Icelandic Producers to Receive U.S. TV Drama Training Session

LOS ANGELES, July 19: A new initiative to bring
American-style success to the Icelandic television drama series industry has
been announced by the media consultancy company MediaXchange.

The conference, titled “Outside ‘The Box’”, will be held in
Reykjavik, Iceland, from August 22 through August 24. It is designed to provide
Icelandic television professionals insight into the various methods of the U.S.
creative model. The organizers hope that sharing strategies and information
will boost the production of strong drama series in Iceland.

“We are looking to build our own local drama production,”
said Bjorn Sigurdsson, the head of programming for Skjarinn. “This initiative
offers an opportunity to construct a strong foundation to the creative and
development processes through which we can have a robust infrastructure for our
fledgling drama productions.”

The opening day of “Outside ‘The Box’” will feature David
Zucker, the president of Scott Free Productions, and Carol Flint, the executive
producer for successful shows like ER, West
Wing and The Unit. They will discuss creative writing and development
from the perspective of writers, producers and channel executives. On the
second and third days of the event, Laurie Hutzler, writer and creator of The
Emotional Toolbox, will explore creative issues facing writers and producers in
making engaging dramas. At the same time, Zucker and Flint will be assisting
writers, producers and channel executives with their projects in selected
one-on-one sessions.

MediaXchange is an international consultancy agency that
works to expand entertainment media throughout the global marketplace. It
recently completed “Absolute Creators Drama Day” in the U.K.