Creative Principles

Zach Baylin and Kate Susman are a successful husband-and-wife creative duo and the co-founders of the production company Youngblood Pictures. Baylin is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who achieved prominence for his debut feature, KING RICHARD - where Will Smith won the Oscar, and has since co-written major films inclu

Michael Shannon is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Tony Award-nominated actor with a distinguished career in film, television, and theater. This fall, he stars opposite Russell Crowe and Rami Malek in the historical drama NUREMBERG and plays President James Garfield in the Netflix series DEATH BY LIGHTNING. D

Nora Garrett is a writer and actress. She is a 2024 honoree of Variety’s annual “10 Screenwriters to Watch” issue and was recently staffed on Ed Solomon’s new series THE SPOT for A24 and Hulu. Nora wrote the new film AFTER THE HUNT, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, a

Derek Kolstad is a screenwriter and producer best known as the creator of the global blockbuster JOHN WICK franchise and the writer of its first three films. He is also the creator, writer, and director of Netflix’s upcoming animated series SPLINTER CELL: DEATHWATCH, based on Tom Clancy and Ubisoft’s acclaimed video ga

John-Michael Powell is an Emmy Award–winning filmmaker and co-founder of Midnight Road Entertainment. His latest feature, VIOLENT ENDS, will be released theatrically by IFC Films. VIOLENT ENDS is a southern-gothic revenge thriller set deep in the Ozark Mountains. The film chronicles the life of Lucas Frost, an honest m

Bekah Brinkmeier is a USA Today bestselling author and ghostwriter behind more than 85 novels. When she’s not deep in a draft, she’s teaching at AutoCrit, speaking at author events, or coaching fellow writers—especially neurodivergent creatives—on how to wrangle their ideas and actually finish what they start. In this