Verso University: Writing Compelling Characters with Hollywood Screenwriter Roger Schulman

About this event

Wednesdays, October 7, 14 & 21 6:30-8:30 pm Location: Board Room Course Details In screenwriting, just like in politics, show business, and getting the best table in a restaurant, it’s all about who you know. And knowing your characters makes every part of your work easier — and better. In shaping screen personalities from Shrek to Balto to Mulan, Hollywood screenwriter Roger S.H. Schulman has learned a couple of tricks for creating characters who do the heavy lifting of telling your story while effortlessly entertaining your audience. Here's the first: a character is not a human being. And here's the second: build them from the inside out. People’s true natures are hidden, even from themselves. It's like an iceberg. What you see above the waterline is just the tip of the you-know-what. Down deep is what really drives your character, and you're the only one who knows everything about it. You even get to invent it. So what is a movie, TV or book character, if not a person? How do you trick an audience into believing they're real, all while they push the plot, grow, change, succeed, fail, and make it all look unplanned? Let's talk about it. You may find the answers, well, compelling. And you'll leave seeing characters — and maybe even people — in a new way. About the Instructor Roger S.H. Schulman co-wrote the animated feature Shrek, for which he won a British Academy Award (BAFTA) and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He previously co-wrote the animated feature Balto for executive producer Steven Spielberg, and wrote Mulan II and The Jungle Book II for Disney. Roger has also worked extensively as a producer and writer for television, including the Disney show Bizaardvark starring Olivia Rodrigo. He also co-created the Disney Channel series JONAS; was executive producer of 2Gether for MTV, as well as for Living Single with Queen Latifah, for which he won the NAACP Image Award. He co-wrote a pilot for HBO with Tom Hanks. Roger…

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