A Story Analyst’s Approach to Screenwriting: A Workshop on the ins and outs of Screenplay Development
Whether you are writing a studio feature or an independent film, at some point your script will enter the process known as ‘development.’ This workshop focuses on what really happens when a screenplay is developed for production. From issues of character and story to three-act structure and commercial viability, the class will look at the development process from both the perspective of the writer and the production company or studio. Through a series of writing exercises, students will learn how to manage script notes while at the same time protecting the integrity of their screenplay. The final goals of the workshop are a demystification of the development process and the tools to make your screenplay as production-friendly as possible.
Speaker
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Steven WolfsonScreenwriter/Instructor, UCLASteven Wolfson has taught screenwriting, playwriting and creative writing at The Writers Program at UCLA for the past 20 years and holds the distinction of having created the most new classes, workshops and seminars of any instructor in the program’s history. He has been awarded The Outstanding Instructor of the Year award twice, in both screenwriting and creative writing.
As a highly sought-after story consultant and dramaturg, Wolfson’s clients span the worlds of film, television, theater and prose. He has worked one-on-one with several A-list Hollywood writers and directors, shepherding new projects from inception to production. Wolfson’s series of unique writing exercises have been secretly passed throughout Hollywood for years.
As a screenwriter, Wolfson has sold projects to Fox, Lionsgate, TNT, MTV, Langley Entertainment, Beacon Films and producer Arnold Rifkin. Wolfson wrote the independent romantic comedy, Dinner and Driving, which premiered at The Austin Film Festival and went on to win audience awards at several film festivals and was sold to HBO. Wolfson also wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed Lionsgate feature, Gang Tapes, a coming-of-age drama set in South Central, Los Angeles. Gang Tapes played to sold out audiences at film festivals in both The United States and Europe. Prior to selling his first screenplay, Wolfson worked as a story analyst for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin and Dreamworks and a number of independent film producers.
Wolfson is a founding member of the Mark Taper Forum’s Mentor Playwrights Project . His original plays have been produced and workshopped at The Mark Taper Forum, Taper Too, The Getty Museum, Cornerstone Theater Company, The Virginia Avenue Project and The Geffen Contemporary. His most recent play, The Absence of Wanting, premiered in Berlin.
