[Sponsored] OPEN EVENT – Pen Densham Speaks at USC Wed. Feb. 16

Come discover what people like Ron Howard, Paul Haggis, Robin Wright and Jeff Bridges are hailing as the next great book on screenwriting, and be entered to win a FREE copy of Final Draft Screenwriting Software plus 10 copies of the book, Riding The Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay WritingFebruary 16th at 7 p.m. at USC! There will be readings from the book plus a wine & cheese reception following.

A high school drop out at age 15, writer–producer–director and co–founding partner of Trilogy Entertainment, Pen Densham (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Backdraft, The Outer Limits) never imagined he would add the title “Professor” to his credentials, or that anyone would dream of holding an event for a book he wrote at arguably the most prestigious film school in America. “I thought a syllabus was something you take penicillin for,” jokes Densham. “But after being persuaded by my longtime Trilogy partner John Watson, I began my class [teaching Graduate MFA students at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts] by researching with them the current screenwriting books at that time, failing to find one that approached writing as a holistic and personal act – the kind of book that I would have wanted to read when I was starting out in the business.”

So Densham began writing essays on the topics he wanted to share with his students. “My first rule was: ignore everything I say that goes against the nature of your creativity. I have a deep desire to help creative people survive. I think it comes from having had a tough home life, with a damaged stepmother and a father who had little confidence in me. That struggle to fight to believe in myself has always resonated in my wanting to champion creativity in others.”

Going one step further, Densham describes his desire to make the sometimes lonely and doubtful process of writing feel more collegial. “I didn’t want mine to be the only voice. So I asked 12 other top screenwriters I valued to add theirs to the work with short, supportive essays. People like Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), and Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island).”

To download a free chapter from Riding the Alligator, visit www.ridingthealligator.com. Also look for Riding The Alligator on Facebook.