UH West O‘ahu and the Academy for Creative Media System sponsor free script writing workshop

Presented by “Supah Ninjas’’ Creators Eric Garcia and Leo Chu

University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
Contact:
Julie Funasaki Yuen, (808) 689-2604
Public Info Officer, Communications Department
Posted: Feb 22, 2016

Leo Chu
Leo Chu
Eric Garcia
Eric Garcia

KAPOLEI --- The University of Hawaiʻi Academy for Creative Media System together with the University of Hawaiʻi – West O‘ahu will host a Creative Media Masters Series script writing workshop featuring creators, executive producers, and showrunners of Nickelodeon’s “Supah Ninjas,” and former executive producers and showrunners of the anime series “Afro Samurai,” Eric Garcia and Leo Chu. The Masters Series is part of UH West Oʻahu’s Creative Media concentration and aims to increase student understanding of the art and business of content creation. All presentations are free and open to students, faculty, and the public.

Script writing workshop with Eric Garcia and Leo Chu, Friday, March 11, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

UH West Oʻahu Laboratory (E) Building, E140

Ever dream of writing movies and TV shows, comics, web series and video games, too? Are you serious about improving your storytelling skills and taking your writing to the next level? Come to a free, two-hour workshop with industry experts Eric Garcia and Leo Chu, who can improve your writing skills and offer tips on character-building, story structure, dialogue and more. Plus get insider tips on how to pitch your stories to Hollywood executives.

Eric Garcia and Leo Chu

Eric Garcia and Leo Chu made their mark as the Emmy-nominated executive producers and showrunners of Spike’s adult action series “Afro Samurai” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Lucy Liu. They expanded the franchise with a hit Namco video game and Tor graphic novel series as well as writing and executive producing the sequel “Afro Samurai: Resurrection,” which made history as the first animé to win a Primetime Emmy Award.

Most recently, they were the creators, executive producers, and showrunners of the live-action, Emmy Award-winning, action-comedy series “Supah Ninjas” starring George Takei and Randall Park for Nickelodeon. The series is the number one show in its time period for boys, airs constantly on Nick’s various networks, and won them a Writers Guild Award. They have developed pilots for NBC, FOX 21, MTV, Dreamworks, Spike and AwesomenessTV; and penned films for Sony, Warner Bros., and Disney.

Previously, Chu was the vice president of creative affairs for Walt Disney Feature Animation where he developed such Academy Award-winning films as Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” and Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away.” Other films include Disney’s “Mulan,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Tarzan,” “Dinosaur,” and “Meet The Robinsons” as well as Pixar’s “Toy Story” and “Monster’s Inc.”

Prior to teaming with Chu, Garcia served as a writer for Walt Disney Television Animation where he worked on Disney’s breakout animated series “Recess,” the subsequent hit film Recess: School’s Out,” and Disney’s top-rated animated show, “Lloyd in Space.” In addition, Garcia worked for Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment on the adaptations of Miyazaki’s beloved masterpieces “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Laputa: Castle in the Sky.”

Follow Garcia and Chu on Twitter @planeteric and @leochu88.

For more information about the UH West Oʻahu Creative Media Masters Series script writing workshop with Eric Garcia and Leo Chu, contact UHWO Creative Media Coordinator Sharla Hanaoka at shanaoka@hawaii.edu or Academy for Creative Media System Director Chris Lee at cpl@hawaii.edu.

Established in 1976, the University of Hawaiʻi - West O‘ahu is an indigenous-serving institution that offers quality education, small class sizes, and personalized attention. UH West O‘ahu has the newest bachelor's degree-granting campus in the University of Hawaiʻi System, serving approximately 2,700 students with academic programs that emphasize interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies. UH West Oʻahu commemorates its 40th anniversary in 2016. For more information, visit www.uhwo.hawaii.edu, call (808) 689-2800 or toll-free (866) 299-8656. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.  

UH West Oʻahu’s Creative Media program is offered in partnership with the UH Academy for Creative Media System that supports and coordinates the creative media studies efforts among the UH campuses. Taking advantage of the system-wide approach, UH West Oʻahu’s program enables students to develop unique skill sets at the community colleges and transfer seamlessly to UH West Oʻahu for continued scholarship and professional development.