Another story in this week's DT Halloween series for you...
Matt Blackstone (C'03) is not only a 10th grade English teacher, but he is the author of a new young adult novel, A SCARY SCENE IN A SCARY MOVIE (FSG/Macmillan), which released this summer and Seventeen magazine put it on it's Summer Beach Read list! Yep, this is another story about a Penn alum who is an educator and an author!
One liner is "It's about Rene, a male teen with OCD, and his lingo-inventing friend who tutors him in the art of playing it cool."
And if you're at Penn, you can meet him at the Bookstore at 2 pm tomorrow (this Saturday (10/29)).
After the jump, learn more about the book, Matt's perseverant path from Penn to becoming an author, and a great website for aspiring authors looking for agents!
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perseverance. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Remember in the movie Up how the old man got his house to fly using balloons?
Well, Penn alum Vin Marshall (ENG '00, WQHS) actually accomplished this on the new show he is hosting on the National Geographic Channel called "How Hard Can It Be?" and it premieres this Sunday October 2nd.
After the jump watch this AWESOME clip of a "bonafide flying house" from the show and find out what 2 other captivating episodes of his will also be airing this week!
Read More......
Friday, September 9, 2011
I love how she goes balls-to-the-wall and pursues everything she wants. From reality TV star to children's book illustrator to singer, Schatar is a one woman marketing machine! Her perseverance is to be lauded like these Penn alumni.
After the jump you must watch clips from two of her latest events. All I'll say is you need to see how she enters before she sings the National Anthem at a Las Vegas event!
Read More......
Monday, June 20, 2011
Over the course of us following actress Jess Garvey (C'09) in her "Starter Reality Star" series on DT, she has achieved quite a bit (from going on lots of auditions to booking commercials).
In today's episode, Jess starts a new day job and brings us on an audition that didn't go as well as she had hoped.
After the jump, watch the episode with special guest star and pal Penn alum Jeni Sue Birnbaum (C'08) and then find out what other exciting audition she had since this episode was filmed!
Read More......
Friday, June 3, 2011
Now, more good news. Yesterday it was announced that Fox has signed a two-year overall deal with them. (source)
Fantastic news, and the inspirational story here for DT readers is how the Joes got their start together.
For those of you looking to write and produce, after the jump read their story and take note!
Read More......
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
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| Photo credit: University Communications |
After the jump, listen to Dr. Gutmann's very creative, Hollywood movie-themed commencement speech she gave at the 2011 ceremonies yesterday ...and be sure to listen for some very special sound effects added at key moments during her speech!
I encourage all of you to watch this speech and then continue pursuing your dreams.
Read More......
Thursday, April 28, 2011
As you know from reading DT, I love following the path of actors who come out to LA. No two journeys are ever the same.
Cut to our first vlogger: Alex Weber (C'09, Lacrosse).
We haven't heard from Alex since November when he shared with us the 5 important pillars any actor should take to heart before getting into the business.
To catch you up, what started out as a good year for Alex, has gotten even better. He booked a commercial with some of his idols, won a meeting with a hollywood casting director and and he landed a commercial with Sprint.
After the jump, watch Alex's latest vlog and check out clips from his new appearances on a popular daytime tv show, and the fun new award-winning tv pilot he stars in about "bros" becoming activists about pressing national issues. (feels very MTVish and very marketable!)
Like many of the alumni I cover on DT, you gotta love Alex's perseverance!
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
If you recall, I covered screenwriter Ryan Jaffe (C'96) when he wrote THIS film a couple years back.
Since then, Ryan, has penned a script about the life of singer Jeff Buckley
.In case you're not familiar with who Jeff Buckley is, per Deadline,
"Buckley, son of the famed but troubled folk musician Tim Buckley, became an influence on musicians from Kurt CobainAfter the jump, learn how Ryan got involved in this project and how perseverance paid off (must read!)to Coldplay. He shunned the spotlight, though, preferring to play small clubs and who for a long time played as a session guitarist to make a living. He recorded one hit album, "Grace"
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Penn alum Jake Laufer (C'96, UTV, Ice Hockey, P.A.R.M.E.S.A.N)'s spooky "Ghost Lab" TV show debuts tonight on the Discovery Channel, but the real story here is Jake's path in becoming a co-Executive TV producer which includes:
- perseverance
- moving to 3 different cities
- and seizing opportunities
Read More......
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Recently, Alex debuted the commercial he was in with some of his idols.
In this month's vlog episode, after the jump, Alex talks about:
- what "special skills" he's developing now that will help him in his acting career
- what he's doing with his downtime and the group he's now involved in
Read More......
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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| Marc Platt and Stephen Schwartz |
" creator), Ryan Murphy ("Glee" creator) and Rob Marshall (Chicago
). (source)Speaking of "Wicked, remember THIS Penn alum who starred in the LA version of the show?
More DT Marc Platt stories HERE
And some good Marc Platt videos you'll want to check out after the jump!
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Allison Winn Scotch (C'95, Kappa Alpha Theta, Theater productions, DP) explores this concept in her 3rd novel, The One That I Want
that she's currently touring the country with. More about her book, how she got her start and how and where you can attend her book reading tonight (Thursday) in LA...
Read More......
Friday, July 31, 2009
Those who succeed in Hollywood, are those that are in it for the long haul.
Case in point: Jonathan London (C'01, WQHS Radio, The Hollywood Club)
After film school, Jonathan stuck to his guns, got to know the right people and created really well produced films you'll want to see. Pay attention to this guy Hollywood alumni...he's doing some really good films...
CLICK HERE to learn how did Jonathan got his start, what led to his success and watch two professionally produced short films of his you will love. (hint: if you love stories having to do with being single and/or love Ninja comedies, then you'll love these!)
How did Jonathan get his start?
Per Jonathan,
"After graduating from Penn in 2001 I entered the Film MFA program at Columbia. I had been accepted to Columbia and USC but ultimately chose Columbia for their approach to self-financing your film, the faculty they had on staff and their support for owning your own film. I was a fan of the directors coming out of the school and I don't think other schools could compete with recent grads like James Mangold, Kimberley Pierce and Greg Mottola (to name a few). A lot of other schools had more storied reputations but I was excited for what was currently going on at the school.Stay tuned this fall when DT announces another big endeavor Jonathan has been working on!
I left in 2003, moved to L.A. and shot a film for school called Gay By Dawn (featured in Pennfest 2006 - program HERE, photos HERE). It was a comedy horror short and it played really well at festivals for about two years. I knew it played well with festival audiences because it was weird, but just kept sending it to any festival that would take it and was shocked that it lived so long.
At the same time, I was working as a PA runner for a few different film companies. One of the companies was Fox Television Studios and I made friends with the assistants and gave them copies of my movie. About two years after THAT, the assistants had moved up the ranks and were now executives and needed to bring in projects of their own to develop. Luckily, any DVD that reads "Gay By Dawn" in big letters really stands out on a shelf so I got some calls and pitched my series ideas.
The one that really struck a chord was "Singledom", which I think is pretty relatable for people a few years out of college who are lost in the post-grad limbo.
I wrote and directed a presentation for "Singledom" and while that went through sales pitches and further development the studio asked me to take a look at a project they had called "When Ninjas Attack". My geeky enthusiasm and ridiculous knowledge of old ninja and kung fu movies made it a pretty good fit and a few weeks later the scripts were written and I was directing the six episodes that are being released this summer."
HOT TIP!: Get some of Jonathan's great tips HERE and learn about a great free screenwriting tool he's using that I didn't even know about until he mentioned it!
More posts from my "Penn's REEL deals" series
More of my Funny Friday posts
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