As the mercury rose outside, CS turned up the temp with hot tips from special guest speaker Ken Rance. If you missed it, you REALLY missed out.
A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kenneth Rance began his writing career at the tender age of 5 with his first published book entitled, The Policeman and the Helicopter. As an undergraduate, Rance created That Black Guy Productions, a film and video production company, in addition to working as an award winning photojournalist. In 1992, he graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Radio/Television/Film Production from the Howard University School of Communications, in Washington, D.C.
In 1993, Rance moved to Los Angeles, CA in search of a promising career as a television executive. His first job was an office production assistant on “Roc”, the critically acclaimed FOX Broadcasting Company series. After “Roc”, Rance worked as an assistant to a talent agent at the William Morris Agency. In 1994, Rance was admitted to the CBS Television Executive Management Training Program where he developed the M.O.W. “Cyberstalk”, for Norton Wright Productions/CBS Productions and coordinated the first annual, CBS/WGAw Television Writers Workshop for emerging minority writers entitled: The No-bullshit Approach To Becoming a Successful Television Writer.
In 1996, Rance was inducted into the Writers Guild of America, west, Inc. and presently Co-Chairs the Committee of Black Writers. Since then he has written and produced several television projects in addition to having sold six original screenplays: “Scary Dates” to 20th Century Fox Films; “RePros” to Davis Entertainment/Destination Films; “Paper Or Plastic” to The Knight Company; “Homecoming: The Revenge” to Fox 2000; “B&G” to Viridian Entertainment; and “32 & Single” to Universal Pictures.
Rance’s other accomplishments include completion of the Riordan MBA Fellowship at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, working with the LA County Department of Probation as a social worker for juvenile offenders, the Los Angeles Unified School District as an inner city high school teacher, and receiving his (EMT-1) paramedic training and certification at El Camino College.
Today, Kenneth Rance lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Cheryl and daughter Kennedy, where he continues to write and develop motion picture and television projects. Presently, Rance guest lectures at Howard University and his most recent film “32 & Single” (Gold Circle/Universal) starring Renée Zellweger is slated for production in the fall.
BURNING QUESTIONS...
Ken lent his time to our members for a lengthy Q&A, drawing from his prolific experience within the studio system. He had sage advice for writers at all levels. Topics ranged from his own writing process and his commitment to writing with passion that comes from the heart, to business-related items like pitching storylines and the triangle of management professionals every writer should know: Attorneys, agents and managers.
Lastly Ken gave us all a much-needed shot in the arm, speaking on the digital revolution and the widening of the cinematic horizon beyond the matrix of the Hollywood studio system.
A BIG CS shout-out to Ken for his time and his insights, for offering us a peek into what it takes to be taken seriously.
THANK YOU , KEN!
NEW LOCATION AND WEBSITE
Our new location offered us shelter from the heat, at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 3307 Rea Rd. Special thanks to CS member Kathy Larson for arranging our new meeting location, and to Good Shepherd for hosting us. THANKS, KATHY!
CS member Rick Johnson has accepted the role of web site designer and graphic designer for our promotional materials. THANKS, RICK!
NEWS YOU CAN USE
CS President John Cane has issued a call for participants in his new writing project, a series of 8-12 vignettes on a variety of topics. Details will be posted to the website shortly.
Thanks to everyone who came out, and be sure to join us for our next meeting, July 16, 2007 featuring a new guest speaker, along with THE USUAL SUSPECTS for more fun, fellowship and encouragement!
For directions to Good Shepherd, go to www.gspc.net.
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