1. 164 Scene
By the
Numbers
2010First year of the
WGA Foundation
Vets Writing Project
250Number of vets
who have completed
the program
5/2-5/3Dates of this year’s
weekend project
WONDERBUFFALO:DANDOPERALSKI;BENJAMIN:FREDERICKM.BROWN/GETTYIMAGES;SMITH:KEVINMAZUR/WIREIMAGE
Kevin Ott, communications director at
the Writers Guild Foundation, says the ser-
vice is intended for a person just like Berg
— “someone with a unique set of experi-
ences who uses our resources to improve
their skills so they can get out there and
tell their stories in a concrete way.”
“Wonder Buffalo,” co-written by Simon
Shterenberg, follows a teenage Thai girl
as she becomes the title character, a cos-
play superhero that allows her to find
acceptance and stand up for herself.
“There are insecurities I had at a young
age that” fit well in the “Wonder Buffalo”
story, Berg says. “The theme of self-em-
powerment made the script stronger.”
Berg and Shterenberg plan to start
shooting this year and were recently
accepted to the Creative Activist Program
within the Creative Visions Foundation.
Katherine Crawford, a military veter-
an who lost a leg, and who’s cast as Won-
der Chick in the project, says the Writ-
ers Guild Foundation has provided a big
boost. “It’s very pleasing to see individu-
als, and an organization, so steadfast at
helping to put people on a career path
that will get them established,” she says.
SEBASTIAN TORRELIO
C
hristine Berg is an Army brat. But
these days, it may be better to
describe her as a Wonder Buffalo.
Born to a military father in Thailand,
raised in Germany and having served in
the U.S. military herself out of high school,
she says she’s seen so much of life that she
needed an outlet to tell about it. “So I tran-
sitioned to being a filmmaker,” she says.
“Wonder Buffalo” is Berg’s first fully
realized project, one that she developed at
the Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans
Writing Project.
Berg joined the yearlong writing proj-
ect in May 2013, sharing ideas with other
military veterans as well as professional
mentors, including “The Killing’s” Dawn
Prestwich and “Six Feet Under’s” Lau-
rence Andries.
“You didn’t feel like you were in a class
for beginners; you felt like you were pro-
fessionally writing,” Berg says. “They took
all of our scripts very seriously.”
DO GOOD
ExperienceCountsinWGA
Foundation’sVeteransProject
SCENE
THURSDAY 1.29
High priestess of rock ’n’ roll PattiSmith
will perform at the Ace Hotel in downtown
Los Angeles. Smith’s song “Mercy Is” from
“Noah” was nominated for a Golden Globe.
MUST ATTEND
FRIDAY 1.30
Celebrate the 75th
anniversary of the
Aero Theater with a
screening of Walt
Disney’s third feature,
“Fantasia” (1940).
Former Mouse House
animator David Pacheco will get things
rolling with an illustrated prologue about
the making of the film. Enjoy 1940s
prices on popcorn and nostalgic candy.
SATURDAY 1.31
The Art Directors Guild
will hold its 19th
annual Excellence in
Production Design
Awards at the Beverly
Hilton. Comedian
Owen Benjamin will host the black-tie affair,
doling out awards in 11 categories.
FRIDAY 1.30
A wop bop a loo bop... Belt out your favorite
classics at the Saban Theater’s “Grease”
sing-a-long. Channel your inner T-Bird or Pink
Lady as the 1978 classic unspools.
1
Oscarnomfor
originalsong
“Hopelessly
Devotedto
You”
The theme
of self-
empowerment
made the
script
stronger. ”
Christine Berg
with Simon
Shterenberg
MONDAY 2.2
The nominees for the 87th annual Academy
Awards will gather for a casual luncheon at
the Beverly Hilton, mingling with each other
ahead of the Feb. 22 Oscar ceremony.
0128.164-165.Scene.indd 164 1/26/15 6:24 PM