What You Need to Know: Writing Awesome Female Characters

Maddie Breeland is currently Founder/Executive at her own banner, MB Method. Here she combines her passion fitness and film by building powerful bodies and powerful stories. She’ll continue to support her slate and partnerships from her time at Anvil Pictures and expand from there. After graduating from Emerson College in 2012 with a major in Producing for Film & TV, Maddie began her career as an assistant in film development at Fox 2000. In 2014, she got an executive assistant position in Sean Bailey’s office, the President of production for Live Action Features at Walt Disney Studios and worked her way up to Development Coordinator. She was able to take part in the development of many successful live action reimaginings of legacy animated titles as well as generate feature content for the launch of the Disney+ platform. She enjoyed 6 years at Disney before transitioning to her most recent post at Anvil Pictures, where she handled development for writer/director Dean DeBlois (LILO & STITCH, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy). She produces and develops live action and animated projects with studios like Universal and Netflix as well as other creative partners. After over 5 years at Anvil Pictures she’s endeavoring to forge a unique path of her own that encompasses the pursuits and relationships that are meaningful to her. Films like THE MATRIX inspired her to pursue a career as a creative producer. She loves content that resonates and exposes audiences to thrilling new experiences and worlds while allowing them to build new connections with those around them. She is driven to generate opportunities for new, talented voices and to bring unity through storytelling. She’s also a passionate Diversity, Equity & Inclusion advocate and group fitness instructor/trainer in strength building, yoga and pilates.

Daniela Gonzalez is a literary manager at Good Fear, a feature film & television production and management company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Daniela identifies as a TCI – a third culture individual: Venezuelan-born, with a childhood in South East Asia, Daniela’s found her roots in the United States. Her international background informs her taste as she builds her roster of clients who have unique voices and backgrounds. Daniela holds a BA in Film Production with a minor in Film Producing from New York University.

Colleen is a writer and former film & TV executive living in Los Angeles. Her credits include Head Writer on Nickelodeon’s ZOKIE OF PLANT RUBY, Story Editor and Head Writer for Netflix’s musical comedy series, I HEART ARLO, and writer on Jimmy Fallon’s 5 Sleeps ‘TILL HALLOWEEN animated special based on his book of the same name. She has developed for TV and feature film with Nickelodeon where she had an overall deal, Dreamworks Animation, Netflix and Disney. Her original pilot PUSSIES was selected for the HBO-sponsored WIF & Blacklist TV lab.

As an executive, Colleen worked at Illumination Entertainment on the MINIONS and DESPICABLE ME franchises, THE SECRET LIVES OF PETS, SING, and THE GRINCH and Produced the Secret Life of Pets dark ride at Universal Theme Park. While the Director of Current Series at Hasbro Studios, she produced MY. LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS, HANAZUKI, THE LITTLEST PET SHOP series, MICRONAUTS and was Co-EP on the HANAZUKI theatrical feature short.

She received her B.S. in Television Radio & Video Production from Ithaca College and her M.F.A in Motion Picture Producing from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program.

Colleen hails from blustery Upstate New York and lived abroad in Ireland and thus has an above-average ability to survive cold temperatures and make excellent Irish Coffee. She loves writing about broken characters who don’t need to be fixed.