Richard Walter

Professor Richard Walter is a celebrated storytelling educator, movie industry expert and longtime co-chairman of UCLA’s legendary graduate program in screenwriting. A screenwriter and published novelist, his latest book, "Essentials of Screenwriting," is available in stores now. His previous published works include the novels "Escape from Film School" and "Barry and the Persuasions" and the non-fiction works "The Whole Picture: Strategies for Screenwriting Success in the New Hollywood" and "Screenwriting: The Art, Craft and Business of Film and Television Writing."

Walter has written numerous feature assignments for the major studios and has sold material to all three networks. He has also written many informational, educational and corporate films. He lectures on screenwriting and storytelling throughout North America and the world. He has conducted master classes in London, Paris, Jerusalem, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Beijing, Sydney and Hong Kong.

Students from Walter’s screenwriting program at UCLA have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus dozens of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including three recent Oscar® winners for best screenplay, "The Descendants," "Milk" and "Sideways."

Walter is a widely-viewed pop culture critic and media pundit who has appeared multiple times on NPR and KABC-Talk Radio, on numerous independent television and radio stations and on the programs "The Today Show," "The O’Reilly Factor," "Hardball," "ABC Primetime," "Scarborough Country" and "CBS News Nightwatch." More than a hundred newspaper and magazine articles have described his work and the program he directs at UCLA.

In addition to his stature in the media and academic world as a writer of substantial professional experience, Richard is also a leading expert witness in intellectual property litigation.