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Leslie Kreiner Wilson Faculty Profile

Leslie Kreiner Wilson

Professor of Creative Writing & Film
Director of MFA Program in Screenwriting
Humanities/Teacher Education Division, Seaver College
CAC 107
310.506.7152

Education

  • PhD, American Literature and Film Studies, Claremont Graduate University
  • MA, Literature, Florida State University
  • BS, Journalism and Communications, University of Florida

 

  • "Strictly on the Level, Like a Flight of Stairs": Irving Thalberg and Anita Loos in the Case of Red-Headed Woman (1932), Film History: An International Journal, 34.1, 2022

  • June Mathis: The Master Class, Journal of Screenwriting, 13.1, 2022

  • "Sex Had Nothing to Do with It": Mae West as Mentoring Icon, 50.1, 2022

  • Mae West, She Done Him Wrong, and the Code, Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture, 16.2, 2017
  • Frances Marion, The Secret Six, and the Evolving American Heroine of the Early 1930s, Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, March 2017
  • Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of Anita Loos: A Girl Like I as Prequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Popular Culture Studies Journal, 4.1&2, 2016
  • The Censor, the Steam Fitter, and Anita Loos: Or, The Silent Film Adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928), Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, 8.2, 2015.
  • Frances Marion, Studio Politics, Film Censorship, and the Box Office: Or, The Business of Adapting Dinner at Eight at MGM, 1933, Literature/Film Quarterly, 42.1, 2014.
  • The Education of Frances Marion and Irving Thalberg: Censorship, Development, and Distribution at MGM, 1927-1930, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 31.2, 2014.
  • Frances Marion: Censorship and the Screenwriter in Hollywood, 1929-1931, Journal of Screenwriting, 3.2, 2012.
  • Fiction and poetry published by the following: Arabesques; Barnwood; Expressionists; Hollywood Books International; Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal; Oregon Literary Review; The Other Voices; Prick of the Spindle: A Journal of the Literary Arts; The Poetry Press; The Rose & Thorn; Southern Women's Review
  • One act plays written, directed, and produced for Pepperdine showcases: Broken Pickles; Faking It; First Day; Foreclosure; Interview with the Devil; Modern Art; There Is No Frigate like a Book; Three Miles Under; Frances & Anita; Burnt Toast
  • Select produced film scripts: Skid Row, Great White, Extreme, Fighting Words, Mississippi Son, Frankie Laine
  • Web series on screenwriting: Notes on Craft: Character; Screenwriting Techniques; If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Top Tips for Screenwriters; Setting; Dialogue; Introducing Your Protagonist; The Inciting Incident; Conflict
  • Screenwriting Research Network Best Article of the Year
  • Brett J. Love Teaching Award
  • Pepperdine University AYURI Grant
  • Pepperdine University CDIUR Grant
  • Pepperdine University Randall Faculty Grant
  • Pepperdine University SURP Grant
  • Pepperdine University Faculty/Student Mentorship Grant
  • Pepperdine University Research Grant
  • Glazer Institute Grant
  • Claremont Graduate University Fellowship
  • Claremont Student Council Award

  • Sports, Religion, and the Woman Screenwriter in Early Hollywood, Broadcast Education Association Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2023

  • The Twist: Plot Turns That Make Movie Magic, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Seattle, WA, 2023

  • 9 Memorable Moments: Constructing Compelling Characters for the Screen, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Seattle, WA, 2023

  • Chat with EVP of Universal Television: Vivian Cannon, Austin Film Festival Writers Conference, Austin, TX, 2022

  • Ida Lupino, Radio, and the Production Code, Broadcast Education Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2022

  • Anita Loos: The Subversive Satirist as Cultural Leader: Or, The Pedagogical Uses of Loos, University Film and Video Conference, Zoom, 2021

  • Spiritual Yearning in Hollywood, Pepperdine Libraries Spiritual Formation Committee, Payson Library, Malibu, CA, 2020

  • Screenwriting: The 8 Traits of Killer Characters, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2020

  • Adaptation: Transform Your Novel into a Marketable Screenplay, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2020

  • Social Justice & Global Impact: A Conversation with Will Nix, Austin Film Festival Writers Conference, Austin, TX, 2019

