Panel Discussion: Pitching During the Pandemic

On August 17 we held this panel with three WGA Screenwriters where we asked them the question: How has COVID-19 Changed the field of Creative Writing, and in particular the field of Screenwriting. Well, they gave us the answer. It has really changed the way screenwriters do business. We were lucky to learn from their expertise.

Join us for the ins and outs of how pitching to networks, studios, and streaming companies has changed, and how that change will impact the entertainment landscape in the years to come.

Host & Moderator: MICHELLE AMOR

Panelists: MICHELLE AMOR, CAMILLE TUCKER & JOE CARROLL

Watch our panel below:

About the Panel: MICHELLE AMOR sold her second TV show, PG COUNTY, along with Lionsgate and Mary J. Blige’s Blue Butterfly Productions to Lifetime in January 2023, and her first TV show, THE HONORABLE to BET/Viacom CBS in March 2020. The Honorable first sold to the CBS Network in 2019. Co-created with Everybody Hates Chris’s Ali LeRoi, the political drama is produced by Dr. Phil’s Stage 29 Productions and CBS Television Studios. Michelle previously co-wrote PLAYIN’ FOR LOVE, directed by and starring Robert Townsend, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Jenifer Lewis, wrote OF BOYS & MEN starring Academy® Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, and co-produced and co-wrote the documentary feature film TUPAC SHAKUR: BEFORE I WAKE. A proud and active member of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), she served four elected terms as co-chair of the Committee of Black Writers (CBW) and in June 2020, penned an open letter titled Dear Hollywood addressing systemic racism that went viral. A passionate Clinical Professor of Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, she previously taught at UCLA, Chapman U., CSUN, and AFI. She received her B.A. in Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College, Chicago, and her M.F.A. in Theater, Film, and Television from UCLA, and in April 2020, she was honored in Variety’s Entertainment Education Impact Issue as a “top educator around the globe”. Michelle currently resides in Westchester, CA with her family, but her heart will always belong to her hometown of Chicago.

A Sundance alum, writer CAMILLE TUCKER hails from Compton, CA, where both her father and brother formerly served as mayor. She has sold scripts to Sony, Universal, Fox TV and New Line. She is the co-writer of Lifetime’s hit TV movie, THE CLARK SISTERS: THE FIRST LADIES OF GOSPEL, which was executive produced by Queen Latifah and nominated for five NAACP Image Awards. Currently, Camille is writing a biopic for LeBron James’ Springhill Entertainment and Disney+, a TV pilot 50 Cent’s G-Unit and the Starz network and is a writer/EP on the Gladys Knight limited series. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, and repped by Entertainment 360. JOE CARROLL is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, having recently written and directed BET+ thriller LETHAL LEGACY. After making national news for crashing a Marvel red carpet impersonating comedian Hannibal Buress, Carroll signed his first studio deal with CBS Studios for SUGAR MAMAS. He also co-created the award-winning Amazon series MS. INCORPORATED and has since served on the writing staff for BEL-AIR, THE CHI, and THE RESIDENT. In addition to screenwriting, Carroll pens the highly acclaimed novel series SINFUL CONFESSIONS.

JOE CARROLL is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, having recently written and directed BET+ thriller LETHAL LEGACY. After making national news for crashing a Marvel red carpet impersonating comedian Hannibal Buress, Carroll signed his first studio deal with CBS Studios for SUGAR MAMAS. He also co-created the award-winning Amazon series MS. INCORPORATED and has since served on the writing staff for BEL-AIR, THE CHI, and THE RESIDENT. In addition to screenwriting, Carroll pens the highly acclaimed novel series SINFUL CONFESSIONS.