Introducing the Brooklyn TV Writers Intiative!

There’s a mental health crisis in America, and we’ve teamed up with The Hollywood Committee to try and use cultural change to promote societal change.

The Hollywood Committee (www.hollywoodcommittee.org) brings together Hollywood creatives like Shawn Ryan (creator of THE SHIELD) and David Shore (creator of HOUSE and THE GOOD DOCTOR) to change the narrative in film and TV around societal issues like gun violence and mental health.

This fall, with the Hollywood Committee’s Managing Director, Robert Bowers Disney, we’re launching the Brooklyn TV Writers Initiative. Our students will work with writers like Valerie Woods (THE CROSSOVER, THE BIG CIGAR), and Alexa Junge (FRIENDS, THE WEST WING), as well as subject experts from The Mental Health Storytelling Coalition, the JED Foundation, and individuals like Dr. AJ Christian from Northwestern University, to learn best practices in meeting with participants who want to share their stories of mental health struggles and well-being.

AI In the Writers Room

“It’s best to think of writers and other artists as tiny businesses, each competing in the marketplace to sell their work. Writers and artists each develop a unique style, voice and brand in order to distinguish themselves. AI fundamentally disrupts that market in ways that could be devastating to the creative economy.”

That’s screenwriter John August testifying before the FCC last October about how AI might affect writers and creative artists in general. AI was a foundational concern of last year’s WGA strike, and because of the strength of my union we gained protections in crucial areas that AI can affect.

AI will define our lives as writers – and as citizens – in the coming years. On April 21 at 2PM our M.F.A. is holding a symposium featuring four critically acclaimed screenwriters, John August, Roshan Singh Sambhi, Megan McDonnell, and Ken LaZebnik, to discuss AI and writing.

Please register at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DFNTIjy6QMWkIgYFYewZLQ

For more reading, here’s John on his engagement with AI:

https://johnaugust.com/2023/my-history-with-ai