HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: "The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters"

By Susan Royal

Mike De Luca knows a thing or two about screenwriting. While head of production at New Line, he developed such hits as The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Boogie Nights, Se7en, Wag the Dog, Magnolia and The Wedding Singer. As an independent producer he has two films out this year – 21 and the upcoming The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.

Jay A. Fernandez has been an entertainment journalist since 1996. Most recently he wrote the highly regarded "Scriptland" column for the Los Angeles Times before being hired away by The Hollywood Reporter.

Both De Luca and Fernandez host "The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters" – a DVD series featuring 27 of today's most successful screenwriters. In these 70 to 90-minute interviews, top writers share their personal experience and insight into both the process of screenwriting and of navigating one's way through the film industry. The combination of screenwriters of this caliber being interviewed by hosts this knowledgeable makes for a must-see mentoring experience for all aspiring writers.

The series was created by Aleks Horvat, who also created the Hollywood Creative Directory and owns theOffice (a popular creative workspace for writers in Santa Monica), along with his partner, personal manager Larry Shuman.

For more info, go to: www.thedialogueseries.com

	Available at Barnes & Noble Books

ANTHONY QUINN'S EYE:
A Lifetime of Creating and Collecting Art
By Susan Royal

Anthony Quinn, probably best remembered for his performance in Zorba the Greek, began as a stage actor, then appeared in more than 150 films -- winning Best Supporting Actor Oscars for both Viva Zapata (1952) and Lust For Life (1956).

But long before he ever acted, Anthony Quinn was an artist and sculptor. He remained first and foremost an artist, once being quoted as saying, "Without art there is no reason for living." His widow, Katherine Quinn says, "Many people know he was a successful artist, but few know how passionate he was about it and how prolific. He never got to show his artwork the way it should be shown."

Two and a half years ago she was approached by a group of people who wanted to do an exhibition of his artwork in Provinceton, Rhode Island. When they came to the Quinn home to view his art, they were amazed at the sheer volume of his work. Says Katherine, "They were overwhelmed. They had imagined a rather small exhibition."

But among the visitors was well-known graphic designer Malcolm Greer, who recognized the enormity of not only Quinn’s creations, but of his art collection. Says Katherine, "We started putting together photos of Anthony’s art and the art he had collected for a book which we designed together. We asked art critic Donald Kuspit to critique the artwork and the collection and he wrote a piece which we included in the book. Jay Parini (novelist and Professor of Poetry at Middlebury College in Vermont) wrote the intro. A film professor at Rhode Island School of Design pointed out that we needed to include the element of his acting career. So we put the three pieces together -- artist, collector and actor. I then wrote a foreword to the book and we took it out to publishers."

But they soon discovered that an art book was a hard sell these days, particularly to publishers who thought of Anthony Quinn as an actor who happened to sculpt and paint on the side. But Katherine insists he was an artist first. "He was obsessive about his art. He would wake up in the morning and say, ‘I have to get out to the barn because I just had an idea that is driving me crazy and I must put it down,’ or ‘I have to start a sculpture right now.’ I’d say seventy-five percent of his time he spent creating his artwork. The rest was spent writing an idea for as script or a novel or poem."

When the book was nearly done, they took it to Norton who agreed to distribute it. "Malcolm and I published it ourselves, using Meridian Printing to insure the quality control. It has a beautiful design. I hope the book will be recognized for that as well as for the content. But mostly I wanted the book to show Anthony and his artwork in a way that was worthy of his intense dedication and passion."

For more info, go to www.bristolhousepress.com

The author, who previously held top creative positions at Embassy Pictures, Hanna-Barbera, Transworld Pictures and Cannon Films, is best known for creating "Pitchmart," the precursor of the many script picthing seminars of today. When it comes to pitching, Rotcop knows what he's talking about. This is all sound advice and well worth the read--even by experienced pitchers.

THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER:
How to Sell Your Screenplay and Yourself Without Selling Out
by Susan Kougel (Published by TL Hoell Books)

A concrete, step-by-step guide to writing and marketing your screenplay.