Colleges Pay Tribute To Michael Piller

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"Michael was the prospector who had a talent for finding those rare nuggets of gold in an avalanche of mud,” said Stillwell. “Over the years, Michael Piller 'discovered' and mentored dozens and dozens of young writers in Hollywood.”

Not only was he willing to hear the ideas of novice writers, he mentored them as well, helping them build strong character-based stories. “I find it interesting that the elements he stressed in his screenplays he also emphasized as he trained news writers,” said Scott Gurvey, bureau chief for Nightly Business Report, who worked with Pillar when he was a news writer/producer for WBBM-TV in Chicago, “find the humanity in the story, and write in a way that involves the viewer in a personal, emotional way.”