Christopher Riley

Background

About Christopher Riley

Christopher Riley is a longtime screenwriter and just premiered his first feature film as director, the family revenge comedy No Reception. His first produced screenplay, After The Truth, an award-winning courtroom thriller written with his wife and professional partner, Kathy Riley, sparked international controversy in when it was released in Germany. Other writing credits include 25 To Life, a dramatic thriller for Junction Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures; The Other White House, a political thriller for Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films and Intermedia; Aces, an action-adventure romance for Paramount Pictures; and a screen adaptation of the book Actual Innocence for Mandalay Television Pictures and the Fox television network. He co-wrote the 2024 indie romantic comedy O, Brawling Love! for director Maggie Mahrt. He directed the 2023 short film "No Time Off For Good Behavior"(Best Drama, 2023 Malibu Film Festival; Best Women's Film, 2023 Momòhill Film Fair, Switzerland; Amir Locke Saving the Youth Award, 2023 Tylerman International Social Awareness Film Festival) and co-wrote and directed the 2024 feature-length family revenge comedy No Reception. A veteran of the Warner Bros. script department, Riley is the author of the classic screenwriter's reference The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. With Kathy Riley, he wrote The Defining Moment: How Writers and Actors Build Characters. He serves as professor of film at John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego and previously taught in the MFA program in writing for screen and television at Pepperdine University. He served as creative director at Yellow Line Studio where he executive produced the web series Bump+ and produced the feature-length action-thriller Red Line. He is a founding partner of the online Story Masters Film Academy.Specialties: Writing Thrillers, Dramas, Action; teaching screenwriting; world's leading expert on screenplay format