————– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ————– ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD STARTS IN SEATTLE – SCREENWRITERS’ WORKSHOP PLANNED Each year, hundreds of aspiring screenwriters flock to Hollywood with scripts in their hands and stars in their eyes. This year, Hollywood is coming to them. First stop? Seattle, Washington. Act One, Inc., a Los Angeles-based training program for writers and other film industry professionals, is partnering with Third Friday Films and the Taproot Theatre Company to present the Act One Screenwriting Weekend, a conference... Read more

My dear friend, Zoe Romanowsky St. Paul, has just started a ministry as a life-coach to women who are believers. Besides being one of the coolest women of the 21st Century Church, Zoe has a Masters in Counseling from Steubenville. I would do sign up to work with Zoe myself, except that, as her friend, I get to bend her ear for free… Here is the message she sent me about this new thing. Please pass it on to any... Read more

[Just passing it on…] A Special Announcement From George Barna: Over the years, outstanding films like Ben Hur, Chariots of Fire and The Passion of the Christ have captivated millions of Americans from all walks of life. Many other films might have had significant influence on people’s lives as well, but they got lost in the shuffle of life. Unfortunately, there has not been an organized and intentional means of making sure that outstanding films receive the attention they deserve... Read more

Well, how about that! The feature on Act One in Details magazine came out pretty darn well, I’m thinking. (Don’t cancel your subscription after all, Dan!) The reporter, Ian, did a very fair job. I don’t think there was any discernible sarcasm in the piece. And – thank God! – the stero-typed staged shots of our students didn’t make the final cut…at least in the on-line version of the story. Anyway, go here to read the whole piece. (Although my... Read more

Our upcoming Act One book is getting a “Starred Review” in Publishers Weekly’s Religion Update on Monday, August 29. It’s nice… Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and CultureEdited by Spencer Lewerenz and Barbara Nicolosi. Baker Books, $14.99 paper (224p) ISBN 0-8010-6547-X This thought-provoking collection of essays on Hollywood features contributions by Christian writers for both film and television. After a hard-hitting, impressively self-reflective opening piece on the history of Hollywood’s tortured relationship with Christianity, essayists expound on... Read more

Friend, Fr. Willy Raymond, Director of Family Theater Productions here in Hollywood, is off in Cologne with actors Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) and Clarence Gilyard (Walker: Texas Ranger) Act One alumn and computer guru extroadinaire, Clayton Emmer, has created a blog and podcast (whatever that is…) for the trio to record their adventures. It’s here. Read more

Here is the poster for a new documentary that premiere’s Saturday in Los Angeles. It was produced by friends John and Ed Priddy in association with HBO/Cinemax. The website for the film is here. Read more

Bugtime: “Blessing in Disguise” For the last couple years, I’ve been on the Board of a small Catholic non-profit that has been working on producing an animated Bible series for kids. The series, which alternates between a village of little bugs and the lives of Bible characters, is way cute and it is just hitting the street now. David We call it Bugtime Adventures. We have about seven episodes in the can (animated in Korea with scripts and talent done... Read more

ATLANTA-BASED ARTS & MEDIA GROUP LAUNCHES NATIONAL SCREENWRITER SEARCH AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM Art Within Accepting Applications for “Next Great Screenwriters of Faith” Through Sept. 2 ATLANTA, Ga., August 15, 2005—Do you have what it takes to craft a Hollywood screenplay that incorporates fine writing, snappy dialogue, and…faith? Atlanta-based arts and media group Art Within is banking on the fact that talented screenwriters from across the country are working on their own “Bruce Almighty’s,” and is conducting a search for five... Read more

…for Barb “Scourge of Great Pond” has left the Belgrade Lakes Region. Just coming from three days of fishing and splashing around in Maine with the Nicolosis and Pattons. (And, soory, AL, but that fish I caught the first night was the biggest of the week. It was too!) It was great, if a little too much Maine for my tastes these last few decades. When I was a kid, I was compelled to put up with Maine people’s ‘last... Read more