no photo of faculty available

Paul Gulino

Professor
Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
Expertise: Screenwriting; Screenwriting Theory; Science of Screenwriting;
Office Location: Marion Knott Studios 262
Phone: (714) 628-7284
Education:
Columbia University in the City of New York, Bachelor of Arts
Columbia University in the City of New York, Master of Fine Arts

Biography

Paul Gulino is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright. He is the author of Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach (2004), which has been adopted as a textbook at schools and universities around the globe, and The Science of Screenwriting: The Neuroscience Behind Storytelling Strategies (2018). In 2023, he contributed a chapter on the history of screenwriting pedagogy to the Palgrave Handbook of Screenwriting Studies. Gulino’s credits include two produced screenplays (in New York and Los Angeles) and numerous commissioned works and script consultations. He has lectured in the U.S. and Europe, most recently at the Story Academy in Sweden and for Disney Animation. He’s been featured in interviews on Film Courage, as well as podcasts on Bulletproof Screenwriting, and Trendfollowing.

Gulino studied screenwriting at Columbia University with Frantisek Daniel and Milos Forman, and taught screenwriting at the University of Southern California for five years before accepting a position at Chapman University in 1998.

 

 

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

Gulino, P.J., (2023). Screenwriting Pedagogy in the United States: In Search of the Missing Pieces. In R. Davies, P. Russo, C. Tieber (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Screenwriting Studies (pp. 709-724). Palgrave MacMillan.
"The Curse of Hezekiah," a limited web series created in collaboration with five screenwriting students, was an official selection in the Seattle Transmedia International Film Festival and the Depth of Field International Film Festival, and won an award for Exceptional Merit at the latter.
Production of "Big Daddy" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Play "The Heart-To-Heart" Official Selection at the LA Brisk Festival, The Broadwater Main Stage Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Gulino, P., and Shears, C. The Science of Screenwriting (2018). New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
Gulino, Paul. Column: The Post and Its Main Character. Script Magazine. 2/16/2018. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: The Hereditary Puzzle. Script Magazine. 7/19/2018. Online
Production of six plays: "Love Stinks," "March Madness," "Your Lucky Day," "The Wish," "Power Exchange," "A Positive Resolution" and "After the Fall," Eclectic Theatre, North Hollywood, CA.
Wrote "Ambiguous" and "The Heat" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Beatriz at Dinner – A Film That Stops. Script Magazine. 4/22/2017. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Dunkirk – A Finely Tuned Watch. Script Magazine. 8/23/2017. Online.
Wrote "The Spring Clean" and "The Knick Knack" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Spotlighting Inner Conflict. Script Magazine. 1/25/2016. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: 10 Cloverfield Lane's Missing First Act. Script Magazine. 4/22/2016. Online.
Production of play On The Brink of Darkness, Jewel Box Theatre, New York, NY, October 2016.
Production of full length farce "Acting Mad" at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, CA.
Wrote "Let's Create An Impending Disaster" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Screenwriting: Lesson One. Writers and Artists Insider Guide to the Media, Bloomsbury Publishers. 6/30/15. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Imitation Game – Cracking an Enigmatic Script. Script Magazine. 2/9/2015. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: McFarland, USA's Approach. Script Magazine. 5/8/2015. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Inside Out's Outsized Story. Script Magazine. 7/22/2015. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Sicario's Vanishing Main Character. Script Magazine. 10/14/2015. Online.
Wrote the plays "Genius," and "Oral Exam" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Wrote the plays "Love" and "Christmas Past" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Frozen Expectations. Script Magazine. 1/13/2014. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Blue Jasmine Blues. Script Magazine. 3/10/2014. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: When In Trouble, Reach for the Deadlne. Script Magazine. 5/12/2014. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Edge of an Ending. Script Magazine. 6/17/2014. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Tension, Release and Interstellar. Script Magazine. 12/18/2014. Online.
Wrote the play "Here We Go Again" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Wrote the plays "A Positive Resolution," "Incomplete," "There's Always Hope," "Your Lucky Day," "Forever Incomplete" and "Surprises" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA. "Incomplete" was revived as part of the "Best of" series in June. Also directed the one act "The Little Things" by Vinnie Morreale.
Gulino, Paul. Rev of The Inner Game of Screenwriting. Sandy Frank. Journal of Film and Video, Vol 65 No. 1 & 2 Summer 2013, pp. 88-89.
Gault, Teri and Gulino, Paul. The Grace of Saving. Los Angeles: The Grocery Game. 2013. Print and Kindle.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Zero Dark Thirty's Expiration Date. Script Magazine. 2/11/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: 'Argo' and Recapitulation. Script Magazine. 3/14/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: The Puzzle in Silver Linings Playbook. Script Magazine. 4/30/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Escape Hatches in Iron Man 3. Script Magazine. 6/10/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Monsters University's Scary Character Arcs. Script Magazine. 7/16/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Fruitvale Station vs. Blake Snyder. Script Magazine. 8/12/2013. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: Ending The World's End. Script Magazine. 9/5/13. Online.
Gulino, Paul. Column: The Lowdown On Gravity. Script Magazine. 11/11/2013. Online.
Wrote the plays "After the Fall," "Deprogrammed," "Slavery is Freedom," "The Review" and "America’s Best Gay Married Couple" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Wrote the plays "The Shut-Down," "The Wish" and "The Christmas Miracle" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Completed draft of romantic comedy screenplay My Man Harold.
Why We Fight. Continued research on politically-oriented film series.
Wrote the plays "Renewal," "Spiritual Balance," "Dads Get No Love," and "The Heat is On" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Wrote the plays "The Cost of Living," "Undecided," and "Power Exchange" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
My Man Harold. Researched, wrote treatment and commenced writing the screenplay of a romantic comedy.
Why We Fight. Commenced research on politically-oriented film series.
Wrote the plays "On the Brink of Darkness" and "Fall Back" for the L.A. Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA. Also had a reprise of "March Madness" for the "Best of Cafe Plays" series in December.
Wrote the plays "March Madness," "Mad About Dad," and "Carmageddon" for Cafe Plays, the acclaimed ten-minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Script Consultation. Consulted on feature screenplay, "My Thirteenth Year," for indie New York filmmaker Spencer Chandler.
Spy Plants. Commissioned to write a feature animation screenplay for Animation Lab, Inc. Scheduled for theatrical release in 2013.
Wrote the plays "The Forgotten," "Fall Back," and "So This Is Christmas" for Cafe Plays, the acclaimed monthly ten minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA.
Completed rewrite of award-winning screenplay "The Lost Brigade" for producer Brandon Pender.
Script Consultation. Consulted on feature screenplay "Two In" for Karen Struck. Script sold to Hallmark Channel.
Wrote the plays "Obamacare" and "At The Holiday Factory" for Cafe Plays, the acclaimed monthly ten minute play series at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica, CA

Faculty Directories by School or College