5150 THE WORKSHOP
5150 is a private online international screenwriting workshop run by screenwriter Max Adams. The 5150 Workshop provides screenwriters a place in which to give and receive feedback on works in progress, finished scripts, concepts in development, and marketing strategies — within a private, safe, pro writer online community.
A majority of 5150 members are AFW and Max class and workshop alumni. All workshop members are screened before admission and must exhibit talent, skill, craft, drive and an ability to play well with others.
The minimum commitment to the workshop is three months. 5150 is not a short term commitment. It is expected participants will be with the workshop for an extended period of time and give back as much as they take.
There are weekly online chats on Thursday nights and at times guest lecturers attend chats. Past guests include Jeff Lowell [Spin City, The Drew Carey Show], David Trottier [The Screenwriter’s Bible], Franklin Leonard [The Black List], Terri Edda Miller [Castle], Eric Red [The Hitcher], Shawna Benson [The 100], Terry Rossio [Shrek, Pirates of the Carribean] — and others.
5150 members’ experience ranges from rank beginners exhibiting phenomenal talent to veteran pros. The workshop cap is 25 members. The workshop is housed in a private forum in the AFW Forum. The workshop is run by screenwriter Max Adams. Workshop monthly dues are $29.95 ||
If you wish to apply for membership, please send email.
BEFORE APPLYING TO 5150 YOU AGREE TO:
1] You understand 5150 is a private forum and issues and private works discussed and critiqued therein may only be discussed therein and/or among fellow workshop participants and you will not discuss or distribute same outside these hallowed electronic walls or with non-workshop participants outside the 5150 workshop forum.
2] The works posted in 5150 are the private intellectual property of their original posters and any contributions, comments, and/or advice posted in response by you as a participating critiquer within the forum are given freely, no strings attached, and do not in any way shape or form constitute or entitle you to monetary and/or future compensation, benefits, credit or claims on materials posted by participants in 5150 for critique.
3] You understand participation in the 5150 forum is a privilege, not a guarantee or entitlement, and that disruption of the forum and/or malicious or unhelpful critiques are grounds for termination of your participation in the forum and, if you participate in either activity, you will be unceremoniously dumped on your butt outside the forum gates and left to thirst to death in the electronic wilderness, no ifs ands or buts.
4] You understand that, while the 5150 forum is provided by and supported by SeeMaxRun and 440Films, no promises of critique, option, purchase, or promotion of works posted in the 5150 forum have been made to participants by Max Adams, SeeMaxRun, or 440Films, and while forum moderators will attempt to monitor behaviors of participants, you participate in workshops at your own risk and the forum owners, moderators and operators cannot be held responsible for or warrantee the actions or behaviors of workshop participants nor do forum owners, moderators or operators claim liability or responsibility for the actions of workshop participants.
5] You promise on a stack of bibles you are not a workshop tourist and you have works in progress you wish to have critiqued and reviewed in workshop, and you agree to post a minimum of one work per month for critique by other workshoppers [a one to twelve page scene or sequence of scenes or a logline/query for review] and to do a minimum of three critiques per month of works posted by other workshop members. And that is the minimum, folks, really, you are expected to do better than just phone it in.
6] You acknowledge anonymity does not work in workshops and participate under your full legal name. Which you will back up, before admission, with legal documentation like a passport or driver’s license or state ID. We do not kid around about that.
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Testimonials
CK LOVE
SCREENWRITER
I believe BLOOD IN THE BONE, my feature Femmenoir, would never have been selected by the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards if I didn't have the brains and support of the AFW screenwriting support group and wisdom of our fearless leader Max Adams.
Tonia Kempler
Writer/Director
Thank you. You have completely given me confidence and skills I didn’t have before. Couldn’t have done this without taking your classes.
Alvaro Rodriguez
Screenwriter
Max Adams is the kind of smart, engaging teacher that made me want to be a better writer — and she helped me do it.
Kerry Valderamma
Writer/Director
Max Adams is one of the most knowledgeable and talented people in screenwriting that I know, all writers need to hear what Max Adams has to say.
Debi Yazbeck
Writer/Director
You laid the foundation, Max. Best teacher ever!
Ana Maria Montoya
Screenwriter
If you want someone to challenge you to dive deep and pull the BEST out of yourself, Max is that whip-smart coach, teacher, and mentor.
Toni McGee Causey
Author
The brilliance of taking Max Adams’ classes is you start seeing improvement in your writing almost immediately.
Julie Howe
Author/Screenwriter
I’ve taken all of Max’s classes and quite simply, her focused methods and attention to detail blow every other screenwriting class out of the water.
Jennifer Mulligan
Screenwriter
Max Adams has been a keen mentor, champion and cheerleader. Her online classes have provided me with very specific and important screenwriting tools. My short script, Minerva’s War, was a 2014 Finalist at the Lady Filmmakers Film Festival in Beverly Hills as a direct result of learning and applying these techniques.
Tony Ferrendelli
Screenwriter
Max Adams has helped to completely transform the way I write scripts. Placement of several scripts in multiple competitions is a direct result of the skills I have developed through participation in Max’s classes and workshop.
Al Finocchio
Screenwriter
Max is as smart, tough, and entertaining as she sounds in her book. It’s hard to imagine a better mentor.
Patricia Burroughs
Author/Screenwriter
The input I got from Max Adams lifted my script, ‘Redemption,’ from a SemiFinalist to a Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting award winner.
Della Vance Greenawalt
Screenwriter
Max Adams’ classes are the best I have ever taken. In every class I have experienced a “light bulb” moment that raised my scripts to another level.
Gwenda Bond
Author/Screenwriter
Max’s workshop was a transformative experience for me as a young writer.
Nancy Bilyeau
Author/Screenwriter
I carried Max’s advice over to my fiction and have now sold & published five novels.
Joan Philo
Screenwriter
It’s so big what you are to screenwriting and what you give to others and how you collect and champion writers who do more than write, they produce. That’s huge in this business of writing and what sets you above the rest.
Peter Andrews
Screenwriter/Playwright
If you want to take the next step in your writing, Max makes the difference. She’s hands-on in classes that balance essential skills with insights you won’t get anywhere else.
Stacy Baker Masand
Screenwriter
You know that saying, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know?’ That was my experience before taking classes at The Academy of Film Writing. Hands down, my writing transformed more after taking Max’s courses than any other time period or curriculum.
Dan Goforth
Screenwriter
For a screenwriter, Max Adams’ 5150 Workshop is one of the best things you can do to improve yourself and your work. If you’re lucky enough to catch an open spot, TAKE IT!!!
Kristen McNaule
Writer/Director
AFW’s 5150 workshop has given an incredible boost to my writing, thanks to the guidance of Max Adams.