This month our writers took time out from their holiday preparations to welcome CS member Marshall McDorman with a reading from one of his many screenplays. It’s Not a Croc is a feature-length comedy about a group of sorority sisters who get more than they bargained for when they pledge to care for a lost newborn.

Afterwards we held our first Carolina Screenwriters Pitchfest, and it was a blast! Everyone had a chance to polish their existing loglines and pitch new concepts. It was a great way to meet new writers and catch up with each other on works in progress. 

Thanks sincerely to Marshall for sharing his work and his inspirations with us, and to everyone who came out.

Mark your calendars for the next meeting, Monday, January 15, at 7:00 pm, when we will return to The Art Institute of Charlotte. We’re looking forward to a productive new year, as the 2007 schedule is already filling up.

Happy Holidays!

2006 - Nov 20  Update

The November meeting found our writers rocking and rolling along, as members and guests shared recent developments and upcoming projects. It’s always refreshing and inspiring to hear each others' good news.

This month CS welcomed filmmakers Alex Stephens and Linda Lavold from Dead Horse Productions, creators of Philosopher. Philosopher is a film about a shape-shifting entity and its life-altering affect on the human beings it encounters, now screening in film festivals around the country, including Sundance, the Florida Film Festival and The New Filmmakers Festival in New York. CS extends our very special thanks to Alex and Linda, who drove up from Anderson, South Carolina to share their film, as well as their insights and adventures with us.

The evening closed with a screening of excerpts from What’s Up, Grandpa?, presented by the show’s producer and host, CS member Charles Whitley. Charles discussed the genesis of his idea and his ongoing vision for the show, now entering its fourth season on Charlotte’s local public access television.

2006- October 16 Update

Our guest speaker this month was CS's own Tracy Poole. Tracy is a prolific writer who has been concentrating on screenplays for about three years. She has penned six screenplays, recently completed a television script, and is currently working on a novel.

The group read from the first act of Shattered Trust, a thrilling whodunit combining murder, romance and stolen gems that keeps the audience guessing until the final plot twist. Afterwards Tracy graciously shared some details about her writing process, including creating believable characters, writing dialogue that works, and making time to write.  Thank you, Tracy, for sharing your work with us!

Special thanks to Debbie Miller and The Art Institute of Charlotte for allowing us to continue  to meet at their beautiful campus, and to our guests and members who lend their efforts to make the club an enduring success. 

The September meeting of the Carolina Screenwriters began promptly at 7:00pm with reviews of the Charlotte Film Festival the previous weekend.

As a group we shared tips for screenwriters, and some of the moving trends in the film industry.

Our guest speaker was Louis Di Eugenio from Greensboro who took us on a journey of his interests in writing to his current screenwriting and film making productions.

We read a short (13 page) script Louie had written and the group engaged in some discussion regarding his screenplay.

We send a collective "THANKS, Louie!!" for driving to Charlotte and for entertaining and educating us.

We had two new members at the September meeting, Rick Johnson and Mack Staton whom we are thrilled will be joining us.

Debbie Miller, our contact from the Art Institute sat in on our meeting as well and we hope she’ll join us again next time.

We are sad to see James Matthews leave us, he’s transferring from the Art Institute in Charlotte to the Art Institute in New York at the end of September, and though he’ll still be a part of our club, we will miss our regular interaction with him. His contributions to our club have been enormous and we appreciate his participation in our group immensely.

We took individual photos of our members at the September Meeting, now posted to the members section of the website

www.CarolinaScreenwriters.com/Members.htm

We’ll be taking photos again at the October meeting for those who were absent or for those whose pictures didn’t turn out. (Mark, Angela, & Lisa – too blurry)

All dues paying members need to send their bios, (a brief personal history, can be entertaining or in resume format) to Angela@AngelaOberer.com to be included on your own separate webpage at www.CarolinaScreenwriters.com

The purpose of having your own page is to help promote you as a screenwriter.

Email accounts are being set up and will be emailed with instructions to our members by the end of this week.

Thanks to all who participated in our September meeting.

Big thanks to our new board of directors who have all jumped right in to make our club the success it is.

Great News!

At the August Carolina Screenwriters Meeting, we voted on a board of directors.

And our new club blogger is none other than the infamous Indie Film Producer D.L. Payne.

From now on, our club blogs and updates will be done by D.L.Payne and any guest writers he chooses to help him.

We welcome and support Mr. Payne in this new endeavor.

His help is very much appreciated.

Passing the baton with gratitude,

Angela Oberer

Please Join us for our next meeting.

