Deer Creek High School Alumni
Edmond, Oklahoma (OK)
Tod Kessler
Deer Creek High School
Class of 1981
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TOD'S PROFILE
First Name | Tod |
Last Name | Kessler |
Graduation Year | Class of 1981 |
Gender | Male |
City | N/A |
State/Province | TX |
Country | United States |
Occupation | Environmental Director / Safety Director |
Married | Yes |
Favorite School Memory | Football games and Basketball games, |
About Me | TODD KESSLER - WRITER/PRODUCER FOR THE SOPRANOS Article for the American Screenwriters Association By Cynthia Wright How did a nice Harvard graduate ever wind up writing for a show like the Sopranos? Well, it helps if you have a mentor like Spike Lee to help you out. Todd Kessler is a graduate of the Harvard University Writing program (class of 94) who wanted to be a play write. He thought that writing for the stage, while not a money making endeavor, was a way to express himself creatively and satisfy his desire to reach a select audience. Very select! Things didn't quite work out that way! What happened was that when Kessler was a senior at Harvard, he signed up for a screenwriting course taught by none other than Writer/Director Spike Lee of Clockers and Jungle Fever fame. Lee used to fly in from New York City every Friday to teach at Harvard, and then fly back. Kessler said that having Spike Lee as a teacher was the best experience he ever had. It made him want to write movies. Kessler was a fan of Lee's and decided that since Lee had office hours for an hour after class, that he might (if he was lucky) be able to pick the writers brain for ten minutes. That wasn't the case. Kessler was the only one who ever signed-up for office hours. Ever. The other students were either too scared, too intimidated, or too shy. Which left one precious hour every week for Todd Kessler, Harvard senior to have the undivided attention of Spike Lee, award-winning writer and director. Those meetings changed the course of Kessler's life forever. After graduating from Harvard, Spike Lee offered the young writer a job reading and providing feedback on the hundreds of scripts Lee receives each month. Kessler said no. He asked Kessler what he wanted to do and Kessler responded that he wanted to write movies. Lee said okay. Within a year, Kessler had, with Spike Lee's help, a script optioned and another about to be sold. Not bad for a 23 year old guy right out of college! Shortly after these successes, Kessler decided to try his hand at writing for television, and landed a job with the HBO hit The Sopranos. He started as a writer, and became a Writer/Producer. When I asked Kessler to explain the added responsibility that a Producer title brings, he said, "More hours and more meetings." Writing for the small screen is a lot different than writing for motion pictures. The way Kessler explained it is, when you write for TV, the writer is king, has a great deal of creative input, can create policy, and is a very respected part of the team. In the movies, it's the exact opposite. If a writer sells a script to Hollywood, it's gone. Finito. Bye-bye. In other words, the original writer is usually out and other writers are brought in to re-write the entire script. That's why Todd Kessler writes for television. After a great three-year run on The Sopranos, and several Emmy nominations, Kessler and his brother (another Harvard alumni) are teaming up to create a TV series of their own. PS I do not have a brother and this is not the same Tod Kessler from Deer Cre...(read more) |
Class of 1981 Alumni and Other Nearby Classes
→ Reunite with 31 class of 1981 alumni that have joined.
Chris Conder
Class of 2003
Darian Woolbright
Class of 1985
Monte Turrentine
Class of 1987
Kelsey Miles
Class of 2011
Randy Orgill
Class of 1995
Rich Crane
Class of 1985
Colleen Gray
Class of 1973
Todd Harper
Class of 1986
Dustin Dean
Class of 1990
Addison Higgins
Class of 2020
Lorretta Fisher-williams
Class of 1977
Tod Kessler
Class of 1981
Ryan Ryan Yetishefsky
Class of 2020
Charlene Ketcham
Class of 1978
Dean Peakerman
Class of 1980
Christina Parsons
Class of 1993
Samuel Broyles
Class of 2005
Mark Isch
Class of 1978
Tim Ruminer
Class of 1979
Mike Ellenburg
Class of 1988
Amber Whitney
Class of 1971
Karen Burger
Class of 1983
Carl Gull Iii
Class of 2004
Brett Dawson
Class of 2003
Recent Class of 1981 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1981 Reunion for Free
1976 - 1979 Four Class Reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Aug 04, 2018
Description: See http://dchs76to79.myevent.com/ for online ticketing and more details! Look forward to seeing you there! Best, Rob...(read more)
All Alumni Reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jun 27, 2009
Description: This is a casual dinner for any alumni and spouse that wants to attend. Please no children. Cost is $25 at the door. ...(read more)
Class of 1981 Reunion
Invited Classes: 1981
Description: There will be no tickets or fees charged. We're still looking for a place. We want something simple where we can all m...(read more)