Event Description
Monday, May 19, 2025
6:00 PM Pacific
Online via Zoom
Members: FREE! | Non-Members $20
Who doesn’t want to see their story on the big screen (or the small screen, or the even smaller screens of iPhones and tablets?) In some ways, there are now more opportunities than ever for would-be screenwriters and “content creators,” with YouTube, digital channels and distribution, web series, and micro-budget “DIY” indie films shot for six figures or less. But there are also more pitfalls and traps than ever, for both young people starting out and mature writers transitioning in their careers
The Covid lockdown, the devastating 2023 Strikes, and the looming presence of AI only scratches the surface of the massive tsunami of changes that the motion picture and television industry (and their business models) have experienced in the last half-decade. From buyouts and takeovers like CBS/Paramount being acquired by a digital platform and Time-Warner’s merger with Discovery, to the precipitous decline of theatrical films and linear TV, the Hollywood shark tank seems deeper and deadlier – and more uncertain – than ever.
Fortunately, we have a stellar group of industry innovators who can give expert testimony and advice on how to navigate this strange new world. Hot topics will include:
- How to craft an irresistible story and develop screen characters
- The art of writing visually and “showing” as well as telling
- “Editing” a film or TV show in the writing of it
- What you need BESIDES a good script: Building a “Pitch Deck”, Keys for a “Show Bible” for TV formats and web series, Character Outlines and Narrative Arcs, and more
- What works and what doesn’t – what are the must-haves (and must-avoids!) of writing a good feature film or TV script
- How to get your project noticed by industry gatekeepers and put your best foot forward
- Adapting Books-to-Film
- And much, much more…
Our star-studded Hollywood panel will include:
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, PHIL WALKER has carved a dynamic path in the industry over the past 20 years. Starting his career by putting together directors’ chairs on the set of the Kevin Bacon film Death Sentence, it wasn’t long before he was working his way up the ranks on classic shows like The Middle, Weeds, and Orange is the New Black, learning his craft from some of TV’s great storytellers. Phil had his big breakthrough as a writer on the Comedy Central show Legends of Chamberlain Heights, where his talent for crafting engaging, offbeat, and daring narratives was first honed.
Phil’s portfolio also includes writing for the Disney Channel sitcom Just Roll With It, as well as popular animated series such as Tiny Toons, Monster High, and Big City Greens. His work is deeply inspired by industry legends like the singular Norman Lear, the brilliant Tina Fey, and the classic wit of Billy Wilder. Currently, Phil is still out there, living the Hollywood Dream (hold for laughter) while working on his new venture, Hi-No-Tori Content Development Group. Founded in 2024, HNT Content Development Group is a writer-focused production company and IP Firm with a focus on investing in creators over branding and fostering narrative over algorithms. With it, Phil is redefining how film, television, and new media are crafted, empowering today’s artists to tell tomorrow’s stories.
MARIO ZERMENO is a writer/director with one feature film currently in development and two other films optioned. He is writer/producer of the 2021 exclusive SHUDDER release and multi-award-winning thriller Mosquito State, after a prestigious premiere at the world-renowned Venice Film Festival (winning Best Cinematography) and winning best horror film at Horror-ant Film Festival in Spain. Mario also has written, directed, and/or produced several award-winning short films, including this last year’s Marble, which premiered at the LA Film Festival (winning Best Director, Best Thriller, and Best Actress along the way, and he recently directed several segments of the NBC-Peacock series Hysteria! Mario began his career working as a musician and on music videos – which he still continues to film – and is director/co-producer of the Garage Rock/Punk/Alt Rock interview video podcast CHATTERED with host Rik Collins. www.imdb.me/mariozermeno
ROBERT BROOKS COHEN spent over seven seasons working as a producer on the legendary Law & Order: SVU, writing 13 episodes and overseeing dozens more, and one season for Bar Karma among other shows. In 2019, he appeared on Viceland’s Slutever in an episode centering on male bisexuality, and soon after created the top podcast Two Bi Guys, which has now over 300,000 downloads and counting. Cohen’s first book, Bisexual Married Men: Stories of Relationships, Acceptance, and Authenticity, was published by Routledge in the fall of 2023 and is available for sale on Amazon, B&N, and other platforms.
Cohen received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch in 2009, where he won the Goldberg Award for excellence in television writing. He has received grants, prizes, and recognition from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Hamptons International Film Festival, Gotham Film & Media Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, and the Nantucket Film Festival among others. He is also a stand-up comedian and life coach, and an active member of IWOSC / WPN. You can see more of his work at www.RobertBrooksCohen.com
Moderator and panelist TELLY DAVIDSON has over twenty years’ experience in publishing (having two books and counting, the award-winning pop culture book TV’s Grooviest Variety Shows and the political/pop-history book Culture War to his credit) as well as hundreds of articles in venues as far-reaching as National Review Online, All About Jazz, The American Conservative, ATTN.com, Film Stew, Yahoo Movies, 213 Magazine, Frum Forum, and many more. For the past dozen years, he has worked with Jeff Porter and Disney veteran Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig at Porter-Craig Film & Media in independent film distribution, and is a colleague of Phil Walker’s at HiNoTori Content. He has worked on shows like Pioneers of Television, Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, and others, and is an active longtime member of WPN and IWOSC.