Jule Selbo

Instructor Biography:

MFA, PhD, screenwriter; WGA member who has written films for the Jim Henson Company and Walt Disney Studios, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Part Deux and Cinderella II.  Dr. Selbo’s feature credits include Columbia Pictures’ Hard Promises, as well as screenplays for Paramount, Universal, and HBO. She teaches in the MFA in Screenwriting program at CSU Fullerton, and is the author of Film Genre for Screenwriters (Routledge) and co-editor of the ground-breaking Women Screenwriters International Guide (2015, Palgrave Macmillan).

Instructor Statement:

It all comes down to telling a story. A story that includes interesting characters, emotional truths, a solid point of view and plot points that keep an audience guessing, and a visual notion. No one says it's easy. But it can be done. The work is challenging, exciting and rewarding, and there is a method to the madness. There are tangible ways to approach concept, story breakdown, structure, story points, characters, dialogue, visual ideas, and themes. There are real issues to be taken into consideration: what's produceable, what's commercial, what's needed to catch the eye of studio executives or talent or a director. My class is run like a seminar, there's hands-on work on your concept and story work, there's immediate feedback and guidance. You work by yourself and with your classmates. You won't feel alone when facing that blank sheet of paper. Hard work is expected, but that's what it takes to create a solid, salable story.