Guest Artists: 2018-19

Producer Stacey Sher

During her visit, Stacey Sher visited Jim Burnstein's FTVM 427, the advanced screenwriting seminar, and went over the six writers’ first five pages of their new feature-length screenplays. In addition to giving each writer great notes about how to best open her screenplay, Ms. Sher also gave this group of graduating women invaluable advice about how to begin their careers in the entertainment industry.

Director/Screenwriter Nancy Savoca and Producer Rich Guay

On Friday, March 22, 2019, Nancy Savoca and Rich Guay conducted a special master class in Jim Burnstein's FTVM 427, the Screenwriting Program’s advanced seminar. Savoca and Guay gave separate notes from their director and producer perspectives on all six writers' first 5 pages and offered specific strategies for the best ways to open each individual story in order grab their readers’ attention…and get them to keep reading!

On Thursday, March 21, 2019, Savoca and Guay visited Giorgio Bertellini's FTVM 316: Screening Italian Americans. In class, they discussed the personal and professional trajectory that led to True Love (1989): how they started writing the film, the challenges of casting and finding financial backup, the filming, and the distribution. Several students asked questions about logistics, casting, and the film's overall meaning and significance. It was en engaging conversation. 

TV Writer/Showrunner Matthew Nix 

View Matthew Nix's Show Reel Here 

Writer/Producer Kath Lingenfelter 

VP of Worldwide Content Operations & Strategy at Lionsgate, Mark Sgriccia 

On Friday, February 22, 2019, in North Quad Studio A, Vice President of Worldwide Content Operations & Strategy at Lionsgate, Mark Sgriccia, met with FTVM students to discuss how studios distribute content and how theatrical, domestic, and streaming operations are all part of the film business today. Associate Professor Sheila Murphy (bottom left) introduced Sgriccia.

As Vice President, Worldwide Content Operations & Strategy at Lionsgate, Mark Sgriccia leads a team charged with promoting digital standards and practices, expediting content fulfillment and recognizing savings in metadata and supply chain initiatives.  Prior to his current role at Lionsgate, Sgriccia spent 10 years at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in varying capacities, including Budgeting & Forecasting, Financial Operations and Digital Sales.  Sgriccia is currently co-chair of the DEG Technology and Operations Committee and earned a Bachelor’s degree (FTVM & Organizational Studies) from the University of Michigan and Masters of Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Producer Peter Jaysen and Acting Coach Pamela Guest 

Fresh off his Award as Best Producer of an original television movie (Fahrenheit 451) at the Producers Guild Awards, Peter Jaysen came back to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, from February 6-8, 2019, to work with FTVM 427, the advanced screenwriting seminar of six students, FTVM 423 (Practicum for the Screenwriter), and FTVM 311 and 411 (Writing for Television I and II).

In FTVM 311, Jaysen took students through the story about his journey from Ann Arbor to award-winning producer in Los Angeles, answered their questions about working in the industry and gave advice about making the move to Hollywood. In FTVM 411, he taught students about the art of the pitch and worked with them to perfect concepts for their own original television series. 

In FTVM 427, Jaysen reviewed the first 5 pages of their new screenplays in depth and afterwards discussed ways to break into Hollywood. Mr. Jaysen also visited FVTM 423 (photos below) for a reading of the two scripts that will be produced this semester for their premiere at the Traverse City Film Festival this summer. He gave the writers valuable notes for their next drafts and answered questions from both production teams on how to solve problems they were facing or anticipating. Following this two hour session, Mr. Jaysen and Ms. Guest answered whatever questions the students had about working in Hollywood.

Acting Coach and Casting Director Pamela Guest workshopped scenes from the two FTVM 423 screenplays. The actors cast from Musical Theatre and Theatre and Drama, and the Directors from FTVM, took notes and developed the scenes under Guest’s guidance.  Primarily, students worked on the actors connecting their character to their real lived life, in order to make the characters as complex and real as the actors, themselves.  This, coupled with working on the flow, dynamics and the meaning of the scenes workshopped was the central focus of the two days of work.

TV Agent (ICM Partners) Andy Stabile 

Nickelodeon's David Knott (Director) and Julie Kinman (Recruiter)

Producer Jonathan Baruch

Writer/Director Alex Richanbach

Formerly a writer/director with Funny or Die, Richanbach's most recent feature IBIZA was released on Netflix earlier this year. The film was written by Lauryn Kahn and produced by Gary Sanchez and Good Universe, and stars Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson, and Richard Madden. On the commercial front, Alex has directed commercials starring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, Demi Lovato, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, DJ Khaled and many others. He also helmed the mega-successful Undercover Lyft campaign, which regularly received a billion media impressions per episode.

Randy and Jason Sklar (The Sklar Brothers) 

Photo credit for group shot, John U. Bacon; thanks also to Jim Burnstein
Photo credit for photos at right and gallery below, Mary Lou Chlipala

The Sklar Brothers, are a post-modern take on a stand up comedy duo. Neil Strauss of the New York Times once wrote “Their comedy accepts the reality of being twins but does not use it as a crutch. Instead, they work their physical and mental similarities and correspondences, their status as imperfect carbon copies of each other. In their comedy the straight man is often an echo.” They have released 4 critically acclaimed comedy albums, have had two Comedy Central Half Hour Presents specials, and currently have a one hour stand up special on Netflix, titled “What Are We Talking About” Their next one hour special will appear on Seeso in 2017.

Info above extracted from The Sklar Brothers' Website 

Unless otherwise noted, all photos on this page credited to Mary Lou Chlipala