Special family screening: UNDERDOG w/ Joe Piscatella

Saturday, March 7th, 2009 @ Noon

The Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, SEATTLE

**Screenwriter Joe Piscatella will join Warren Etheredge for an exclusive and animated post-show conversation about the making (and paper-training?) of UNDERDOG.**

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a frog… no, it’s Disney‘s UNDERDOG — a flying, talking canine caped crusader! After an accident in the mysterious lab of mad scientist Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage), an ordinary beagle named Shoeshine (voice of Jason Lee) finds himself with extraordinary powers… and the ability to talk! Armed with a fetching superhero costume, Underdog vows to protect the  beleaguered citizens of Capital City and, in particular, a beautiful spaniel named Polly Purebred (voice of Oscar® nominee Amy Adams). When a diabolical plot by Barsinister and his henchman Cad (Patrick Warburton) threatens to destroy Capital City, only Underwear… (oops!)… Underdog can save the day. Based on the original hit animated tv series UNDERDOG — your family will love watching the next great superhero take a big bite out of crime.

UNDERDOG also stars James Belushi, Samantha Bee, Brad Garrett, John Slattery and Taylor Momsen.

Since graduating from the graduate writing program at the University of Southern
California in 1998, Joe Piscatella has written for a host of television, film, radio and print projects. He has written numerous feature scripts and television pilots for 20th Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Spyglass, Rogue, Dreamworks, Starz and Touchstone Television, including UNDERDOG for Disney and episodes of STARK RAVING MAD for NBC and OZZIE & DRIX for Warner Bros. Most recently Joe did production rewrites on KUNG FU PANDA for Dreamworks Animation.

Joe has been a contributing food and travel writer to a variety of magazines including
Women’s Day, Cooking Light, Smoke, BRNTWD Magazine, Attaché (US Air’s in-flight
magazine) and Scr(i)pt. He has ghostwritten a nonfiction book for John Wright
Publishing. Joe is currently a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered and has an
upcoming comic book he created for Top Cow Comics.

Joe graduated from Georgetown University. After a try-out as a punter in the Canadian Football League, Joe began his writing career as a speechwriter in Washington, D.C., writing jokes for such clients such as executives at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and high ranking personnel in the United States Air Force. In addition, he has worked with Ted Koppel at ABC Nightline News and at the ABC News White House Press Office with Ann Compton and Bret Hume.

Joe lives in Pacific Palisades, California with his wife and two children.