Act One Newsletter

ACT ONE UPDATE (6/1/06)
In this issue:

SAN DIEGO SCREENWRITING WEEKEND JUNE 23-24 / SEE AUTHOR PETER KREEFT IN LOS ANGELES / NEW ACT ONE SATURDAY WRITING PROGRAM TO BEGIN THIS FALL / MAJOR INTEREST IN 2006 EXEC STUDENTS & MORE 2005 STUDENT SUCCESS / ACT ONE ALUMNUS BOOK: THE MORAL PREMISE / WRITING STUDENT DOC SELECTED FOR FILM FEST / SEE BARBARA NICOLOSI IN VIRGINIA / DIVINE REED VOCAL PERFORMANCE CLASS / ACT ONE BOOK IN STORES NOW
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SAN DIEGO SCREENWRITING WEEKEND JUNE 23-24

Presented by Act One, Inc. and Maranatha Chapel. To register online, visit
www.actoneprogram.com/writersevents

WHEN:
June 23-24, 2006
Friday, 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Saturday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

WHERE:
Maranatha Chapel
10752 Coastwood Road
San Diego, CA 92127

INSTRUCTORS:
BARBARA NICOLOSI
JACK GILBERT
THOM PARHAM

COST:
$175
(Includes Saturday breakfast and lunch)

To register online, visit www.actoneprogram.com/writersevents
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SEE AUTHOR PETER KREEFT IN LOS ANGELES

Peter Kreeft will be the guest speaker for the Act One Summer Writing Program’s 2006 Closing Banquet on Saturday, August 5th.

While we typically limit our closing banquets to our alumni and faculty, this year we are happy to offer a limited number of tickets for purchase at $50/ ticket including dinner and the program or $10 for a seat to attend Peter’s keynote address only.

Tickets must be ordered by Friday, July 28th. Payment may be made over the phone by calling the Act One offices at (323) 464 - 0815 or by sending a check to the address below. (If you pay by mail please make the address c/o Becca Bennett and include your email address.) Tickets will be sent to your email account.

Act One, Inc.
2690 N Beachwood Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90068
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NEW ACT ONE SATURDAY WRITING PROGRAM TO BEGIN THIS FALL

"Act One Launches New Faith-based Screenwriting Program"

Hollywood, CA – May 16, 2006 – Act One Inc., a faith-based nonprofit organization that trains Hollywood writers and executives, today announced plans for its new Saturday Writing Program, to launch this September, designed especially for the L.A. based working professional with a fixed schedule.

Like Act One’s renowned Summer Writing Program, the Saturday Program will be taught by working professionals and will cover the craft, business, and spiritual dimension of writing for TV and film. Instead of one intensive month during the summer, however, the Saturday Program will run for six hours every Saturday, from September 2006, through May 2007, allowing those with a fixed schedule to participate.

"We've designed this new program to bring Act One's world class training to aspiring film and television writers who are already living and working in Southern California, many of them in entertainment industry jobs, and whose work schedules make it impossible for them to attend our month-long summer intensives," says Writing Program Director, Chris Riley.

Like the summer program, the faculty for the new program will be made up of over fifty working writers and producers, including Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), Ralph Winter (X3: The Last Stand, X2:X-Men United, Fantastic Four), Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia), and David McFadzean (Home Improvement, What Women Want).

The new writing program joins Act One’s growing stable of programs and services, including the summer Writing Program and the Executive Program, which launched in 2005. Over three hundred writers have completed the month-long writing intensives in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. Act One alumni include two ABC/Disney Fellows and a Cosby Fellow. They have landed jobs writing for many small to mid-level production companies, as well as at Dreamworks, Disney, Universal, CBS, PBS, and PAX. Several are represented by Endeavor and other top agencies. Act One Executive Program alumni have gone on to work for companies like Alcon Productions and Crystal Sky. Act One has been featured in Newsweek, The Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly, Details, and Premiere, among others.

