Samantha Shad
Biography
Samantha Shad is the author of The Write to Happiness (Morgan James, 2020) and Write Through the Crisis (Axillar, 2020), and wrote the screenplay for Class Action, the acclaimed Gene Hackman film.
She has written screenplays for film and television, practiced as an entertainment attorney, served in key leadership positions for major writers organizations, and taught writing at several colleges.
Drawing on her experiences at a major international law firm, her first screenplay was the Gene Hackman film, Class Action, and she went on to a screenwriting career, writing features for major film studios and working with luminaries in film and television, including Ridley Scott, Steven Bochco, and David Kelley.
Her work as a film, television movie, and television series script doctor includes the feature films Mercy and G.I. Jane, and L.A. Law, the Emmy Award-winning TV drama series.
She grew up in a show business family. Her father, Bobby Shad, was a prominent music producer and label owner who found and produced Janis Joplin, The Platters, Lou Reed, Ray Charles, and other performers, as well as an extensive jazz list, including Sarah Vaughn, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Samantha is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She began her legal career when she joined the prestigious Washington law firm of Steptoe and Johnson. She moved to New York to use her extensive knowledge of the music business and work with legendary music attorney Paul Marshall. After relocating to California she practiced music and entertainment law, initially at the firm Luce, Forward, and later setting up her own practice in Beverly Hills, representing feature film and television writer, directors, producers, and actors.
She taught about the film industry at The American Film Institute, screenwriting at UCLA, law and media at Franklin Pierce College, and at Duke University’s Olli Program.
Active in The Writers Guild of America West, Samantha served as the Chair of the Women’s Committee and as a member of the Steering Committee for Protected Classes.
She was the President of the Writers Guild-Directors Guild Joint Women’s Filmmakers Project, and the Chair of the Joint Women’s Filmmakers Foundation of the Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America.
As a writing consultant, she works with screenwriters, novelists, and non-fiction writers privately and in writing workshops. She works with clients using The Write To Happiness as part of their journey to a happier life.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Denny, and their dogs, Bozie and Pip.
For more information, please contact us at:
hello@samanthashad.com