TWILIGHT SAGA AUTHOR/PRODUCER, STEPHENIE MEYER SURPRISES AUDIENCE AT PRERELEASE SCREENING OF SUNDANCE HIT AUSTENLAND AT THE LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL.
Hollywood, CA (Friday, August 16th, 2013) – Austenland, opening in theaters today, was screened pre-release on Friday, August 9th, during a panel hosted by The Los Angeles Film School in collaboration with The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith. Guest speakers for the evening were co-writer and director Jerusha Hess and producer Stephenie Meyer.
Jerusha Hess is known for her work as co-writer on Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. Austenland is her directorial debut. Author Stephenie Meyer is an established writer whose successful series the Twilight saga have also been made into feature films. Austenland marks her first producing credit outside of the Twilight series.
In attendance of the event were approximately 200 Los Angeles Film School students, industry professionals and aspiring writers. Hess and Meyer spoke on everything from the writing process to the experience of production and the beauty of the location in shaping the film.
Meyer explained Austen’s influence in her writing: “I read Jane Austen from a very early age and a lot, over and over again. And I think that it really informed my idea of what a romantic hero should be… but she had all the types… All the types of like that perfect man in a story, who always does what he is supposed to do and never turns out to be kind of a jerk. There are the jerk ones too. But the heroes are always so great and so when I was writing a romance I think that I was very much influenced by her.”
A podcast of the Q&A in its entirety is available for free download via iTunes.
This event was hosted by the Library of The Los Angeles Film School and the Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith. Goldsmith is the editor in Chief and Publisher of Backstory, now available for subscription on the ipad. For more information on the Los Angeles Film School, please visit: www.lafilm.edu.
About the Los Angeles Film School
The Los Angeles Film School (www.lafilm.edu) is a creative arts college that offers career-focused, accredited Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees. Students receive an immersive educational experience in beautiful world-class facilities with a supportive culture where seasoned instructors collaborate with talented, award-winning alumni to help students build professional networks that can last a lifetime.