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Contact Spencer Lewerenz, Act One Writing Program Associate Director, at 323-464-0815 or spencer@actoneprogram.com or visit our website at www.actoneprogram.com.
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MAJOR INTEREST IN 2006 EXEC STUDENTS & MORE 2005 STUDENT SUCCESS

Every Executive Program student is placed in an internship with a studio, production company, agency, or law firm. The following companies have committed to or are interviewing 2006 Executive Program students for internships:

1019 Entertainment
Alcon Entertainment
Beacon Pictures
Brant Rose Agency
The Coppage Company
Crystal Sky
Dreamworks Animation
Fly Over Group
FOX Studios
Grammnet Productions
Guy Walks Into A Bar
ICM
Industry Entertainment
Innovative Artists Agency
12 Men Productions
Kopelson Entertainment
Misher Films
Modus Entertainment
Motive Marketing
Nickolodeon Features
Oxygen Network
Paulist Productions
Revelations Entertainment
Shapiro-Lichtman Agency
Stokely Chaffin
Thomas Winter Cooke
Thunder Road
Thunderpoint Studios
Vanguard Animation
Village Roadshow Pictures
Warner Independent Pictures
Writer’s Guild of America
Winter Films

Congratulations to Joel Veenstra, alumnus of the 2005 Executive Program, on his recent promotion to Story Editor at Alcon Entertainment!
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ACT ONE ALUMNUS BOOK: THE MORAL PREMISE

Act One alumnus Stanley D. Williams has authored the book "The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue & Vice for Box Office Success" to be published this May by Michael Wiese Productions.

This book explains how the Moral Premise — a statement of truth about the protagonist’s psychological predicament — is a fundamental part of every successful movie’s structure. It is also a book about how the filmmaker can appropriate the Moral Premise to create great motion pictures that resonate with large audiences.

To see more about the book, go to:

http://www.mwp.com/books/writing/moralpremise.php4

OR

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932907130/sr=8-1/qid=1149198698/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4758552-4763169?%5Fencoding=UTF8
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WRITING STUDENT DOC SELECTED FOR FILM FEST

Summer Writing Program Alumna Jennifer Dornbush's documentary film, Armand, was recently selected to be screened at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuk,
Michigan, known as "the Sundance of the Midwest." Armand will be part of the Michigan Film Lodge, which will be screening all Michigan films on Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11.

More information is available at www.waterfrontfilm.com
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SEE BARBARA NICOLOSI IN VIRGINIA

Act One founder and Executive Director Barbara Nicolosi will be speaking at McLean Bible Church on June 29th, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

McLean Bible Church
8925 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, VA 22182

The topic is yet to be announced. Stay tuned!
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DIVINE REED VOCAL PERFORMANCE CLASS

Actors Co-op, in association with Act One Inc., is proud to offer a five-week intensive singing course, directed at professional adult actors. The course offers students a thorough introduction to the three main aspects of singing: vocal technique, music reading, and vocal performance. This program is highly useful for anyone interested in musical performance, or even just in learning skills of vocal projection for the stage. At the conclusion of the course, students will be featured in a public recital to benefit the Actors Co-op.

For more information or a registration form, visit www.actoneprogram.com/article-1999897442.htm
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ACT ONE BOOK IN STORES NOW

A new book written by the faculty and staff of Act One is now available for purchase at online and neighborhood bookstores.

Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film & Culture presents a
fascinating look at the much-maligned film and television industries through the eyes of Christian writers, producers, and executives living out their faith behind TV shows, on movie sets, and in studio offices.

Writers include Scott Derrickson (Writer, Director, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), Ralph Winter (Producer, X-Men 2, Fantastic 4), Barbara Hall (Creator, Joan of Arcadia), and Dean Batali (Executive Producer, That '70s Show).

Available now at www.amazon.com.
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ACT ONE, a faith-based non-profit organization, is creating a community of
Christian artists and professionals to transform Hollywood from within. To make
a donation online, visit www.actoneprogram.com.