by Kristin Keiper
Staff Writer
Nashville songwriters and screenwriters take notice - your best opportunity to network with music and television executives happens this weekend at the 11th Annual Nashville Screenwriters Conference.
"The tips and inside information that you're going to get from these producers, managers and screenwriters, you wont find anywhere else," said Joseph Conner of Kaleidoscope Media.
The conference kicks-off its first panel at 2 p.m. Friday, at the historic Union Station Hotel, led by William Akers. Attendees are in store for a significant treat including a networking session and panel led with advice from Catherine Tarr, longtime veteran of Creative Artists Agency.
"What's really special about this year's conference is the advance screening of "I Love You Phillip Morris." It's only the third time its been screened outside of Sundance and Cannes," Conner said.
Tickets are still available, but conference attendees are encouraged to buy their tickets now, especially for Saturday's luncheon panel entitled "Music in the Movies," which has always sold out quickly, Conner said.
"The great thing about it is there are huge music supervisors, and they have actual projects and are looking for songs," Conner said. "Some will bring clips from the movies, others will read part of the script, then the songwriters will have the opportunity to submit a song for those projects."
The panel is scheduled for noon on Saturday, May 30, at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theatre and will feature advice from top music supervisors for songwriters, composers, artists and publishers looking for an "in" for their music in television and film placement.
The hosts of this years panel are Anastasia Brown, 821 Entertainment Group president, and music supervisor Julia Michels, who oversaw music selections for movies including "The Devil Wears Prada," "Marley and Me," and "Sex and the City: The Movie."
"I have been a panelist for a few years and I'm participating again because of the talent in Music City," Michels said. "Nashville's creative community is home to some of the best songwriters and I truly expect to find great songs for my projects."
Conner said the caliber of this year's conference is outstanding with several Academy Award winning screenwriters set to participate in the event.
Credits for this year's panelists include: include NBC's "Life," "Scary Movie 3," "Scary Movie 4," "Bug," "Clash of the Titans," "Aeon Flux," "Crazy/Beautiful," "Wanted," "3:10 to Yuma," "2 Fast, 2 Furious," "Finding Neverland," "Quantum of Solace," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Babel," "Juno," "Gladiator," "Amistad," "Citizen Cohn," "Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Shrek," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy, "The Mask of Zorro," "Twilight," and many more.
Tickets to the conference and the panel schedule can be accessed at nashscreen.com. Tickets to the Music in the Movies panel are limited and may be purchased a la carte on the Web site.