Welcome to all who are here to explore their options in film, whether you want to take film classes from some of the best talent Hollywood has to offer, or are gearing up to pitch to LA executives who can turn your script into a movie. We have it all at the 2014 Willamette Writers Conference!

My name is Mary Andonian and I am the film chair for this year’s conference. My goal this year is to bring in new managers and producers, perennial favorites from years’ past, and crossover “hybrids” who accept both book and film pitches. The new trend in Hollywood is to find projects that contain “storyworlds,” worlds that can transcend platforms: movies, television, books, gaming applications, tablet/phone apps, merchandise, and internet content. Portland is the perfect place to find these worlds! Not only do we house a vibrant graphics novel industry, the Northwest contains more writers/authors per capita than anywhere else in America!

Genres my managers and producers are looking for include: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror/Supernatural, Mystery, Sci-fi, Romance, Television, Spiritual, and Thriller. These are just the basics! Consider all of the blends and subgenres these categories offer and you’re bound to find someone from LA who will want to learn more about your script/project at the conference.

I also helped Jason Brick create a killer Film Curriculum that includes new classes by Luke Ryan (rock star extraordinaire), Gordy Hoffman (founder of Bluecat), and Stephany Folsom (screenwriter and consultant with a script on this year’s Blacklist). Other notable LA Talent round out the class schedule.

I will send periodic updates to our blog in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned, revise, polish, and practice your pitch so come August 1 you’ll be prepared to make your writing dreams come true!