost any recipe) — and I love YA books/films even though I’m middle age!

[Deleted User]

Hi, excited to join you all here, I’m Judy!

I am a newbie to writing. I have no finished scripts but lots of ideas.

I did submit treatment to the Napa Valley film fest and was chosen to present and placed in the top ten, not that that really means much.

So I am here to learn and hopefully end up with a finished product that will be interesting.

I am a gypsy and fellow creative, having many jobs and experiences on the road of life.

One of my first real jobs was joining the cast of Hair in a traveling troupe around Spain on a bus with a bunch of other wild souls and living out my Ken Keasey fantasies.

I currently reside in Mallorca , Spain.

Sounds like this is a talented group, looking forward to soaking up your insight.

[Deleted User]

I’m sure I did that wrong, could not figure out how else to post it?!

[Laura Woodworth]

Hello, all! I’m a screenwriter based in Los Angeles and Kansas City. Besides my own writing projects, I work for Cooke Media Group in Burbank. Recent work that I co-wrote just won 3 Telly Awards, so I’m excited about that! (TBN “Inexplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth” Episode 5 – “Asia: The Great Wall and Beyond”)

Happy to be in the class. Best of success to all of us!

[Byrne]

Hi there. I’ve written & directed short films for a long time, one of which was featured in the Cannes 2014. I’ve written 10 full length scripts and am in the middle of writing a novel. This is new and a genre I have never written that I want to try. Actor/writer/director, and world traveler, although not in the past few years with the covid dilemma. Happy to be here and happy to be kicking my imagination into finishing this script which I have sat on for years. I’m one of 9 children and have a huge extended family. I live in California by the beach with my husband. Looking forward to working with you all.

[Meg Stout]

Hi, I’m Meg Stout. I’ve written a feature film and drafted a few others.

I’m really looking forward to learning Hal’s method for churning out a screenplay in 30 days!

Something unique about me is that I think I’m the only person who has attended Orson Scott Card’s Writer’s Bootcamp who has vomited on Mr. Card. I was laughing so hard at a joke he’d told about Piers Anthony that I choked on my drink. Though, in truth, I’m not sure I actually got Scott, since he leapt across the room pretty fast, once he saw what was happening.

[JULIA MENDENHALL]

I grew up in Washington DC, and its diverse suburb, Rockville, Maryland, and fell in love with writing and stories early on in life. Although I wrote fiction prolifically throughout my teen years and was the award-winning editor and film critic of my high school newspaper, I didn’t go to college at the traditional age because we had no money. Instead, I worked (over many years) as a waitress, a balloon delivery person, a Wall Street trader, an academic writing tutor, and a chef, caterer, and restaurant mgr/owner to pay my way through college. After earning my BA in English, I pursued a PhD in English Literature and taught First-Year Writing, English Lit, Women’s Studies, and Film Studies classes at Temple University, in Philadelphia, for seventeen years. Although I loved teaching and analyzing films, I had an intense yearning to tell stories about female misfits seeking self-actualization. I have completed one screenplay but have many ideas for more…and I am excited to get writing for this class, the first that I’ve taken with ScreenwritingU!! I am attracted to this class because it seems to have the Anne Lamott method of “shitty first drafts”–just write, it doesn’t matter if it’s bad. I also use that technique and I embrace it wholeheartedly–so if you read my assignments–they are going to be really “shitty.” That might be what’s really unusual about me. Thanks for reading!

[Leo Sopicki]

Hello All,

My name is Leo. I’ve written four feature length screenplays and a bunch of shorts. I’ve produced short films, some of which have won awards. By taking this course, I hope to learn how to write more systematically and create a script from an idea I had over five years ago.

Unusual? I also write about movies, music and tech. I have about 400 reviews posted at blogcritics.org. (https://blogcritics.org/author/LeoOfMars/)

[Mary Chamberlin]

1. Name (s) and background (s)

Hello we’re Mary and Rich Chamberlin, a dynamic collaborative writing team. We have taken many ScreenwritingU classes, and are ProSeries Alumni. We have taken the Thriller class, as well as Subtext Secrets, Comedy Writing, Writing Assignments, Killer Action Scripts, Creating Roles for Movie Stars, Contained movies and Advanced Dialogue. (we loved them all! and have used the methods in all our writing).

Here’s our writing background: We are award winning children’s book authors of, “Mama Panya’s Pancakes” which recently was named one of Jennifer Garner’s Top 6 picture books and has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens (compared favorably to Disney’s “Up”) and countless benefit and educational efforts. We authored two graphic novels for The Hero Initiative, a charity organization of the comic book industry, and a 3rd is in the works for next year C2E2. Also network reps for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in Western Suburbs of Chicago.

Mary went to Columbia College in Chicago and worked in corporate television and has produced and edited many corporate videos, music videos and several documentaries. Rich went to Illinois Institute of Technology and is an engineer by trade, working with Cloud technology which has amazing applications.

2. How many scripts you’ve written?

We have completed 5 movie scripts so far., and 5 Graphic Novels for 3 different series being marketed. Although not screenplays per se they are similar in format. We have no scripts sold or optioned, or movies produced yet.

3.. What you hope to get out of the class?

We took this class to finish a screenplay, within 30 days and learn fast writing methods, so

that we can work faster to completion of our projects.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?

We’ve created pottery renditions of many of our story characters, as templates for our characters.

[Tyberius Asante]

Tyberius Asante

Never completed a script

a completed script

Learn how to write a script and it is good enough to be sold and made into a movie.

