Filmmakers have friend in the 'Script Specialist'
BY PATRICIA YOCZIS Correspondent
Aspiring filmmakers may want to check in with the "Script Specialist" before sending that great screenplay to Hollywood.

George Taglianetti

George Taglianetti, a veteran of adapted and original screen scripts, shares his more than 15 years of movie experience in Hollywood through his Internet Web site, www.thescriptspecialist. com, and by teaching screenwriting courses.

Recently, he finished instructing a five-week Screenwriting Workshop course at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft. He has also taught at Union County College, Cranford, and has plans to teach at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and at Princeton University.

"Today's movies have great technology, but great movies are made from great scripts," said Taglianetti, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater arts from Long Island University, Westbury. "The film industry is crying out for movies with great scripts. I give my students the benefits of what I learned when I first tried to write and promote my scripts."

Taglianetti said he works with a student's or a filmmaker's idea and gives direction on how to develop a "hook" that captures a company's imagination to the marketing plans that make the film saleable.

"A script has to have a storyline that has a beginning, a middle and an end," he said. "Good strong character development is needed. Dialogue flows from the character speaking to you. It sounds simple, but it isn't. And it isn't like writing a book."

The best way to learn how to write a good script, said Taglianetti, is to watch the old great movies. The last session of his screenwriting class always ends by watching a classic film that has the ingredients of a great script.

"You can teach screenwriting and have a person become a successful screenwriter," said Taglianetti, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. "It isn't luck. You know how I spell luck? W-O-R-K. You may have talent and a great idea, but you need to work to make that great script."

Taglianetti said individuals need certain characteristics to be successful in every career.

"For screenwriting, you can't be afraid of being alone when you write," he said. "If you feel insecure, you will freeze and the words will not flow."

Students and would-be screenwriters, he said, leave his classes with direction and an outline of their story idea that they can further explore. While anyone can sign up for his classes, Taglianetti said filmmakers and movie buffs make up the majority of his courses.

"Feedback has been positive from my students," said Taglianetti, who maintains bases in Freehold and Hollywood. "They appreciate the hours I save them in the screenwriting process. If I can make a difference and produce a positive effect for someone who is writing or wants to write screenplays today, it is worth my effort."

Taglianetti is the founder of Taglianetti Pictures and its subsidiaries, Nu Generation Pictures, that concentrates on New Jersey films, and New Movies in Hollywood that promotes events and markets the distribution of films.

He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York City, and has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) since the1970s.

Taglianetti has acted in "The Right Way" starring Cesar Romero, and with David Caruso in the TV series "Michael Hayes." His screenwriting credits include "The Toy Man," "Guess Who's Coming to America," "Maternal Instinct," "Ecstasy," "Mob Non-Fiction," "Son of the Don" and "Mob Fiction."

To contact Taglianetti, click on www.thescreenspecialist.com or e-mail him at scriptspec@gmail.com.

Contact the Outreach Business and Community Development Office of Brookdale Community College for Taglianetti's next scheduled noncredit screenwriting course at 732-724-2315.