Peter Hedges

Workshops: 1. How to Find and Grow Your Original Idea. 2. Is Your Idea/Story a Possible Movie/TV Show?

Peter Hedges adapted his first novel, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” for the screen. He has written and directed the films “Pieces of April,” “Dan in Real Life,” “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” “Ben Is Back”, and “The Same Storm.”

Peter was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay adaptation of “About a Boy.” Also, a novelist and playwright, Peter is married to the poet Susan Bruce. They are the parents of two adult sons.

Peter lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and their two dogs, fifteen-year-old Willy and thirteen-year-old Sadie-Goat. He grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Workshops

“How to Find and Grow Your Original Idea.” In this workshop, Peter will share a myriad of approaches toward finding and growing an original idea. In the early stages of birthing something new, there is an innate fragility and creative peril. In Peter’s experience, how creatives tend to those first impulses can make all the difference in what they ultimately manifest. Here Peter will share some of the wise choices and many of the missteps/mistakes that he’s made in his 40+ year career. He’ll also explore how to begin something. He hopes participants will come away with some new perspectives and ways to proceed.

“Is Your Idea/Story a Possible Movie/TV Show and What are Some Ways to Make It One.” In this workshop, bring your ideas/pitches/synopses and explore ways you could possibly proceed. Peter will discuss how to take your IP and begin to think about ways to re-imagine and reinvent. As a playwright, novelist, screenwriter (both original screenplays and adaptations), TV writer, and filmmaker, Peter has repeatedly faced the question “Okay, but could it be a movie/TV show, etc.?”

Peter is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Subscribe to his Substack column here: https://peterhedges.substack.com/

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