[Christi Falk]

Hey, I’m Christi.

I’ve written 2 full feature length scripts but absolutely know they suck. I’m here to get my first script in ship shape for the regular Big Break submission.

Something unusual about me is that I have near photographic memory of every movie I’ve ever seen. Helps a lot when I’m writing a genre and just binge as many films as I can. I know what I’ve come up with is unique because I’ve seen what others have made. Of course, my writing group loves it as I can always match their script with a tonal comparison. I wish that had a real life application. lol!

I’m excited to hopefully sell my scripts to pay off my mortgage. Tally ho!

[Elizabeth Koenig]

Elizabeth Koenig

6 scripts, none DONE

Hope (no, PLAN) to get one DONE

I was in the middle of a third draft about a pandemic virus when the first cases of endemic COVID hit my husband’s hospital in the Seattle area. All the RESEARCH turned out to be helpful—and the novel is now in a drawer.

Looking forward to ‘Meeting’ you all—feel free to reach out if you’re interested in critique-partnering after the class!

[mickey Gonzo]

Mickey Gonzalez

I be writing a lot of drafts. The amount can do later.

Hey, this class is understanding of one’s journey to write its screenplay in a unque way. Lets see what happens.

An opportunity to be writing drafts and manifest a manuscript for movies and plays. Especially, in long hand.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  mickey Gonzo. Reason: notes:

[Christopher Sequeira]

1. Name: Christopher ‘Chris’ Sequeira

2. How many scripts you’ve written: One finished feature, one finished teleplay.

3. What you hope to get out of the class? Need to free myself to write more.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? My wedding was…different…I guess…https://www.facebook.com/christopher.sequeira.5/posts/10158531321268740

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Christopher Sequeira.

[Mary MacNeith]

1. Mary MacNeith

2. I’ve written four screenplays and two TV scripts. I’m working on a third TV script, and this 30 Day screenplay.

3. The hope I get from completing this class, is creating a fun script that is high concept, and learning the unique skills to complete this in a month, which I know I can do without elementary school coaching getting in the way. 🙂

4. The unique thing about me I like to say is that, I was 40 when I had my child. My mom was 40 when she had me, and my grandmother was 40 when she gave birth to my mom, who is now 92.

[Robert Smith]

Hi, friends. I am Robert R. Smih. Nickname: Bob. I am a retired Episcopal Priest with an avocation for theatre and motion pictures. I have been writing and acting as part of my ministry. Most recently, I have written and acted in one act plays, comedy sketches, and in my first full length play “Angels in Gangland.” Which is a supernatural gangster dramedy. Because of Covid some friends of mine and I have performed it as a Zoom Production quite successfully. I am currently adapting it to the screen. I am married to Susan D’Antonio and we live in Elkton, Maryland. I am taking both the 30 Screenplay course and “How to Write a Terryfying Horror PIcture. My current project is a horror film, called “The Teraphim” Teraphim are household gods according to the Book of Genesis but another tradition says they are skulls that are consulted for occult purposes which sounds like a perfect set-up for a horror film. I don’t think anybody has done any horror picture with the monster Teraphim which is an oracular decapitated skull that speaks. It’s a subject of the Bible that has rarely been discussed.

[Marcus Armstrong]

Hello everyone,

My name is Marc Armstrong and I live in Las Vegas. I have not written any scripts, but have one underway in the Binge Worthy TV course. I am a sponge and look forward to learning anything and everything about screenplay writing.

I was in the same Kickapoo High School (Springfield, MO) graduating class as Brad Pitt so that is about as close as I have gotten to a screenplay.

I look forward to learning from all of you.

Marc

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Marcus Armstrong.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Marcus Armstrong.

[Lora]

Hello!

My name is Lora and I’m excited to take this class!

This is my first time writing a script, but I have finished the book this script will be based off of.

I hope to learn the formatting techniques and tricks of the trade to make my script stand out.

I am also a singer/song-writer and have done some minor acting. I love everything about the creative side of the entertainment industry.

It’s time to get to work!
~L

[Donna Rankin]

Donna Rankin

Three Scripts

A deeper understading of the craft of screenwriting and some tips on outling.

I worked for MTV in the 90’s. I have a dog that watches television.

Happy writing everyone.

D.Rankin.

[James Clark]

Name: James E. Clark

Scripts: 6

Hope to Accomplish: Write more powerful scripts faster

Uniqueness: Play the bagpipes

[Charles Modlin]

Hello. My name is Dr. Charles Modlin. I am a urologist and kidney transplant surgeon and former Indiana All-State Trumpet Player. I love music, musicals and broadway plays. I attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and Northwestern University Medical School. I have just finished writing my first book on success tips for aspiring students, which will be released and available on Amazon and other locations soon. The title of my book is “It Isn’t Difficult To Do It If You Know How To Do It”.

I have never written a script before but have wanted to for several years.

This course will give me the basics and advanced knowledge to write me first script. I understand that there is MUCH to learn and that I will wind up re-writing my script many times over. I hope to learn from you other students during this course as well.

Charles

[Darrell Smith]

Hi everybody, my name is Darrell Smith, and I’m excited to join all of you in this class!

I’ve written two TV pilots, a dozen short scripts, and four feature scripts (three of them a long time ago that are best forgotten).

The main thing I’d like to gain from this class is the ability to write well much faster than I do.

I guess something unique about me is that I lived for two years in Hong Kong and learned (as best I could) to speak Cantonese and also Cantonese Sign Language.