Carlo Ricci
Carlo Ricci
Spring Into Summer Writing Your Next Project
Do you want to write your next project but haven’t gotten around to it? Or did you get started, and then put it down?
I know how to jumpstart you into writing your next story this summer with skill, confidence and style. I’ll be your story mentor, and I’ve got a 100% success rate supporting fiction and non-fiction writers to get their stories onto the page!
How do we work together? I design a 3-Phase Story Development Program unique to your needs:
— In Phase 1, we’ll be gathering and organizing the source material;
— In Phase 2, we’ll do a first draft story outline by defining the archetypal structure, character orchestration and themes;
— In Phase 3, we’ll finalize the story outline that will keep you inspired and on track to bring your next project to fruition.
Your commitment? We will work one-on-one and I will guide you through eight 60-minute sessions. Between sessions, I will be shaping and developing your source material — — so you can finally spring into summer writing your next project.
As always, consultations on screenplays and novels available by separate agreement. Reach out for a complimentary story session so I can learn more about your project at tom@tomschlesinger.com
The Storytelling Workshop at Disney’s Maker Studios
About Tom
I was on a pre-med scholarship at the University of Illinois when I first saw Midnight Cowboy, The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. These transformational films astonished me; they spoke to something deep inside and changed my life. I had found my lifework: to be involved in the magic of storytelling.
So, I switched from pre-med to creative writing, and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Film from UCLA. I optioned my first two screenplays on an amazing early ride, sharing my scripts with Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood. But when the scripts weren’t made into films I went into despair, wound up working as a bellman in a downtown Chicago hotel, and pondered whether film school had been a huge mistake. I confessed to a fellow bellman over a cold beer that while I loved storytelling, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to follow my dream and make movies. He suggested I come with him to a lecture that very night.
The speaker was author Joseph Campbell, featuring his book ‘Hero with a Thousand Faces’, and that night triggered a life-long passion for the power of story to affect positive change in society. I was inspired to create social impact entertainment, and mythologist Jean Houston, a renowned expert on the psychology of creativity, became my mentor. Through studies with Jean, I made the single most important discovery of my storytelling career: that what we’re experiencing emotionally as we’re writing is what the characters are experiencing emotionally – and ultimately what the audience experiences when watching the film. Realizing that writers experience a parallel rite of passage with their characters led me to begin teaching human potential workshops at UCLA, the Esalen Institute, the California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and the Academy of Art in Munich.
I started teaching at the National Film School in Munich and began writing, teaching and consulting in Europe, North America and North Africa. My first two collaborations with filmmaker Carolin Link in Germany resulted in nominations for two Academy Awards, with ‘Nowhere in Africa’ winning the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2003.
I co-wrote a film for Columbia Pictures that had the full studio machine behind it, but was a box office disappointment. I realized it was time to go deeper into my craft and in that exploration, I started my journey into documentary films. I was honored to work with renowned filmmaker Paul Saltzman on “Prom Night in Mississippi” featuring Morgan Freeman, and “The Last White Knight,” featuring Harry Belafonte – and both are still having great social impact, internationally.
So, I’d found my niche: combining narrative strategies with true stories. As if on cue, the next two films I’d be writing were powerful, transformational stories based on true events. ‘Thief River’, the ‘Hoosiers’ of hockey, and ‘Second Line West’, the story of a single mother of four, who saved the lives of a number of troubled souls by guiding them toward spiritual solutions.
As a result of these fortuitous collaborations, I‘ve taught transformational storytelling to over 10,000 industry professionals at Pixar, Lucasfilm, Deluxe Studios and the AFI.
Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time” Producer Catherine Hand shares her compelling journey to making this classic family adventure story
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Tom has a keen sense of the “big picture.” His insight allowed us to envision structure and effective character arcs in the early stages of development — important assets in creating a great screenplay.
Tom has the amazing ability to guide writers to a place of enhanced creativity.
Tom has a very unique approach to story and I’m extremely grateful to have had his guidance.
Attending Tom’s workshop was a creative turning point for me as a documentary filmmaker.
I think I learned more about storytelling from Tom at the workshop than I learned in my last 10 years stumbling through my career.
Tom helped me focus on possibilities instead of limitations. His qualities as a guide cannot be valued enough, not to mention that he is a great guy, and tremendous fun to work with!
I would HIGHLY recommend Tom to anyone involved in visual storytelling.
The first thing I did when I began writing was to pick up the phone and call Tom. I can’t think of a more insightful and inspiring “wing man”. He truly guides me to do my best work.
Tom is a master in working with dichotomies: logic and emotion, brain and heart, body and soul… my characters came alive as we found the optimal structure for my script.
Collaborating with Tom has been absolutely essential for me and, aside from his sheer intellectual input, so much fun!
Tom’s extraordinary guidance on my scripts for “Nowhere in Africa” and “Beyond Silence” enriched my award-winning films immensely.
Tom is the best: full stop!
Tom’s wisdom, inspiration, and deep understanding of character and story continue to guide me on each screenwriting journey.
Working with Tom Schlesinger is worth its weight in gold!