(Decades Of Wisdom Distilled Down To 17 Minutes) Glenn Gers: How am I going to turn whatever feeling or idea I have into a story? Jason Satterlund: How are they doing that? What is the magic sauce? Jack Grapes: If I got in a car, the most beautiful car in the world, turn on the key, it…

Film Courage: The question is, what stands in most people’s way of achieving their dreams? It sounds simplistic…we can achieve our dreams and there are a million books the subject. What do you think is actually the block for most people? Dr. Ken Atchity, Author, Producer: I’ve written a…

That’s what great art should do at the top end, it should just change your life forever. Film Courage: When does the rule don’t be boring come into play? Richard Walter, Author/Screenwriter/Former Screenwriting Chair at UCLA: From beginning to end. The least we want is not to be bored…

Film Courage: How do you define story? How do you teach it to clients and students? Glenn Gers, Screenwriter: I think the basic idea of a story is that you’re going to be following a character or characters. It’s entirely possible to tell the story of multiple characters. You…

Film Courage: Would you say starting a film career at age 35 is too late? Alok Mishra, Producer: Nope, I don’t think so. I think you can start it when you’re like 45 but hopefully you’ve thought it through. It depends what you want to do. If you’re a…

Film Courage: For someone who’s never heard of The Hero’s Journey, how would you explain it to them and maybe you can use some film references? John Bucher, Writer and Narrative Consultant: The Hero’s Journey is an approach to storytelling that initially was observed in stories that had been…

Film Courage: What are the three worst ways to start a story? Steve Douglas-Craig, Owner/Teacher at The New Screenwriter, Financier, Screenwriter and Producer: I think one of them is not identifying a main point of view or a main character. I’ve seen it where you linger for 10 to…

Film Courage: How did you decide what types of pitches you were looking for? Writer/Instructor and Script Consultant Shannan E. Johnson (The Professional Pen): Each network studio production company basically has a brand. If you watch ABC you’ll notice that their content is going to be a little different…

Film Courage: One of the lessons from your book The Hollywood Game Plan is that any creative needs to understand that this is a dollar-driven industry, can you explain? Carole Kirschner, Entertainment Career Coach, Speaker & Author: Sure. It’s one thing to create and that’s fabulous, you’re an artist…