Adam Rodgers grew up in Maryland, earned a B.A.\u00a0from\u00a0Duke University and an M.F.A.\u00a0from\u00a0New York University\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, won a student Emmy Award, moved to Los Angeles, and broke into the movie business in 2001 with the sale of his comedy spec script\u00a0Moving Elliot<\/i>\u00a0to Universal \u2013 one of just 101 feature screenplays bought by the major studios that year.<\/p>\r\n
In the decade that followed, Adam and his writing partner sold and optioned pitches and spec scripts (to Universal, Fox, and Sony, among others), developed dozens more with studios and production companies, and were named among the \u201cTop 10 Screenwriters to Watch\u201d by\u00a0Script<\/i>\u00a0magazine. In 2008 they saw their first greenlit project, the television movie\u00a0Racing For Time<\/i>. Adapted from a\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/i>\u00a0article profiling a sprint-relay team\u00a0composed\u00a0of incarcerated young women, the film starred Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis and Emmy-winners Tiffany Haddish and Charles S. Dutton (who also directed), and was nominated for several awards.<\/p>\r\n
That same year, Adam directed\u00a0The Response<\/em>, a 30-minute short based on transcripts of the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals, starring Aasif Mandvi, Kate Mulgrew, and Peter Riegert. The film, which NPR called \u201ca brilliant production,\u201d was shortlisted for the 2010 Academy Awards (Best Short Film, Live Action), won the American Bar Association\u2019s Silver Gavel Award, screened at the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Capitol for members of Congress, and played in festivals worldwide.<\/p>\r\n In 2014, Adam co-wrote and directed the indie romance At Middleton<\/em>, starring Academy Award nominees Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia. The film won multiple festival awards, was released theatrically in the U.S. and internationally, was named a New York Times<\/em> Critic's Pick, and debuted in the top 10 (Art House) On Demand releases. In 2016, Adam\u2019s screenplay was selected for inclusion in the permanent Core Collection of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles.<\/p>\r\n In addition to teaching screenwriting\u00a0and film production,\u00a0Adam (WGA) continues to write, direct, and produce for film and television through his production company, 8th Day Pictures. His latest project, the award-winning digital comedy series\u00a0Turf Valley<\/a><\/i>, is currently streaming on YouTube.<\/p>"],"ecpt_teaching":[" Introduction to Screenwriting,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Intermediate Screenwriting<\/em>\u00a0(adaptation, designing the thriller), and\u00a0Advanced Screenwriting<\/em> (first draft of feature, re-writing the feature), Introduction to Film Production<\/em><\/p>"],"ecpt_extra_tab_title":["In the Media"],"ecpt_extra_tab":["\r\n