Ticket Giveaway: “The Psychology of Story-Telling” with Lindsay Doran

She’s known as “The Script Whisperer” and unlike so-called screenwriting gurus, Lindsay Doran has the street cred to back it up. To wit:

Back by Popular Demand!

On May 22 at 7:30 pm at the Writers Guild Theater, Lindsay Doran may change everything you think you know about screenwriting.

Presented by the Black List and the WGAw Committee of Women Writers, Lindsay’s talk, which was the subject of the New York Times article “Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings” and which was excerpted in her TEDx Talk titled “Saving the World vs. Kissing the Girl,” examines what the field of Positive Psychology can teach us about about the secrets of writing a satisfying movie and how our deep-seated fear of the saber-toothed tiger keeps them a secret.

Lindsay is the producer of such movies as SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (for which she was nominated for an Oscar), STRANGER THAN FICTION, NANNY MCPHEE and DEAD AGAIN. (She was also the Executive in Charge of Production on THIS IS SPINAL TAP!) She does story consulting as the Script Whisperer® on high level studio projects and has appeared on the Script Notes podcast.

Spoiler Alert: This talk gives away the ending of every movie ever made.

ABOUT LINDSAY DORAN

Lindsay Doran has worked in the movie business for more than 30 years as a studio executive and as a producer. She has served as the President and COO of United Artists Pictures and as the President of Sydney Pollack’s Mirage Productions. She currently divides her time between her producing duties and her work as “The Script Whisperer®” — story consultation for studios on high priority script development.

Lindsay’s first film credit was as Executive in Charge of Production on the mock-documentary “This is Spinal Tap.” As a producer, her credits include “Dead Again,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Nanny McPhee” and “Stranger Than Fiction.”

As an executive, Lindsay worked on dozens of films including “The Sure Thing,” “Stand By Me,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Planes Trains and Automobiles,” “The Naked Gun,” “Pet Sematary,” “Ghost,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and two James Bond films — “The World is Not Enough” and “Tomorrow Never Dies.”

She is an Oscar nominee and the winner of numerous awards including the Golden Globe Best Picture Award and the British Academy Award for Best Film, both for “Sense and Sensibility.” More recently she received the Pioneer Award from the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center for “igniting a movement toward Positive Film.” She was also an Advisor at the 2015 Sundance Institute Producing Lab.

Lindsay tries to be guided by the Three Rules of Drama, found in an ancient text, as the basis for what motion picture entertainment ought to be:

#1 It must be arresting and amusing to the drunk.

#2 It must address the question, “How should we live?”

#3 It must address the question, “How does the universe work?”

Simultaneously, she tries to be guided by the three rules of scene writing, found in the less ancient writings of David Mamet, regarding the three questions that must be answered in every scene:

#1 Who wants what?

#2 What happens if he or she doesn’t get it?

#3 Why now?

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of Go Into The Story, the good folks at the Black List have given me 20 tickets for the upcoming Lindsay Doran event. It is sold out, but YOU can go for free as a guest of my blog.

How to win your free tickets?

Simple Click on RESPONSE below and do state YES: You agree to write a reflection on your experience attending the event (go here for reference).

I’ve seen Lindsay myself and posted about her before — for example, here and here. But for those who have not, here is a special treat: Video of a TEDx presentation Lindsay gave back in 2012:

Again, if you want a pair of free tickets to the May 22nd event with Lindsay Doran, click on RESPONSE below.