Symposium by Pipeline Artists

A special Town Hall event in which two top reps peel back the curtain into the attributes they look for in a potential client. Take out your notepads (digital or otherwise) and get ready for some insider advice ...

Moderators Matt Misetich and Ruth Sabin of Script Pipeline will be joined by John Zaozirny (Bellevue) and Halle Mariner (IAG).

[Recorded August 17, 2022]

Note: There is swearing ... so put the kids in front of the TV.

Hailing from the Midwest, Halle Mariner graduated from Columbia College Chicago in film business before moving out to L.A. Previously, she worked in film sales for Shoreline Entertainment and Preferred Content. Currently, Halle works at IAG as an agent in the Scripted Literary Department. As a honoree of Colour Associates 2019 Next Up List, Halle has been on boards for Women Wednesday’s BIPOC Mentorship Program Committee, #Startwith8 Mentorship program, and HRTSA Committee.

IAG is midsize full service agency repping clients from talent, music, literary across TV, Film and Books, branding, comedy touring and more. Representing clients like Gary Oldman, Melissa Leo, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Regina Hall, Justin Chon (BLUE BAYOU), Ms. Pat, John Carpenter, Derek Kolstad (John Wick Franchise), and many more.

John Zaozirny oversees the feature film production and Literary Management Team for Bellevue Productions. His clients’ writing and directing credits include INFINITE, PARALLEL, ELI, BAD MATCH, BETTER WATCH OUT, HEAVY TRIP, OFFICE UPRISING, SPLINTER, A CROOKED SOMEBODY, amongst others. As well, his clients have had 26 scripts on the last seven Black Lists, the annual list of the best unproduced feature scripts, including BLONDE AMBITION, the number one script on the 2016 Black List, HEADHUNTER, the number one script on the 2020 Black List, and CAULIFLOWER, the number one script on the 2021 Black List.

His clients have also written on TV shows such as SHANTARAM, FBI INTERNATIONAL, BOSCH, MR ROBOT, TRAINING DAY, TINY PRETTY THINGS, HAWAII FIVE-O, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE and HAND OF GOD, amongst others. 

He was an executive producer on the feature films ALWAYS WATCHING and PARALLEL and produced ELI,  which was released by Netflix. He most recently produced INFINITE, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Dylan O’Brien, which was released by Paramount Plus.

Raised in Vancouver, Canada, John is a graduate of the Tisch Film and Television program at New York University.  

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Whether a writer is up-and-coming or a pro, they need to know when to ask for feedback and how to handle receiving notes in order to elevate their stories and improve their craft.

Join our panel discussion with Pipeline Execs Michael Owens and Matt Misetich, joined by Doug Richardson (Die Hard 2, Bad Boys, Hostage), and screenwriter Merridith Allen for a live Q&A.

Resources from this episode:
Jeanne's Script Magazine article about slicing pages.
Symposium: Merridith's in-depth workshop on feedback
Doug Richardson's books.

Doug Richardson: @byDougRich
Merridith Allen: @MerridithAllen
Matt Misetich: @SPMJM
Michael Owens: @mikeyaowens

Watch the video of this session here.

[Recorded August 23, 2023]

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Symposium presents a robust one-on-one dialogue between Pipeline Exec Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and screenwriter and author Kevin Jones, whose debut novel, Black Tide, started as a screenplay. Join us as we explore the challenges and benefits of writing in multiple mediums.

[Recorded September 7, 2022]

After graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in film production, KC Jones returned to the Pacific Northwest to focus on a career in screenwriting. He was a three-time Script Pipeline Screenwriting Finalist and won the 2013 Pitch Contest before ultimately making the leap to novels. When not writing, he can usually be found cooking, playing video and board games, or exploring the local wilderness with his wife. Black Tide was his debut novel, based on his 2009 screenplay.

Watch the video recording on Symposium.

Site | Twitter | IG

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Join screenwriting career coach, Lee Jessup, and Bellevue's literary manager, Jeff Portnoy, for a discussion about the post-strike state of the screenwriting industry to better prepare yourself for breaking into the new landscape of Hollywood.

Get your questions answered live!

[Recorded November 5, 2023]

Lee Jessup: @LeeZJessup
Jeff Portnoy: @jeff_portnoy

Resources:
Watch Recording
Chat Transcript
Lee Jessup's Website
Lee's Screenwriters Support Group
"The Secret to Finding a Screenwriting Mentor" by Jeanne V Bowerman

As discussed by Jeff and Lee, loglines are critical in getting a manager's attention. Watch for our Logline Workshop with Merridith Allen, which we run quarterly!

