A working film producer and former industry executive with decades of experience, Barri Evins has sold pitches, specs, articles, and books to all the major studios. She brings this expertise to her work as a script and story consultant, both nurturing writers and fighting alongside them to get their projects made.
Before forming her own company, be movies, Barri worked her way up through the executive ranks. She began her career as a development executive for writer/producers/director Bruce Evans and Ray Gideon (Starman, Stand by Me, Mr. Brooks), based at Universal Studios, where she set up her first feature, Tailspin. Barri later served as President of Debra Hill Productions (Halloween, The Fisher King), where she packaged, set up, and developed numerous projects at studios and cable networks including Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, Nickelodeon, New Line, and HBO. She became known for her keen eye for up-and-coming talent and her knack for spotting compelling ideas that became successful stories.
Among her career accomplishments, Barri discovered and helped set up Assassins, the first film written by the Wachowskis (The Matrix), directed by Richard Donner and starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas – garnering producer credits for Bruce Evans and Ray Gideon. She also set up David Berenbaum’s first project, Christmas in New Jersey, at Rysher – before Elf was a twinkle in his eye. Barri has worked extensively with A-list talent, including actor-producer Tobey Maguire, directors Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine, Stranger Things) and Frank Oz (Bowfinger, What About Bob?), and Academy Award–nominated writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man, The Expanse).
As a writer, Barri has co-written original treatments, including Meet John Doe, sold in a preemptive six-figure deal to Warner Bros., and Unidentified Suburban Object for Fox Family.
As a story consultant, Barri uses her deep industry experience to help writers develop the strongest version of their stories and move them forward in the marketplace through custom consultations, seminars, and mentorship. She works with screenwriters, TV writers, and novelists on both fiction and nonfiction projects. Her one-on-one consultations are known for being interactive, honest, constructive, and collaborative.
Barri began teaching while still an executive, at the UCLA Graduate Producers Program and the American Film Institute. She later created custom story development courses for executives and teams at Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, and Blizzard Entertainment. She has spoken at writing conferences and writers’ organizations nationwide.
Barri contributed a chapter to the popular Now Write! book series. She is a Contributing Senior Editor for ScriptMag, where her column Breaking & Entering has appeared since 2012, and a contributor to Writer’s Digest. Her book Creating Delicious Stories is currently in the works.
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