Syllabus--To have hoards of screaming fans.

Kidding. Well, mostly.

I want to start out in story in the industry. From there, I'd like to work my way up to an elite creative role, eventually direct. I'd like to be the sort of movie maker that geeks and nerds are fans of (a la Peter Jackson and Joss Whedon). I feel that when you create a story for the sake of telling a really good story instead of following an industry moneymaking blueprint that the emotional reaction from the audience will be much greater. (And when you can manipulate people's emotions, you can encourage them to spend more money anyway. Just saying)

Out of the top twenty box office grossing films for the US (unadjusted for inflation) 9 are based off of books or graphic novels (I'm counting Passion of the Christ, since it's based off the Bible and makes my stats look more impressive) That's nearly half. If you keep reading down the list, you'll find the Harry Potter films, assorted sequels to superhero films, and (sorry, but it goes on the list) The Twilight "Saga". (rolls eyes)

I want to have a thorough understanding of the comic book industry. I've had my finger on the pulse of prose book-to-film adaptions for years. I've developed a great appreciation for the screenwriters and movie makers who try to stay faithful to the already famous stories while still trying to compensate for the large portion of the audience with no previous emotional attachments.

If I want to be the film maker who adapts these well known stories, with scads of material dating back decades, then my grasp of how to tell stories needs to be top notch. Since comic books are basically "pure story" (everything HAS to contribute) I feel this class will make me up my game.

(p.s. Also, whatever job I have in the industry, I wanna do a webcomic on the side. Just saying.)