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In Symposium's One-on-One Town Hall series, Pipeline executives sit down for in-depth and personal conversations with our friends in publishing, screenwriting, and filmmaking.

For our next session, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman speaks with New York Times best-selling author L. M. Elliott to unpack the layered process involved in creating accurate and riveting historical fiction.

This candid discussion dives into the challenges of forging back into history, sometimes where no original documents exist, including how to handle both the accuracy of little period details as well as larger historical facts, and where the appropriate line between fact and fiction lies.

The conversation (and wine ...) will flow openly about historical and biographical fiction, an author's process during research and writing, resources and how to organize them, and the importance of accurately depicting the time period and surrounding events in the most entertaining way possible.

Watch our discussion on YouTube.

Find upcoming events and browse our archives.

L. M. Elliott was a senior writer for the Washingtonian magazine, covering women’s issues, mental health, and the performing arts for twenty years before becoming a New York Times best-selling author of historical and biographical fiction. Her twelfth and latest, Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves—set in Tidewater Virginia during the deadly U-boat attacks on our East Coast in 1942—has been called “superb,” “deeply moving,” and “an engrossing must have” in four starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, ALA Booklist, and School Library Journal. Her novels explore a variety of eras (the Italian Renaissance, the American Revolution, WWII, and the Cold War), and are written for a variety of ages. Many have been named NCSS/CBC Notables, Kirkus Bests, Bank Street College Best Books, and Jefferson Cup Honor Books. Her best known works are Under a War-torn Sky and Hamilton and Peggy!  To learn more about Laura, follow her on Twitter or Instagram @L_M_Elliott. 

Site | Twitter | IG | FB

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Just for the emerging TV writers ... a panel peeling back the curtain of a writer's room. What you should expect, how to prepare, and tips on breaking in and staying in. Part Q&A, and, of course, part therapy session.

Moderated by Pipeline's Jeanne Bowerman and Matt Misetich with three stellar panelists ...

• Roni Brown @_RoniBrown
  Black Dynamite (Adult Swim), Jim Henson's Math Party, Pupstruction (Disney Jr.), Daniel Spellbound (Netflix) 
• Sean Collins-Smith @SeanTwoNames
  Field of Dreams (Peacock), Chicago P.D. (NBC)
• Alie Flierl @2degreesofalie
  School Of Rock (Nickelodeon), BoJack Horseman (Netflix), Conan (TBS)

Watch the video on Symposium site. [Recorded June 15, 2022] 

Find upcoming events and browse our archives.

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Whether you’re an author with a book to promote, or a writer seeking exposure as you navigate your journey, you may regard TikTok as a looming Gen Z storm cloud you can’t out-run.

Luckily, it isn’t as dire as all that. 

Join Romi Moondi as she shares her uncomfortable but ultimately useful experience with TikTok, in the run-up to the release of her first traditionally published novel. 

This presentation will cover: 

• Getting familiar with booktok vs. authortok vs. writertok
• The business vs. personal account, music rights, and getting a link in bio
• Dealing with the lack of crossover in followers between TikTok and your other social media accounts
• No, you don’t have to dance
• Using TikTok for a book launch
• Using paid posts to your advantage
• Leveraging TikTok videos on Instagram reels (i.e. minimize your work, maximize your exposure)
• Using other social media sites for your writing career
• Q&A

[Recorded July 25, 2022]

Click here for Romi's handout.

Romi Moondi is a Canadian writer who primarily writes romantic comedies with the aim to make you laugh, activate your heartstrings, and maybe even make your eyes produce some salty discharge. Her 2022 diverse romantic comedy novel 24 Hours in Paris received a Publishers Weekly starred review and was the Publishers Weekly 2022 #1 Summer Romance Read. Missing in Paris, her romantic comedy feature screenplay, was a 2020 Big Break Screenwriting Contest quarterfinalist (top 3%), and also received an official “Recommend” rating from Script Pipeline. When she’s not writing or travelling, Romi can be found in Toronto copywriting for clients. 

Site | Twitter | Facebook

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For our inaugural one-on-one session, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman dives into a candid discussion with multi-award-winning producer/director Lane Shefter Bishop, who CNN dubbed "The Book Whisperer." Lane wrote Sell Your Story in a Single Sentence: Advice from the Front Lines of Hollywood and is also the CEO of Vast Entertainment—the go-to book-to-screen company, with numerous projects, both completed and in active development.

The conversation (and probably wine) will flow openly about acquiring books, writing adaptations, directing, writing for hire, and pitching to networks—with the honest truth front and center.

[Recorded January 24, 2022]

Find upcoming events and browse our archives.

