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Faculty

Norman Steinberg is the Director of the MFA in Writing and Producing for Television Program Director. Before accepting his current position as Parsons Family University Professor at LIU, Steinberg’s screenwriting career began under the tutelage of his mentor and friend Mel Brooks when he became part of the team with Andrew Bergman and Richard Pryor that wrote Blazing Saddles. What followed was an almost forty year screenwriting career that includes My Favorite Year starring Peter O’Toole; Johnny Dangerously and Mr. Mom starring Michael Keaton; Bryan DePalma’s Wise Guys starring Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo; Paradise; Chemistry, a 2011 Cinemax series; and many others including the film that ended Luciano Pavarotti's screen career, Yes Georgio. Norman is currently writing the book for a Broadway musical based on Johnny Dangerously.

Stephen Molton is the TV Writers Studio Assistant Professor. A former HBO and Showtime executive, Molton is also an award-winning author and filmmaker who has written mini-series and movies for Showtime, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures and Viacom Networks, and produced two documentary features. Harper Collins published his first novel, Brave Talk in 1987. His most recent book, Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, the Castros and the Politics of Murder (co-authored with Gus Russo) was published in 2008 by Bloomsbury USA, which nominated the book for the Pulitzer Prize. Molton has also taught at Columbia University, NYU’s Tisch School, and SUNY Stony Brook/Southampton.

Bernard Orenstein is a seasoned television writer and producer who will be teaching the History of TV. There are few people as qualified as Bernard Orenstein to take students on a guided tour through the history of the medium simply because he because he has been a significant part of that history. In a writing career that spans more than fifty years, he has been associated with some of the most successful and long-running series in television. During that half century, he has worked with icons like Dick van Dyke, Redd Foxx, and Bill Cosby. By virtue of his extensive experience on series like Sanford and Son, What’s Happening!!, and Cosby, he has become a sought-after authority on the history and impact of African American performers and the TV series in which they appeared.

Larry L. Banks is the Media Arts Department Chair. During the past twelve years, Larry Banks has distinguished himself as a feature cinematographer on such films as Juice, Strapped, Fly By Night, and Substitute 2. He has also been the Director of Photography on numerous music videos and TV shows. Working with notable directors such as Spike Lee and Forest Whitaker; Larry has also been the Director of Photography on, and directed commercials for Nike, Levi's and AT&T. In the latter part of 1997, Larry directed a documentary called Blues Stories, on the roots of American music from the '20s and '30s featuring Taj Mahal as narrator. Most recently, Larry completed work on a TV pilot called Black Jaq produced by Sony TriStar and directed by Forest Whitaker.

Peter Wortmann teaches Genre Theory & Writing the Pilot. He is a screenwriter who, alone and in collaboration, has written more that three dozen projects in studio development and worked with some of the most respected producers and directors in Hollywood: Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Doug Wick, Luc Besson, Brian Grazer, etc. His most recent feature was Who Do You Love, Jerry Zaks, dir., which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He has also had two television pilots produced, and directed short films: The Partner, was screened at The Palms Springs Film Festival. Peter has taught screenwriting at Rutgers University, and was awarded a fellowship in fiction at the Breadloaf Writers Conference.

Kevin Lauth teaches single camera film style video, and multi camera-studio production classes. Professor Lauth is an experienced television director, videographer, editor, and an authority on cable television programming and regulation. He has worked as a cable television consultant for several New York State municipalities. He currently serves as Associate Dean of Conolly College, LIU Brooklyn.

Additionally, students will be exposed to industry professionals and guest lecturers such as Mel Brooks (writer, producer, director), Andrew Bergman (Blazing Saddles), David Frankel (Devil Wears Prada, Hope Springs), Tom Fontana (Homicide), Gail Berman (BermanBraun), Jon Markus (The Cosby Show), David Picker (studio head/producer), Mitch Semel (HuffPost Live), Tom Purcell (The Colbert Report), Phil Rosenthal (Everybody Loves Raymond), Mike Reiss (Simpsons), Jay Tarses (Newhart, Carol Burnett Show), Jeff Pinkner (Fringe, Lost), Joseph Wambaugh (The Onion Field, Police Story), Terry Minsky (Lizzie McGuire), Allan Burns (Mary Tyler Moore, Munsters), and some “surprise guests.”