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About Doug Chamberlin
Doug Chamberlin has been a professional working screen and television writer for nearly twenty years. One of his films was the 16th highest grossing film of all time.
He has written numerous screenplays, dozens of television scripts, given over 100 pitches, taken hundreds of script meetings, and has worked at every major motion picture studio.
Over the course of his career, Doug has worked with Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Barry Levinson, Jeff Katzenberg, Bruce Willis, Brian Grazer, Barry Sonnenfeld, Caryn Mandabach, Robert De Niro, Bugs Bunny (seriously), Kevin Bright ("Friends"), Harry Shearer and John Lasseter, to name a few. He has worked directly with the heads of Universal, Dreamworks, Pixar and Paramount.
He has written live action movies, sitcoms, both television and feature animation, sketch shows and a little reality. He has worked for both cable and the networks, on both major studio productions and cheap indies. He’s endured meetings ranging from the sublime to the horrible (such as the exec who ate oatmeal during his pitch). He’s taken meetings with Steven Spielberg in his home and endured note sessions via a payphone in an industrial basement.
Doug has haggled with large punch-up teams, and also sweated it out alone at three a.m. He’s survived endless months of development hell, and also written on the fast track (one draft of a feature film was written on deadline in 12 days). Doug has given presentations ranging from the elaborate pitch using charts and visual aids to the simple "door-knobber" pitch ("Hmm, this just occurred to me, but what if…").
He has endured ridiculous notes ("What does a flea really want?") and received sage advice from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Carol Burnett. He’s taken numerous projects on assignment, written several of his own projects, and created a short film which won awards at eight film festivals across America. He “did time” breaking in -- living like a starving artist in a neighborhood peppered by gunshots -- and climbed the ladder to be the “flavor of the month”, experiencing every stage in between.
Doug has spent years studying and working the craft of both the screenplay and the teleplay. He has performed script doctor services and given notes on several projects. He has addressed crowds on the nature of screenwriting at advertising firm GMO Hill Holiday and Writers Bootcamp.
His study experience includes the American Film Institute, The Second City in Chicago, the Warner Brothers Sitcom Writers' Workshop and Northwestern University. He is currently writing a humorous non-fiction book entitled Survive Hollywood Without Losing Your Insanity.