INDUSTRY 101 EVENT SERIES
Adaptation 101: Throw The Book at ‘Em
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | 5-6:30 PM PT | Online
You’ve written the next great American novel, but you are not weeping like Alexander because you’ve no more lands to conquer. You’ve decided, and maybe even been hired, to adapt your book (or another’s) into a feature-length screenplay.
This craft-centric conversation will delve into what writing a screenplay entails, the format’s stylistic conventions and norms, and the narrative structures most often employed. It will also cover the differences between the mediums of narrative prose and film: what each does well, poorly, and the different personalities and stakeholders who get involved.
PANELISTS
Soo Hugh
Soo Hugh serves as showrunner, executive producer, and creative visionary behind the drama series Pachinko which premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022. Based on the international best-selling novel of the same name, the series follows the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. Epic in scope and intimate in tone, the show has won numerous awards including The Peabody, The Gotham Awards, and The Critics’ Choice Award.
In January 2024, Hugh signed a multi-year overall deal with Apple TV+ and Media Res. Under the deal, Hugh and her Moonslinger Productions banner headed by Margo Klewans will create, write, and produce content for the streaming service, and the TV studio and movie production company.
She is also writing, directing and producing an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night for Searchlight through her Moonslinger Productions banner, partnering with Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley/LuckyChap Entertainment, and Keri and Lucy Putnam/Putnam Pictures. Her other producing projects include an adaptation of Kim Un-su’s novel The Plotters, the true crime thriller Larrimah with Georgia Pritchett writing and showrunning, a television adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg’s THE COMMUNE, and an English-language remake of Kim Ki-Young’s seminal film trilogy, The Housemaid.
Hugh was previously the co-showrunner for the critically lauded first season of AMC’s The Terror, produced by Ridley Scott and starring Jared Harris, Ciaran Hinds, and Tobias Menzies. She also created The Whispers for ABC, based on a Ray Bradbury short story which was produced by Steven Spielberg, and directed by Mark Romanek. The series was sold when Soo was a staff writer. Other television credits include writing on The Killing (AMC) and Under the Dome (CBS). Hugh formerly had a multi-year overall deal with Universal Content Productions to develop, write and produce projects. As part of the deal, she launched an incubator program, “The Thousand Miles Project,” to help bring more AAPI stories to cinematic life, and jumpstart fruitful careers in the entertainment industry.
She earned her BA from Yale University and her MFA from University of Southern California’s film school. Hugh lives in New York City.
Anya Leta
Anya Leta is a screenwriter whose TV writing credits include the Emmy-winning Homeland on Showtime and Apple TV’s The Morning Show. Most recently, Anya served as a writer/producer on the Peabody-winning Showtime series Fellow Travelers, a historical romance and political thriller set during the Lavender Scare of the 1950s. In September 2024, Anya won a Humanitas Prize for writing Episode 4 of Fellow Travelers. Anya received her M.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia in Singapore.
MODERATOR
Jacqueline Zambrano
Jacqueline Zambrano is a writer, producer, and instructor for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. A WGA member and multiple award nominee, Jacqueline Zambrano has written for numerous shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also has created and executive produced dramatic television series for Fox, CBS, Pax, Showtime and the internet.
