As a college that continually challenges itself on being current and relevant in today’s entertainment world, the New York Film Academy not only provides the most state-of-the-art equipment to its students but also frequently invites Hollywood insiders and elites to its campuses to provide invaluable insight into the industry.
As our Australia campus in Queensland continues to grow, we’ve recently started a new Showrunner Masterclass Initiative, in conjunction with Screen Queensland and Screen Australia. The first of these presented television Showrunner and X-Files Executive Producer and Writer, Glen Morgan, for a week at NYFA Australia in Queensland, which concluded in a public four-hour seminar and Q&A session on Saturday, May 2 at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Fortitude Valley.
Glen Morgan is an American television producer, writer and director known for his screen work with long-time writing partner James Wong, including Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond, and the Final Destination series. Morgan is also the Creator and Executive Producer of Intruders, which premiered on BBC America in 2014.
Perhaps most known for his work on the beloved 1990s television series The X-Files, Morgan returns to his work for the popular franchise, as the series is being re-launched with six new episodes. The Los Angeles-based writer, who is returning as an executive producer, worked on X-Files scripts while he was residing in Queensland.
During the four days spent on campus, Glen led in-depth workshops with selected talented writers and producers, where they were given first hand, insider knowledge on the television industry as it stands currently in the United States. Participants were encouraged to pitch their own television concepts to Glen for feedback, and then shown how to strengthen their pitch considerably — an incredible opportunity.
All participants and seminar attendees were excited to have access to Glen’s experience and knowledge. Glen was exceptionally giving of his time and insight, and the overwhelming comment was inspirational his visit truly was.
The attendees weren’t the only ones who were thrilled. Glen enjoyed his stay immensely, and was impressed by the commitment and level of ability shown by those he worked with, expressing his opinion that “there is some outstanding talent coming out of Australia that needs to be seen in the U.S.”
The Academy hopes the Showrunner Masterclass Initiative will provide our Australian students with instrumental writing and producing knowledge as they seek to explore and develop their own content for the television medium.
During the public event and the Masterclass workshops, Mr. Morgan covered such topics as:
– The Development Process
– Creating Content
– Pitching
– The Writers Room
– The State of the Market
– Engaging Networks & Studios
– Production Partnerships
– The Art & Craft of The Showrunner