Carl Kurlander
Encyclopedia
Carl Kurlander is an American
television writer, producer
and screenwriter
. He grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Shady Side Academy
and Duke University
http://www.chronicle.pitt.edu/media/pcc050110/hollywood.html. Kurlander is best known for his extensive work on American teen sitcoms and has served as producer with Peter Engel on a number of programmes including Saved by the Bell: The New Class
, Hang Time
, USA High
and Malibu, CA and as a screenwriter who co-wrote the semi-autobiographical smash hit St. Elmo's Fire
.
He is co-author of The F Word: A Guide to Surviving Your Family with comedian Louie Anderson
, and was featured in Po Bronson
's bestselling book What Should I Do With my Life?, which landed him on the Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2003, on a program about people who had changed their lives, where Carl spoke about leaving Hollywood to move back to his hometown to teach at the University of Pittsburgh.
This journey inspired a movie Carl produced and directed, My Tale of Two Cities which has been called a "funny, moving, and-- above all- entertaining film" about coming home and one America's great cities reinventing itself for a new age. The film uses the metaphor of Pittsburgh being the real-life Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and, during the making of the film, Kurlander and his crew got crowds from Times Square to Beverly Hills to sing Fred Rogers' theme song "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" ala Ferris Bueller's Day Off. After delighting audiences at film festivals around the country and special screenings for the International MENSA society and as the keynote for the International Downtown Association Annual Conference, on March 23rd, 2010, My Tale of Two Cities was the first movie ever to be invited to screen on Capitol Hill at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center where Congressman Mike Doyle called the film "a comeback story which can inspire cities around this country." The film is being distributed by Panorama Entertainment and is playing in theaters in selected cities during the summer of 2010. (http://www.mytaleoftwocities.com)
"Carl Kurlander's movie is the wry, funny tale of the fulfillment he found moving back home to the city of his youth. A cross between Woody Allen and Fred Rogers, he reminds us that our cities are the real "Real America" because they are the creative, connected places in which we can best renew ourselves, our country, and our hope for all humanity." -- Howard Fineman, Newsweek
(http://www.mytaleoftwocities.com)
He is the producer of "The Shot Felt 'Round The World", a new film about Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh who pulled together with a nation to conquer one of the most feared disease of the twentieth century, polio. (www.shotsthatchangetheworld.org)
Carl works as a visiting distinguished senior lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh
and is the co-founder of the Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit whose mission is to connect entertainment professionals, with Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) ties, to projects, people and partnerships in order to support and invest in the socially and commercially significant film and media industry of the Pittsburgh region. See www.steeltown.org.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television writer, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy is a private, secular coeducational PK-12 preparatory school located on three campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, established in 1883.- Campuses :Shady Side Academy has three campuses in Pittsburgh....
and Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
http://www.chronicle.pitt.edu/media/pcc050110/hollywood.html. Kurlander is best known for his extensive work on American teen sitcoms and has served as producer with Peter Engel on a number of programmes including Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Saved by the Bell: The New Class is a spin-off of the Saved by the Bell series which ran from September 11, 1993 to January 8, 2000. The series lasted for seven seasons on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC Saturday morning line-up. It was the fourth incarnation of the franchise...
, Hang Time
Hang time
Hang time generally refers to how long something stays in the air:* In basketball, the length of time a player stays in the air after jumping, either to make a slam dunk, lay-up or jump shot....
, USA High
USA High
USA High is an American teen sitcom which ran from August 1997 to June 1999, ended after 95 episodes, and reran until August 4, 2001 on USA Network.-Synopsis:...
and Malibu, CA and as a screenwriter who co-wrote the semi-autobiographical smash hit St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...
.
He is co-author of The F Word: A Guide to Surviving Your Family with comedian Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
, and was featured in Po Bronson
Po Bronson
Po Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...
's bestselling book What Should I Do With my Life?, which landed him on the Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2003, on a program about people who had changed their lives, where Carl spoke about leaving Hollywood to move back to his hometown to teach at the University of Pittsburgh.
This journey inspired a movie Carl produced and directed, My Tale of Two Cities which has been called a "funny, moving, and-- above all- entertaining film" about coming home and one America's great cities reinventing itself for a new age. The film uses the metaphor of Pittsburgh being the real-life Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and, during the making of the film, Kurlander and his crew got crowds from Times Square to Beverly Hills to sing Fred Rogers' theme song "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" ala Ferris Bueller's Day Off. After delighting audiences at film festivals around the country and special screenings for the International MENSA society and as the keynote for the International Downtown Association Annual Conference, on March 23rd, 2010, My Tale of Two Cities was the first movie ever to be invited to screen on Capitol Hill at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center where Congressman Mike Doyle called the film "a comeback story which can inspire cities around this country." The film is being distributed by Panorama Entertainment and is playing in theaters in selected cities during the summer of 2010. (http://www.mytaleoftwocities.com)
"Carl Kurlander's movie is the wry, funny tale of the fulfillment he found moving back home to the city of his youth. A cross between Woody Allen and Fred Rogers, he reminds us that our cities are the real "Real America" because they are the creative, connected places in which we can best renew ourselves, our country, and our hope for all humanity." -- Howard Fineman, Newsweek
(http://www.mytaleoftwocities.com)
He is the producer of "The Shot Felt 'Round The World", a new film about Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh who pulled together with a nation to conquer one of the most feared disease of the twentieth century, polio. (www.shotsthatchangetheworld.org)
Carl works as a visiting distinguished senior lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
and is the co-founder of the Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit whose mission is to connect entertainment professionals, with Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) ties, to projects, people and partnerships in order to support and invest in the socially and commercially significant film and media industry of the Pittsburgh region. See www.steeltown.org.