I am making appearances everywhere this week, sometimes in places I am not even in… let me explain:

1. Yesterday I was priviledged to speak to Will Akers’ screenwriting class at Vanderbilt University in Nashville via cell phone while I was driving the hazardous 405 freeway here in sunny SoCal.

Will is a screenwriting buddy with a great film in the works called 104Ëš. And he is using Save the Cat! as a text for his class.

In an hour-long phone conference, at 82 mph, we had a great speakerphone get-together with his amazing young writers, all with great questions, and all using the BS2 to structure their scripts.

Thanks Will and class; please email me with any questions.

2. I also got a chance to speak to Gary Shusett’s screenwriters, along with a panel of producers from Pierce Brosnan’s, Hilary Swank’s and Jack Black’s production companies. Great group! Great questions. And at least I was in the room this time.

3. Tomorrow, after yet another successful workshop session, I will be on the phone to Denver and Gil Whiteley’s KNUS 710 AM show at 6 p.m. pst. This week we will be talking about the upcoming Oscar nominations. It promises to be a great time, and I promise to actually be in Denver soon (end of March) for a seminar appearance.

Meantime, I also had a great meeting with a young writer/director named Pat Ortman this week. Pat is a fan of Save the Cat! and also an entrepreneur of the ever-changing world of entertainment. He is a prime example of someone who is ahead of the curve when it comes to creating and selling his films. And I will be doing a more in-depth interview (perhaps even a podcast) with him soon. As a bit of a preview you might want to check his website at http://www.emptystreetfilms.com. As a teaser, let me say that Pat has just sold a short film to a distributor that specializes in providing product for cell phone downloads. Pat is about to be a star on your Cingular — and also around the world — as his short filmworks find new markets and new audiences — here, there and everywhere.

Have a great weekend everyone, and don’t be surprised if you see me zipping down the 405 talking into my cell phone about the “All Is Lost” moment in Saving Private Ryan.

This is, after all, L.A.