Courier 12 Screenwriting Conference

Upcoming one-day event in Chicago which will be live-streamed on YouTube.

A message from the good folks at the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts… including me!

Hollywood screenwriters gather for conference at DePaul University
Courier 12 features talent from ‘The Good Place,’ ‘Just Between Us’ and ‘The Quiet Place’

CHICAGO — Entertainers, producers and screenwriters will join the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts for the annual Courier 12 Screenwriting Conference. Held on DePaul’s Loop Campus, Courier 12 is the premier Midwest screenwriting event and will feature panel discussions from leading writing talent in the entertainment industry.

“There are many conferences and festivals that feature actors, directors and producers, but very few that exist solely to serve screenwriters,” said Brad Riddell, an associate professor in DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts. “Our faculty and students work hard every year to draw A-list talent to Chicago so that our burgeoning creative community can benefit from the experience and insight of those who have achieved great success as professional content creators. I count our faculty moderators among those professional content creators, as each has an impressive record of writing for film and television, as well.

“We’re proud to serve as one of the nation’s most prominent venues for discussing the art and craft of screenwriting,” Riddell added.

The conference will take place Saturday, Sept. 29, Noon–7:00 p.m. in DePaul’s Daley Building, 247 S. State St. Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Panels include:

Second City Legends
Noon

Trevor Albert is a legendary producer who worked with Harold Ramis on “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Groundhog Day.” He is one of the founding developers of our partners at The Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School. Trevor will disuss writing comedy with Emmy Award-Winning Writer Dick Biasucci, who began his career on “SCTV,” then ran “Mad TV,” and eventually wrote and produced “Tracey Ullman Show,” “Larry Sanders Show,” and “Muppets Tonight.” Dick teaches at Pepperdine University.

The YouTube Launchpad
1:30 p.m.

Allison Raskin is a screenwriter, podcast innovator, New York Times best-selling novelist, and co-creator of “Just Between Us,” a YouTube comedy channel with 750,000 subscribers. She will delve into the process behind self-distributing content, exploiting your voice, and how streaming platforms can help writers build a career. School of Cinematic Arts faculty member Brad Riddell will moderate.

Culture of the Writer’s Room
3:00 p.m.

Rafael Augustín is a writer on “Jane the Virgin,” is a 2016 Sundance Fellow, and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Latino Film Institute, for which he was named one of the fifty most essential people in Los Angeles. As an alumnus of the CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase, he will discuss culture and writing with School of Cinematic Arts faculty member, José Soto.

How to Win an Emmy
4:30 p.m.

Megan Amram currently writes for “The Good Place,” and has written for “Parks and Rec,” “The Simpsons,” “Transparent,” Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital,” and “Silicon Valley.” Amram is a 2018 Emmy Award Nominee for her web series, “An Emmy for Megan,” which is about her quest to win an Emmy. She will discuss writing for television, creating a web series, and her Emmy aspirations with School of Cinematic Arts faculty member Anna Maria Hozian.

Finding A Quiet Place
6:00 p.m.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are the writing team behind 2018’s smash-hit horror/thriller film, “A Quiet Place.” Their screenplay has proven to be revolutionary in many ways, and they will discuss its inspiration, evolution and execution with Go Into the Story blogger and School of Cinematic Arts faculty member Scott Myers.
 
For more information visit, http://bit.ly/courier122018.

DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts was recent ranked #13 on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of America’s Top 25 Film Schools. Starting this fall, DePaul will offer comedy filmmaking degrees with The Second City, Chicago’s iconic center for improvisational comedy. DePaul’s 35,000-square-foot facilities at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on the city’s west side include three professional soundstages, green screen cycloramas, a 3-ton grip truck and high-end editing suites and mixing studios. For more information, visit http://cdm.depaul.edu/film.

Okay, so a pretty sweet lineup of guests covering movies, TV, and the web. If you’re anywhere near the Chicago area on Saturday, September 29, be there or be square.

If you are unable to attend, the event will be live-streamed on the DePaul Visiting Artists Series YouTube channel. This is the recording of my conversation at last year’s Courier 12 event with Mary Coleman, Senior Development Executive at Pixar Animation Studios.

So tune in at Noon Central Daylight Time on Saturday, September 29th and catch the whole event.