Start Your Script The Right Way
On Demand Webinar
What You'll Learn
In order to have success in the current marketplace, you need to do three things:
Hook the reader with your characters.
Hook the reader with your story.
Hook the reader with your premise.
The best writers are able to nail all three of those objectives in their first scene.
Learn a step-by-step process for designing and executing your opening in a way that can truly excite a reader and make them absolutely want to keep reading.
These are the exact same techniques used in the openings of such projects as Fleabag, Game of Thrones, Orange Is the New Black, Breaking Bad, Atlanta, Stranger Things, 30 Rock, Seinfeld, Succession, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Moonlight, Lady Bird, Parasite and countless others.
Most scripts are rejected after the first scene. Don't let that happen to you.
You will have unlimited access to this On Demand content for one year.
Meet the Instructor
Corey Mandell
Corey Mandell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant, Kopelson Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures. Corey's students and clients have gone on to sell original scripts and pitches to Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, MGM, A24, Nickelodeon, Universal, Showtime, NBC, AMC, MTV, Amazon, FX, Hulu, Netflix and HBO. Others have been staffed on such shows as Stranger Things, Orange Is the New Black, Community, Big Little Lies, This is Us, The Walking Dead, Marvel’s Agents of Shield, You’re the Worst, Pretty Little Liars, Mozart in the Jungle, The Mentalist, BoJack Horseman, Justified, The Blacklist, Jane the Virgin, Schitt’s Creek, The Leftovers, Mr. Robot and Succession.
What Others Are Saying
“If you want to hone your craft as a professional writer, Corey provides the comprehensive training and clear cut techniques to do so. I’ve found his workshops to be invaluable.”
Steve Zissis, co-creator of HBO's Togetherness
“As someone with years of experience in the development world, I found Corey’s class to be absolutely valuable. If you are committed to becoming a better writer, he can definitely help you.”
Jennifer Soskin, Director of Development and Production at HBO Films
“No one teaches what Corey does, not even the best graduate programs. The skills I learned from him are one of the main reasons I launched my career.”
Tamara Carter, Staff writer on HBO's The Leftovers and Writer/Producer on FX's upcoming, Freshwater
“After finishing Corey's class I was finally able to land an agent and my first produced writing credit. I still consult the notes from Corey's class in my writing as they've been indispensable.”
Keith Schreier, Staff Writer on The Good Wife and Justified