BRYCE ZABEL Biography
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BRYCE ZABEL Biography CNN correspondent-turned-screenwriter Bryce Zabel will see three produced mini-series air in the U.S. market in 2006. “Pandemic” – the story of a killer influenza which forces the quarantine of Los Angeles – is the latest to go before cameras. Another mini-series, the pirate adventure “Blackbeard,” completed production in Thailand and is scheduled to air on the Hallmark Channel in the summer. Last November, NBC aired “The Poseidon Adventure” as a three-hour special event, recruiting 10-million viewers for the network. The complete mini- series is scheduled to air all four hours on cable this year. From 2001 to 2003, Zabel served as Chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences – the first writer/producer elected to this position since his boyhood idol, Rod Serling. He presided over the most tumultuous and transformational time in Academy history, taking office at a time when 9/11 forced the cancellation of the primetime Emmys not once, but twice. He also led the negotiations which resulted in a 250% increase in the Emmy telecast license fee. As a volunteer in the Academy position, Zabel continued an active television and film career, writing multiple scripts during his term, including the network pilots "Hearts and Minds" at HBO, “McMurdo” for DreamWorks and “Black River Falls” for CBS. By writing pilots like these, Zabel has received the Writers Guild on-screen "created by" or "developed by" credit on five TV drama series including: "E.N.G.", "Kay O'Brien", "M.A.N.T.I.S.,” "Dark Skies,” and "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.” His other series work includes "L.A. Law,” "Life Goes On" and "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” In the world of features and long-form, he has received writing credit on two produced films, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" and the Disney animated film, "Atlantis: The Lost Empire." Although “Mortal Kombat” was somehow snubbed at Oscar time in the year of its release, it did open as the #1 box office film. His spec script "Official Denial" – which explained UFOs as humans from the future – became the first original movie produced by the Sci-Fi Channel. He also launched the “Unsolved Mysteries” movie franchise with an NBC MOW, “Victim of Love.” Most recently, he wrote “Fall From Grace” for the USA Network based on a story he optioned a full nine months before the journalist who broke it won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Metropolitan Talent Agency | 4500 Wilshire, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010 tel: 323 857 4535 fax: 323 857 4599 Prolific as a writer on his own, Zabel has also worked in collaboration with other writers over the years, including Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, multi-award winning TV writer/producer David E. Kelley, “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Stracynski, novelist Harry Turtledove, his wife Jackie Zabel, and feature writer Brent V. Friedman. Twice nominated by the WGA for outstanding screenwriting, Zabel's work has also been nominated by the Mystery Writers of America, Environmental Media Association, and LA Area Emmy Awards. His nominated work includes the fan- favorite "L.A. Law" where Jimmy Smits’ character defends baby-killers who get away with murder; and the “Dark Skies” pilot about the Kennedy assassination which launched the NBC “Thrillogy” Saturday night programming concept. Zabel began his career as a television news reporter in both Oregon and Arizona. He came to Los Angeles as an on-air correspondent for CNN where he covered presidential campaigns and space shuttle landings, among other stories. He met his wife in the office of the LA mayor during a news conference. As an on-air PBS reporter, he won several awards of his own for investigative journalism. He was one of the original group of producer/directors on ABC's cutting edge reality magazine series, "Eye on LA." Zabel started his screenwriting career by combining that passion for journalism and television into his first script, “E.N.G.” -- and it changed his life. The spec pilot about “electronic news gathering” (TV news) launched 108 episodes of the hour drama for the CTV network, led to an overall development deal as a writer/producer for Orion TV and created the lingering suspicion that Zabel, who was born in the U.S. coastal city of Newport, Oregon, was somehow a Canadian. Aside from his Emmy activities, in the world of “live” production, he recently produced a three-hour comedy/musical stage show hosted by Fred Willard before 1100 dinner guests to launch the University of Oregon’s $600-million fundraising campaign. He is also a paid consultant to the Broadcast Film Critics Association, helping the organization develop a TV version of their established “Critics’ Choice Awards.” Zabel is an accomplished public speaker, appearing on each of the three Emmy shows in which he served as the TV Academy leader. He has also been a guest on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Politically Incorrect, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, etc. and been quoted in Time, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. As an essayist, he has written for Daily Variety, Television Week, The Los Angeles Times, the WGA’s Written By and Emmy Magazine. Metropolitan Talent Agency | 4500 Wilshire, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010 tel: 323 857 4535 fax: 323 857 4599 Zabel attended high school in Hillsboro, Oregon and college at the University of Oregon in Eugene where he graduated with a BA degree in Broadcast Journalism. He is currently an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinema & Television teaching CNTV 589, "Produce or Perish!", a graduate level class dealing with all aspects of a film producer's life. Zabel has three children and lives a safe head-clearing distance from Hollywood where he writes on his new Intel-chip iMac. His blog, “For What It’s Worth: Dispatches from the Culture War” can be found at http://bztv.typepad.com. Metropolitan Talent Agency | 4500 Wilshire, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010 tel: 323 857 4535 fax: 323 857 4599 .