Guest Speaker Louie Di Eugenio from Louie Louie Productions.

Details found at www.CarolinaScreenwriters.com

Guests Welcome!

Email questions to Angela Oberer at Angela@AngelaOberer.com

Hey Great News!

The Carolina Screenwriters now has their own website:

www.CarolinaScreenwriters.com

Check it out, all with updates and news on upcoming meetings.

Greetings,

The Carolina Screenwriters Group will be meeting the 3^rd Monday of each month from 7:00-9:00pm at the Art Institute of Charlotte. (Next Meeting Aug 21^st)

This will be a new permanent location for our group and is being hosted by the Art Institute of Charlotte.

Meetings and Parking are free and the meetings are open to the public including Students, Teachers, Actors, Directors, Film Makers, Screenwriters and those interested in the craft of Screenwriting. Thanks to new member James Matthews for arranging and securing this location for us.

The August meeting will be featuring Independent Film Maker & Screenwriter D.L. Payne from High Point, NC.

We will be doing a reading of his work “The Right to Arm Bears”, followed by a discussion of his work.

Please come join us for Networking, Learning & Fun.

DETAILS

What: Carolina Screenwriters Group

When: Monday August 21st

Time: 7:00-9:00pm

Dress: Casual

Where: The Art Institute of Charlotte

Mapquest: 2110 Water Ridge Parkway, Charlotte NC 28217 (Three LakePointe Plaza)

Cost: Meeting / Parking = Free (Let’s talk about small dues to cover costs of screenplay hard copies, and website expenses.)

Carolina Screenwriters Blog: http://blogs.scriptologist.com/Screenwriters

AGENDA FOR AUGUST MEETING

7:00-7:30pm – Business Meeting to discuss club officers, duties, possible dues, upcoming contests, classes, networking opportunities etc.

7:30-8:15pm – D.L. Payne & Screenplay Reading

8:15-8:45pm – Discussion of Screenplay

8:45-9:00pm – Good News Sharing (Tell us all your good news about your screenplay being optioned, produced, contests you’ve entered, treatments you’ve created etc.)

9:00pm        -  Wrap

CLUB OFFICERS NEEDED: (All positions are currently open and would look great on your resume)

President          (Presides over all meetings, Phone listed in all bulletins as main contact person, Seeks to resolve club challenges)

Vice President   (Glorified Admin Officer – Club Gopher)

Treasurer           (Handles all club monies, dues, handles screenplay copies.)

Program Chair   (Arranges program guests, and back up guests for meetings)

Web Designer    (Designs and updates club website, uploads members bios, screenplays, photos etc.)

Club Blogger      (Updates club blog with meeting highlights and upcoming club announcements.)

Graphic Designer (Creates Club logo, Promo flyers, special event flyers, registration forms etc.)

PR Director       (Sends PR announcements to local & State papers, websites, & forums.)

Mark your calendars now to attend and bring a guest.

See you on the 21^st.

- Angela Oberer (O-bur-er) Angela@AngelaOberer.com

The New Carolina Screenwriters Group will be meeting this coming Monday July 17^th from 7:00-9:00pm in the lobby of the theatre (Robinson Hall) at UNCC. It's the first building you see in front of you as you take the main road into campus from Highway 49 (University City Blvd).  Thanks to Mark Pizzato for arranging this meeting place for us.

Our meeting will begin promptly at 7:00pm with Mark leading us through an educational session on the importance of “Readings” to show us the how to do a screenplay reading, the benefits of readings and what to look for or be aware of when reading screenplays.

Then we will be reading from Marks riveting and original screenplay “Demonic Tricks” email me for a copy: Angela@AngelaOberer.com followed by a discussion of his work.

Due to time constraints, we will not have time to read the complete screenplay, so please print it out and read it in advance of the meeting on Monday. It takes less than two hours to read, and prior reading will allow you to participate in the discussion at the end. In this business, we learn by doing and participating.

What: Carolina Screenwriters Group

When: Monday July 17^th

Time: 7:00-9:00pm

Dress: Casual

Where: Lobby of Robinson Hall Theater

Mapquest Address: 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Cost: Parking $1.00 per hour for Parking (Park in the Visitor lot, right of the theater)

Campus Map: http://facilities.uncc.edu/maps/supportingfiles/GeneralMap.htm 

PS. Our meeting is still open to those who share an interest in Screenwriting. Feel free to bring a friend.

See you on Monday

Angela Oberer (O-bur-er)

980-254-0900