Jeff Phillips

Biography

Jeff earned a BFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University in 1984 and completed an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English at Chapman. He also taught extensively at both schools. He came to Belmont in 2017 with the goal of helping to launch an undergraduate screenwriting program, and the alumni network. He’s proud to say the Film and Television Writing major is now in its fourth year, and our graduates are networked and working across the industry.

Before landing in Nashville, he was a working writer/producer/director with twelve produced screenplays, and a writer/producer for a season of television. He worked creatively with all the major film studios and several networks, including such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. He wrote-produced-directed a multiple award-winning independent film, @urfrenz, which made it into the prestigious Slamdance Film Festival in 2010 before getting picked up for distribution by Warner Bros. He has an extensive background in film production, editing, creative development, and on the corporate side at Walt Disney Studios.

Recently, his graphic novel Houdini: The Man from Beyond was adapted for film by the makers of the Academy Award winning films, Rocky and Green Book. His novel, Beneath, will be published in 2025.

Favorite TV shows: True Detective, Atlanta, Arcane
Favorite movies: Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now
Favorite books: War and Peace, Heart of Darkness
Favorite band: Led Zeppelin
Favorite word: Omphaloskepsis