Brook Driver  

Thursday, April 14, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

MART 521B (Media Writing Advanced: Feature Film)

Brook Driver previously took Professor Davis’ Advanced Screenwriting and Television Writing classes and was his mentee. Since taking Davis’ classes, he has sold scripts to the producers of the Harry Potter and Downton Abbey franchises. Last year, he was awarded the Final Draft Screenwriter's Award at the SXSW 2021 Film Festival Awards for his film Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break alongside screenwriters Matt White and Nick Gillespie. Now he has written and co-directed a new movie that is currently in post-production.

Jay Francis  

Thursday, April 14, 2:50 - 4:05 p.m.

MART 521D (Media Writing Advanced: Television Writing) 

Jay Francis is Vice President, Original Series and Diversity, Disney Television Animation (TVA). He is responsible for managing the creative direction of production on current series for Disney TVA and working closely with the development and recruitment teams to identify, secure and mentor diverse creative talent for Disney TVA and Disney Junior.

Francis joined Disney TVA in 2007. During his tenure, he has overseen creative direction on a multitude of original animated series including Disney's five-time Emmy® Award-winning Phineas and Ferb, Emmy® Award-nominated Big City Greens, Amphibia, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, and most recently, the Disney+ original animated adventure movie Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Francis received a Bachelor of Science in Television and Film Production from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is a member of Disney's Leadership Learning Advisory Board, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and ASIFA-Hollywood.

Ash Brannon  

Tuesday, April 19, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

MART 521B (Media Writing Advanced: Feature Film)

Ash Brannon is known for Surf's Up (2007) for which he co-directed and co-wrote (Sony Pictures), the classic Pixar movie Toy Story 2 (1999), and most recently, the huge TV hit Arcane (2021).  Arcane is rated an astounding 100% positive by critics and 96% positive by audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Brannon was a writer, co-executive producer, and story co-creator for season 1.