  • Script Tips: The Secrets to Dynamic Dialogue, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland, OR, 2019
  • Screenwriting: Eight Techniques Guaranteed to Take Your Script to the Next Level, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Portland,

    OR, 2019

  • Storyteller as Cultural Leader: A Conversation with Stephany Folsom, Austin Film Festival Writers Conference, Austin, TX, 2018

  • Eight Mistakes Screenwriters Make: And, How to Fix Them, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, 2018
  • Screenwriting: Introducing Your Protagonist, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, 2018
  • The Screenwriting Workshops: Strategies for Encouraging Student Engagement in Diversity, Inclusion, and Convergence, University Film and Video Association Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA 2017
  • Crazy Sunday: Preserving Artistic Vision in Hollywood, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA, 30 March-2 April 2016
  • Writing LA: City as Character, Association of Writers and Writing Programs Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA, 30 March-2 April 2016
  • Teaching the Female Auteur: A Case Study of Frances Marion and Mary Pickford, Pacific and Ancient Modern Language Association Conference, Riverside, California, 31 October-2 November 2014.
  • Frances Marion's Off with Their Heads! A Serio-Comic Tale of Hollywood: A Case for Autobiography as Core Text in Pedagogical Practice, 20th Annual ACTC Conference, Los Angeles, California, 10-13 April 2014.
  • "Is It Any Religion at All You Have?": Teaching Frances Marion, Eugene O'Neill, and the Adaptation of Anna Christie, Conference on Christianity and Literature, Los Angeles, California, 16-18 May 2013.
  • Frances Marion: Adaptation and the Making of the Female Self in Early Twentieth Century American Popular Culture, Society for the Study of American Women Writers Conference, Denver, Colorado, 10-13 October 2012.
  • Frances Marion: Ethics and Screenwriting in Hollywood, 1929-1930, Pepperdine University Humanities Symposium, Malibu, California, 18 January 2012.
  • Chat with an Editor, Modern Language Association Annual Convention, Los Angeles, California, 6-9 January 2011.
  • Will Publications Perish?: The Paradigm Shift in Scholarly Communication, Modern Language Association Annual Convention, Los Angeles, California, 6-9 January 2011.
  • "Something's Crossed Over in Me and I Can't Go Back": Spiritual Conversions/Border Inversions in the Literature and Film of Late Twentieth Century American Women Writers, California American Studies Association Conference, California State University, Long Beach, California, 16-17 April 2010.
  • Faith and the Hollywood Box Office: Notes on The Blind Side and The Book of Eli, Cinema Studies Conference in conjunction with the City of Angels Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Studies Center, Los Angeles, California, 12-14 March 2010.
  • Hollywood North: Canada in the Age of the Film and Television Action Committee, ACSUS Biennial International Conference, San Diego, California, 18-22 November 2009.
  • Storyteller as Cultural Leader, Pepperdine University Humanities Symposium, Malibu, California, 25 March 2009.
  • Act One Screenwriting Conference, Invited Panelist, Phoenix, Arizona, 11-12 April 2008.
  • Pepperdine and Cultural Leadership: Initiatives to Impact Culture through the Arts and Media, Pepperdine University Faculty Conference, Malibu, California, 5 October 2007.
  • "Brave New World": Popular Culture and the Creative Writing Curriculum, Southwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 14-17 February 2007.
  • Confronting Newland Archer: Digital Media and the Creative Writing Classroom, The International Digital Media and Arts Conference, San Diego, California, 9-11 November 2006.
  • Chat with an Editor, Modern Language Association Annual Convention, San Diego, California, 27-30 December 2003.
  • Ford Country: The Metaphorical Magic of Monument Valley (short film), Southwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 13-17 February 2002.

Topics

  • American Film
  • American Literature (1900-present)
  • American Studies/Popular Culture Studies (1900-present)
  • Creative Writing
  • Nonfiction Writing
  • Screenwriting

Courses

  • Storyteller as Cultural Leader
  • Great Books and Film
  • History of American Cinema
  • Creative Writing for the Professional Market
  • Introduction to Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Screen and Television Writing
  • The Documentary Script
  • Literary Study: American Women Writers
  • From Script to Screen