[Applications are now being accepted for the two Act One writing programs that will be held in 2004. Please feel free to cut 'n paste/reprint/read from street corners this press release to help us get the word out.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In 2004, Christian screenwriting program
ACT ONE will bridge Washington and Hollywood

Hollywood, CA, December 1, 2003 - Nearing its sixth year and with more than 200 of its graduates now striving to move up through the entertainment ranks, ACT ONE: WRITING FOR HOLLYWOOD announces that it is once again accepting applications for two four-week training sessions in 2004-one at its campus in Hollywood, and the other within view of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Application deadline is March 1, 2004.

This will be ACT ONE's first session in Washington (others have been held in Chicago and New York), and it promises to be especially interesting because of several 2003 meetings that ACT ONE faculty had with leaders in Congress, the Senate and the White House. In these meetings, the media professionals with Christian underpinnings talked with influential politicos of the same bent, on subjects ranging from creative ethics and media values to spirituality and censorship. Now, the essence of those discussions will play a part in both of 2004's four-week ACT ONE sessions, beginning May 9 in Washington and July 5 in Hollywood.

An inter-denominational training program for aspiring scriptwriters from the Christian community, ACT ONE's faculty consists of more than 50 working professionals in the entertainment industry (especially writers, directors and producers) who lead students through an intensive hands-on curriculum in the theories and practices of film and TV writing (the specialized TV track requires extra work in addition to the basic curriculum). ACT ONE Director Barbara Nicolosi notes that the goal of ACT ONE is not to produce "religious" scripts, but rather scripts that reflect a Christian worldview. "We need stories that will flex our inner potential to heights we rarely find in 'the prison' of the workaday world," says Nicolosi. "We need stories to connect us to each other, and to set us longing to be better than we are."

ACT ONE equips writers to bring together mastery of craft and depth of content for movies and television, covering everything a writer needs to know to competitively enter the film and TV industry. Emphasizing professionalism, artistry, prayer and excellence, the program's 50-plus instructors/ mentors have included such highly credited professionals as Angelo Pizzo (Rudy, Hoosiers); Ralph Winter (X-Men, Planet of the Apes); David McFadzean (Home Improvement, What Women Want); Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia), Lee & Janet Batchler (Batman Forever); Bonnie Hunt (Life With Bonnie) and Randall Wallace (Braveheart).

Today, ACT ONE students are finding success in many corners of the entertainment industry's creative community, with writing and producing jobs at Universal, CBS, HBO, PAX, MSNBC and FOX, among others. Featured on CNN, CBS, Entertainment Weekly, and in the pages of The Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune, ACT ONE has been hailed by industry veteran Ron Austin (Mission Impossible) as playing "an indispensable role in bringing young Christians into the mainstream of Hollywood."

Since ACT ONE will only accept 30 students into each summer program, the application process is quite competitive. But as screenwriter and faculty member Janet Batchler notes: "ACT ONE is by far the most-thorough, most-inspiring, most-intensive screenwriting program I've seen anywhere. You can waste years of time tiptoeing around the edges of the entertainment industry, or you can come to ACT ONE and learn what you need to know in four weeks." APPLY NOW!

For more information about ACT ONE, check out our website at www.ActoneProgram.com, or contact Zena Dell Schroeder, Associate Director, at zschroeder@fpch.org or 323-462-1348.