Against great odds and with a handful of funds from his own pocket, Gary Shusett launched the non-profit school and founded Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in 1971. That was 50 years ago, and today it is still thriving.

Shusett’s altruistic philosophy was to find individuals who were highly successful in a particular field in the motion picture, television, or music industry and put them into a small, intimate setting with newcomers who were seriously dedicated to learning from them. In a short time, Shusett and Sherwood Oaks gained international exposure and were featured in People magazine and popular books on filmmaking. Sherwood Oaks was the place where Syd Field started teaching screenwriting, followed by Robert McKee and Michael Hauge.

Shusett’s instincts about what would sell in Hollywood were renowned. In fact, his expertise in analyzing the commercial potential of story ideas became so renowned that Universal Pictures offered him a job just to determine which of their possible remakes might make the most money.

Equally famous was his impressive track record of helping writers hone a pitch that would sell to directors and producers. Today at Sherwood Oaks, literally thousands of guest speakers later, we still believe in what we do. We believe in our students and we will believe in you.

Since those early days in 1971, many of his former students have become major Hollywood successes, among them Sylvester Stallone, James Cameron, Jerry Zucker, Matt Groening, Paul Haggis, Nancy Meyers, and Todd Durham.  Shusett’s brother, famed screenwriter Ronald Shusett, wrote and produced Alien, Total Recall, and Minority Report.

Out of their gratitude for getting their start at Sherwood Oaks, many of our alumni are happy to come back and teach courses. The want give back the same thing that they themselves received. So the circle of creativity and success in Hollywood continues to this day.

Christine “C.E.” Owens worked closely with Gary Shusett for many years. Owens created the new non-profit Sherwood Oaks Film School on the same principles that Shusett lived and breathed for nearly a half of a century. Owens has run numerous successful courses at the school that proved to be highly popular. She receives many requests to continue them in the future. Well-known for her ability to organize focused events, the courses get to the core of what Sherwood Oaks’ students most want and need to know.

Her passion to see students become successful make her the ideal leader and successor to carry on the Sherwood Oaks’ mission. She shares Shusett’s altruistic heart for those that aspire to succeed in the entertainment industry. She is passionate about sharing Shusett’s dream of connecting creatives with producers and directors.