Graduate of Adams-Friendship High School Wins Hollywood Film Industry Award

Industry: Education

Ryan Ebert, a 2009 graduate of Adams-Friendship High School, was the winner of the 3rd Place Selection for his film “We Need to Talk” at the 2018 CCH Film Festival.

Friendship, WI (PRUnderground) December 19th, 2018

Ryan Ebert, a 2009 graduate of Adams-Friendship High School in Friendship, WI, was the winner of the 3rd Place Selection for his film “We Need to Talk” at the 2018 CCH Film Festival, which honored creative projects by students and alumni of Columbia College Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA.  Ebert wrote, directed and co-produced the film, which examines “modern love and avoidance in cyberspace.”

“I never expected a comedy to get this kind of recognition, especially one as dumb as ‘We Need to Talk,’” says Ebert, who graduated from Columbia College Hollywood in 2018 with a B.A. in Screenwriting for Television.  “I was also stunned because the entire project was created by me and my partner Hank Stahlecker, who was the lead actor, film editor, VFX editor and co-producer.  With all of the hard work and effort that we put in, the win meant a lot to us.”

A native of Friendship, Ebert was a fan of comedy films growing up.  His sense of humor was influenced by classics of the ’70s and ’80s such as “Airplane!,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” as well the contemporary hits “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “Anchorman.”  In 2013 he enrolled at Columbia College Chicago to study television writing, and in 2016 he transferred to Columbia College Hollywood in order to have more opportunities to access comedy writing jobs in Los Angeles.

While studying at Columbia College Hollywood, Ebert worked as an intern at Berlanti Productions, which produces such top rated TV shows as “Arrow,” “Supergirl,” “The Flash” and “Riverdale.”  Ebert’s duties included reading and reviewing scripts from writers, working in the writer’s room and helping the shows’ writers and producers on various production-related tasks.

“I found CCH to be an exceptional school for anyone who’s trying to learn the nuts and bolts of film production,” says Ebert.  “The faculty showed me how much time you need to spend on the craft of screenwriting in order to be successful.  They also gave me great guidance and positive feedback about my work, even when I thought that I had turned in a heaping pile of garbage in some of my class assignments.”

Ebert is currently seeking opportunities to be a staff writer on a comedy television show.  He’s also developing his own ideas for a pilot project that would be developed into a TV series on a TV network, cable channel or streaming channel.

About Columbia College Hollywood

Founded in 1952, Columbia College Hollywood is a nonprofit, regionally accredited liberal arts college with a focus on creative media.

Columbia College Hollywood educates students in the art and science of communications and the diverse media of contemporary storytelling within an exploration of the liberal arts.

Columbia College Hollywood is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) to offer Bachelor of Fine Arts and Associate of Fine Arts degree programs in Cinema with an emphasis in acting, cinematography, directing, editing and visual effects, new media, producing, sound, and writing.

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