Where to learn screenwriting in LA?

N

NoTalentAssClown

Member
My friend works full-time in finance, 50+ hours/week. Because he hangs around me and all my friends in the industry, he recently has been tempted to quit his job and work in film...

Anyway, he has pretty good ideas for movies, and he wants to try writing his own screenplays. He wants to formally learn somewhere before he begins, since he has no experience. Where can he go learn screenwriting in LA? He doesn't have time to get a bachelor's degree. The only thing I suggested to him was reading books on his own and taking UCLA Extension courses. I'm not familiar with films schools like LA Film School, AFI...

Any suggestions? Any place to stay AWAY from?
 
I don't what level he's at in finance...but I'd apply those skills toward producing. You say he's got good ideas. Tell him to raise money, hire a writer, get a cast together and make a movie. The problem with most of the talented people I meet is that they have absolutely ZERO clue about how to raise money for projects.
 
There are A LOT of places to learn any number of filmmaking skills here. Los Angeles is huge and rife with traffic, so it really depends on where he lives. A good place to start in screenwriting is Pilar Alessandra's On the Page classes in the Sherman Oaks/Studio City area of The Valley - http://www.onthepage.tv/firstDraft.php. She has a 'First Draft' class and an upcoming 'Coffee Break Screenwriting' class to coincide with her new book. I haven't taken her classes, but I flipped through her book and it seems like the best thing out there right now for beginners. Unlike a lot of 'gurus' out there, she doesn't impose a strict by the page formula on her pupils. That alone should put your friend ahead of everyone else looking for the quick and easy.

Other than that? There are tons of screenwriting groups that meet weekly to monthly in just about every L.A. neighborhood. I'll be checking out the North Hollywood screenwriting group soon.
 
i would tell your friend to take a screenwriting class at ucla extension or usc. an in person class, not online. that's it. no "boot camps", gurus, or anyone else.
 
Batutta said:
I don't what level he's at in finance...but I'd apply those skills toward producing. You say he's got good ideas. Tell him to raise money, hire a writer, get a cast together and make a movie. The problem with most of the talented people I meet is that they have absolutely ZERO clue about how to raise money for projects.
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Any recommendations on that?
 
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