February 17 – April 28, 2009 (10-week course)
Tuesday nights, 630-830pm
Herron School of Art and Design
735 W. New York Street.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Call 317-278-9404 Susan Grade to register
Cost: $150 (That’s $15/class)

REGISTER ONLINE: http://www.herron.iupui.edu/comm...…s/tuesdaynight

“Stephen King told me that whenever he was at a party, someone would inevitably come to him and say, ‘You know, I once thought about writing a novel.’ And King would answer, ‘So did I!’ I love that story,” relates producer/director/screenwriter Gary L. Wood, “because we’ve all THOUGHT about doing something extraordinary. King DID it. I use that story as my inspiration a lot. I think, ‘I don’t want to be the guy at the party saying, ‘Ya’ know….I once thought about…’”

During classes at Herron School of Art and Design, Wood will be passing on some of the tips and techniques that he has learned as a screenwriter and FROM screenwriters over the past 15 years. “The goal for the 10-week period,” Wood said, “is for everyone to have a first draft of their screenplay completed. That’s what we’ll be working on.”

As a contributing writer to the internationally-circulated Cinefantastique Magazine in the early ’90’s, Wood came into contact with some big names in the entertainment industry such as King, Rob Reiner, John Milius, John Carpenter, Frank Darabont, and more. “When I would cover a movie production, I would always ask to interview the screenwriter. One—no one EVER asks to speak to the writers so they are ALWAYS interested in talking. And—two—I would talk about their movie, THEN I would pick their brains and learn as much from them as I could.”

Wood explained, “I’ve gotten tips from Larry Ferguson (”The Hunt For Red October", “Beverly Hills Cop”, “Highlander”), Chuck Pfarrer (“Navy SEALS”, “Darkman”), Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Green Mile”) and William Goldman (“Misery”, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”) and even developed relationships with Darabont, Rospo Pallenberg (“Excalibur”, “The Emerald Forest”) and John Esposito (“Stephen King’s ‘Graveyard Shift’”). I learned something from each and every one of them that I’d like to pass on."

Since those days, Wood has written and produced his own screenplays. “Selling to Hollywood is tough. I got impatient. I got tired of the near-misses.” Wood nearly sold three story ideas to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. “You wait and you wait on pins and needles only to hear ‘no, thanks.’ So I decided I was tired of waiting for someone to give me permission to make a movie and just make it myself.”

Wood’s first film, “Saving Star Wars,” won Best Picture at several film festivals across the country and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the London Science Fiction Film Festival in England. His original screenplay, “Live Evil,” which he co-wrote with Rospo Pallenberg, is being marketed around Hollywood and his second feature, “Open Mic’rs”, which sold out the Indy IMAX. In addition to pitching concepts to Paramount’s “Star Trek,” he was also hired to write a screenplay adaptation of the true novel “Homestead” which remains unproduced. “So far,” Wood smiles. “Maybe we’ll do it someday.”

Having the workshops will allow Wood to not only pass on information and discuss it, but it will also give the opportunity to look at big screen examples of the techniques he’s discussing. “When I talk about revealing exposition without the use of dialogue, I’ll be able to show an example of how it was done well. When I want to show how you can show emotion without dialogue, I can show an example. And when I want to show how NOT to do something, I’ll show one of MY movies.” The biggest mistake new screenwriters make? “Too much dialogue,” Wood says quickly. “They try to use dialogue to do EVERYTHING and it’s the quickest way to get an agent or producer to toss your script into the trash. There are ways around this. Screenplays MUST BE VISUAL.”

Students will learn how effectively use dialogue, plotting, characterization, “upping the ante”, conflict and tension, the three-act format, exposition, and much more. They will also learn how to use the screenwriting computer program Final Draft. Each student will also receive a copy of Syd Fields’ book, “The Screenwriter’s Workbook”.

“You can take a class from pretty much anyone who’s written a screenplay, most with more credentials than me, but they just take your money, teach you a few things, and send you on your way. When you leave this workshop, if you do the homework, you will have a completed first draft of your script.. I want to help writers develop their ideas and scripts into marketable products, or produce-able properties.” Wood says the class is appropriate for all levels of screenwriters from the curious, one-timers to those hoping for a career. Wood also hopes to enlist the aid of some of his screenwriting friends to call in lectures when possible.

But Wood admits that he also has a selfish agenda for the workshop, “I’d like to find some writers! Of all the talent we have as a production company, we’re most lacking in good writers. We’ve got a lot in the works and I could use some help. But assisting someone in not being that guy at the cocktail party—‘I coulda’ been a contender’—is nice too.”

-00-