Many seminars can teach you how to write a great script, but what do you do once you’ve finished writing? For most aspiring screenwriters this usually means punting your opus around the UK film industry for a while before total despondency sets in and you throw it in a draw and get on with your life. Why? Well frankly Hollywood not only seems a long way away, it IS a long way away, but now screenwriter Doug Chamberlin (Toy Story 2), an 18 year veteran of the Hollywood system, is changing that mindset with his “Mastering Hollywood for Writers” Workshop – an intensive 2-day education packed with real-world advice from a Hollywood insider with a serious track record.
Doug’s view is simple. New writers break into Hollywood every day. Why not you? Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not that you don’t have to go to Hollywood, if you’re serious about making films there, then at some stage you’re going to have to get on an aeroplane, but what “Mastering Hollywood for Writers” gives you are the tools you need to succeed both before and after you write that brilliant script, tools based on insight from his 18 years of experience working with notable names such as Steven Spielberg, Jeff Katzenberg, Bruce Willis, Barry Levinson and Brian Grazer as well as the heads of Universal, Dreamworks, Pixar and Paramount.
Doug’s style is easy going and inclusive. He delivers his lessons with great wit, plenty of charm and more than one laugh-out-loud anecdote to underline the point he’s making, all of which makes the lessons fun and easy to absorb. You’ll also leave with a great set of completely comprehensive course materials that form a nice reference work that I feel sure course attendees like myself will refer back to time and again while we hone our pitch.
And the course is comprehensive, covering such topics as how to ‘schmooze’ (there’s a class exercise you won’t forget in a hurry), how to handle a pitch (hat’s off to the volunteers, pitching is hard), how to get an noticed in the right way, how to meet the right people, what to say and what not to say, the rules of ‘heat’, which notes to take and which ones not to take, understanding stars, directors, execs, producers, agents, managers and publicists, who’s who in Hollywood and how to get your ideas to them, Hollywood speak- what they say vs. what they mean and so much more and it’s interactive as well with class exercises and pitch sessions and, like a lot of courses, the more you talk to the other folks in the room the more you’ll get out of it.
Let’s not forget, you’ll need a modicum of talent. Writing that killer script is vital but talent alone is not enough. To be a successful scriptwriter you also need the ability to market your talent to Hollywood.
Doug Chamberlin’s “Mastering Hollywood for Writers” is essential for screenwriters, TV writers, filmmakers, directors, producers, actors, anyone wishing to move to Hollywood and break into “the business” and anyone who is just curious about what it’s like to be an A-list Hollywood screenwriter.
The workshop I attended ran 09:00 to 18:30 for two days over a single weekend and cost £200+VAT and was organised in association with movieScope Magazine and The Screenwriters Store. For more details about the course and to find out when the next one is you can email info@masteringhollywood.co.ukor telephone + 44 (0) 5601 919 911