The Executive Hour with Special Guest AKEELAH AND THE BEE Filmmaker Doug Atchison

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The Executive Hour

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During this Executive Hour we welcome special guest AKEELAH AND THE BEE and BRIAN BANKS filmmaker Doug Atchison! AKEELAH AND THE BEE was released by Lionsgate and starred Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer. AKEELAH was a commercial and critical success for which Doug was awarded the NAACP Image Award for Best Screenplay. His script for AKEELAH has recently been adapted into a stage play which is being performed around the country. Doug wrote the screenplay for BRIAN BANKS, which was produced by previous Writers' Room guest Amy Baer, released in August of 2019, and for which Doug won the 2019 Humanitas Prize. The film was directed by Tom Shadyac and stars Greg Kinnear, Aldis Hodge, and Morgan Freeman.Doug is currently set to direct his original screenplay, OUT SPOKEN, a love story set in the world of basketball and spoken word poetry. He is producing the film along with John Legend, Lou Pitt, and Laura Rister. He is currently writing the script COUNTERFEIT for Will Smith’s company Overbook. Full Bio »

Webinar Summary

During this Executive Hour we welcome special guest AKEELAH AND THE BEE and BRIAN BANKS filmmaker Doug AtchisonAKEELAH AND THE BEE was released by Lionsgate and starred Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke PalmerHis script for AKEELAH has recently been adapted into a stage play which is being performed around the country. 

Doug wrote the screenplay for BRIAN BANKS, which was produced by previous Writers' Room guest Amy Baer, released in August of 2019, and for which Doug won the 2019 Humanitas Prize. The film was directed by Tom Shadyac and stars Greg Kinnear, Aldis Hodge, and Morgan Freeman.

During this webcast Doug discusses writing AKEELAH, working as an independent writer/director, how he gets hired for screenwriting assignments, what most writers struggle with when writing a screenplay and how to approach writing a true story! 

About Your Instructor

During this Executive Hour we welcome special guest AKEELAH AND THE BEE and BRIAN BANKS filmmaker Doug Atchison! AKEELAH AND THE BEE was released by Lionsgate and starred Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer. AKEELAH was a commercial and critical success for which Doug was awarded the NAACP Image Award for Best Screenplay.

His script for AKEELAH has recently been adapted into a stage play which is being performed around the country. Doug wrote the screenplay for BRIAN BANKS, which was produced by previous Writers' Room guest Amy Baer, released in August of 2019, and for which Doug won the 2019 Humanitas Prize. The film was directed by Tom Shadyac and stars Greg Kinnear, Aldis Hodge, and Morgan Freeman.

Doug is currently set to direct his original screenplay, OUT SPOKEN, a love story set in the world of basketball and spoken word poetry. He is producing the film along with John Legend, Lou Pitt, and Laura Rister. He is currently writing the script COUNTERFEIT for Will Smith’s company Overbook.

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Testimonials

"Thanks, Doug! Sharing your career experience, creative process and approach to writing screenplays based on true stories has been so helpful!" - Martha C. 

"Thanks Jason - great job moderating as usual!" - Erin N.

"Thank you, Doug, for sharing your knowledge with us." - Jill H. 

"This has been great...Thanks, Doug!" - Martin R. 

"Thank you Doug, Jason, and everyone!" - Pablo L.

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Reviews Average Rating: 5 out of 5

  • This was, by far, one of the most useful videos I've watched on Stage 32. Honestly wonderful information! Just what I needed.
  • Loved this.

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