*******

Lane Shefter Bishop is a multi-award-winning producer/director who has received numerous accolades for her work including an EMMY, six Telly Awards, a Videographer Award, three Communicator Awards, a Sherril C. Corwin Award, an Aurora Award, a Davey Award, a New York Festivals Award and the DGA Fellowship Award for Episodic Television. Currently Ms. Bishop is the CEO of Vast Entertainment, the go-to book-to-screen company, with numerous projects, both completed and in active development, including:

Producing Feature Films, The Duff for CBS Films & Lionsgate and Assassination Games for MPCA—both based on books. Producing TV Series, The Brain Trust for NBC, Confessions of a Sociopath for Universal Cable Productions, and The Forgetting for Netflix—all based on books. Producing the Limited Series, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein for Sony Pictures Television—also based on a book. Writing, producing and directing numerous TV Movies for Lifetime including His Secret Marriage, He Knows Your Every Move, Wicked Moms Club, Blood Sweat and Lies and The Chocking Game. And Directing the Streaming Movie A Brother's Honor for Passionflix, based on NY Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson’s popular novel.

Additionally, Ms. Bishop is also a contributing writer to both Boss Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine, is a three-time speaker at the WGA and numerous writers’ conferences and is author of Sell Your Story in a Single Sentence: Advice from the Front Lines of Hollywood, published by prestigious W.W. Norton & Company (2016). The book hit #1 on Amazon in New Releases five times before its actual release date. In an online interview, CNN dubbed her “The Book Whisperer” of Hollywood.

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Pipeline Executive Spike Scarberry chats with writer Bryce McLellan on how he went from Pipeline Pitch Contest winner, to developing a pilot with us, to creating the graphic novel Verge with Red5.

[Recorded March 15, 2023]

Bryce McLellan is a Writer, Director and Journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He's the creator of the comic Verge, published by Red5. He also directs Documentaries with a human rights and environmental focus, including Seed, which received national TV broadcast, and Jesus in Congo which was acquired by the United Nations. He's currently shooting a Sci-fi feature film called Earthbound.

Verge Comic

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In this panel discussion, producers Beth Bruckner O'Brien and Sandra Leviton will give a behind-the-curtain perspective on what it takes to find, acquire, steam-roll, and eventually produce a great project—also some tips on what you can do to get your work into the proper hands (aka: producers). Leave no rock unturned …

[Recorded October 19, 2022]

BETH BRUCKNER O'BRIEN

Beth is a writer, producer and entertainment executive who has worked on 36 films during her career. Currently, Beth is developing and packaging a slate of films as an independent producer, including THE NEST, a domestic violence thriller Beth wrote, with Natalia Leite (MFA, The Handmaid’s Tale) attached to direct, and Halle Berry on board to produce with her production company run by Holly Jeter.  She is also producing the film adaptation of the bestselling book ON A QUIET STREET by Seraphina Nova Glass.

Beth also teaches the business of screenwriting and producing at UCLA and USC’s Cinematic School of Arts.

SANDRA LEVITON

A Tribeca Film Institute alum, Sandra Leviton is a Los Angeles based producer and writer for Under the Stars Entertainment. On February 8, 2022, “Student Body”, a coming-of-age horror film written & directed by Lee Ann Kurr, starring Christian Camargo (“See”, “The Hurt Locker”, “Dexter”) and Harley Quinn Smith (“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”, “Cruel Summer”, “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot”), and Montse Hernandez (“Lowriders”, “Jane The Virgin”), will be released via 1091 Pictures. Motion Pictures Exchange is handling worldwide sales. Her previous film, “ZONE 2”, stars Anne Ramsay (“A League of Their Own”, “Mad About You”). After playing top genre festivals, including Screamfest, and going on a world tour with Etheria, ZONE 2 is now available on Shudder and Amazon in season 2 of the "Etheria" series. Prior to starting Under The Stairs Entertainment, Sandra spent five years working in Development & Current Programming at FX, working on over 20 original series, including “American Horror Story”, “Sons of Anarchy”, “Justified”, “The Shield”, “Archer”, and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. Previously, she worked in the TV Literary department at the Paradigm Talent and Literary Agency, was a production coordinator in reality TV, a music video producer, and story analyst for the AMC Network and Walden Media. In addition to writing and producing, Sandra is a mentor and educator for colleges, writing conferences, film festivals, and non-profit organizations. Highlights include: #StartWith8Hollywood, WOCUnite/JTC List, UCLA MFA Screenwriters Showcase, the JT3 Art Foundation, Harvardwood, Emerson College, the Savannah Film Festival, The Script Lab 360, and aTVFest in Atlanta.

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