Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro: A Master Class in Career Strategy for Writers

with

Special Guest Speaker, Screenwriter Corey Mandell

Sunday, August 14, 2011 from 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PT)

At The Writers Junction, Santa Monica, CA

• Participate in an in-person seminar on selling a project and building a career
• Discover to the unspoken rules and “secret handshakes” straight from Hollywood insiders
•  Learn how to move out of the amateur pool and start working
• Alert yourself to the 5 main reasons why people fail at screenwriting, and what you can do about them

It’s harder than ever to break in to entertainment in a real way, but those that do reap richer rewards than ever.  Sign up for Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro now to find out how you can employ the right strategies to drive your career powerfully forward.

Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro offers Insider knowledge on the strategizing, selling, politicking, self-agenting, reputation-building, and other business skills you need to establish a paid, lasting career in the industry.

Taught by the executives and producers of Voyage Media, a company that has helped writers, producers, and directors package, polish and pitch over 1,100 high-profile entertainment projects in film, TV, and branded entertainment, this course provides a fresh-from-the-field perspective on building a career in an exclusive, seemingly impermeable industry.  It teaches you how to:

• Avoid wasting time on the wrong ideas (and start spending time on the right ones)
• Stop going it alone.  Choose supporters and delegate the way the pros do
• Be your own agent – and use their best tricks to your advantage
• Get ready to pitch and sell so you don’t blow it when your moment comes
• Build a reputation that will get you hired again and again
• Spot and avoid the common mistakes everyone seems to keep making

You’ll get frank and honest instruction – stuff you’ll never read in the trades or the how-to books – on creating strategy and selling your work from the course speakers, including screenwriter Corey Mandell, who will address the reasons why most people fail at selling their screenplays and the skill sets that give you the best possible chance at success.

Speakers include:

Nat Mundel

Founder / CEO of Voyage Media

Nat is a consumate adventurer and storyteller. After a successful career as a professional mountain climber, Nat formed Voyage in 2002 to help filmmakers develop, market and sell their projects. Notable projects the company has helped develop include BROTHERS (Lionsgate), THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Warner Bros), PET SEMATARY (Paramount), THE FORGOTTEN (ABC), MIAMI MEDICAL (CBS), LE REV (Wynn Las Vegas), MILLE MIGLIA (Ferrari World) and others. In addition to entrepreneurialism Nat enjoys surfing, flying, and personal growth. He lives with his wife in Topanga, California.

Jesse Israel

Jesse Israel is a feature film producer living in Los Angeles.  His upcoming projects include AARON & SARA, starring Emma Roberts and Josh Hutcherson and directed by Neil Patrick Harris.

Jesse also spent many years as an executive and Vice President at Alcon Entertainment, where he worked on movies such as THE BLIND SIDE, THE BOOK OF ELI, LOTTERY TICKET, and THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2.  He has also worked at Warner Brothers Pictures, Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow and Circle of Confusion. Before moving to Los Angeles, Jesse was a producer for Dateline NBC.  Jesse has an MFA from The Peter Stark Producing Program at The University of Southern California and a BA in History from Dartmouth College.

Ed Olson

In his twenty-five-year career, Edward Olson has worked in virtually every area of the entertainment business. While serving as Senior Vice President of US Content & Studio Relationships at Anytime PTE., LTD, was principally responsible for managing corporate relationships with Warner Bros., Fox, Universal, Sony, and Paramount.

Olson also has extensive experience in the world of international television co-production and financing. He is responsible for hundreds of hours of programming financed outside of the U.S., including Village Roadshow's PACIFIC DRIVE and PARADISE BEACH; THE LOST WORLD and BEASTMASTER.  As a creative executive, he has developed and facilitated projects for all major broadcast and cable networks, notable among them Showtime's Golden Globe-nominated miniseries ON THE BEACH; TNT's acclaimed 2004 miniseries of Stephen King's SALEM'S LOT, starring Rob Lowe; THE OUTSIDER, starring Naomi Watts; and the long-running syndicated series THE LOST WORLD.

Nance Rosen

A media commentator on CNBC, Nance Rosen has been named “America’s Top Job Coach”. Over 420 media outlets cover Nance on Personal Branding, Social Media, Business Communication and Success. She’s a former marketing executive with The Coca-Cola Company, the number one most recognized brand in the world.

She founded a division for Bozell Advertising and Public Relations, now Omnicom. She delivers keynotes and training, and coaches clients on marketing themselves to media and other high visibility positions. Her latest book is The Ugly Truth About Your Reputation: How to Create and Manage Your Personal Brand.

Her last book is Speak Up! & Succeed: How to get everything you want in meetings, presentations and conversations.

SPECIAL GUEST: COREY MANDELL 

Corey is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Meg Ryan, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant, and Walt Disney Pictures.

Corey is also a distinguished instructor at UCLA, where he earned his MFA.  His students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount , Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Fox 2000, MGM, Universal , Showtime, USA Network and Lifetime. Others have gained admission to the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Program and Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab.