Friday, October 19, 2012

Hello World

I'm three weeks into my new Professional Program in Screenwriting at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and TV so I figure I better start now if I'm going to be keeping a blog about it.

Our course lasts over the whole academic year (three terms) and we meet once a week for a large lecture and once a week in a small workshop.  Seems like a good format because you get the macro and micro scale of things.

Our lecturer for the large group is Hal Ackerman.  So far he's been great.  He's got a great sense of humor and also recognizes that writing is a lot about heart and emotion.  He's from New York and started as a playwright.  I'd say he's in his 70's.

The first day of class he ended by playing a Tom Waits song about a hooker in Minneapolis, with the lights off and lyrics projected on the board.  Can't get much better for a screenwriting class than that.

He also told us how his (latest?) wife left him via text message.  That rules.

In the third class he told us "sometimes you get what you need, remember that Stones song?"

I sung it on the walk back to my car.

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