Allen Estrin

Allen Estrin (born June 20, 1954) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and author. He is known for screenwriting with his late brother Mark Estrin,[3] co-writing a novel with Joseph Telushkin,[4] and his current work with Dennis Prager. With Prager he co-founded PragerU and serves as the executive producer of the Dennis Prager Show.[1][5]

Allen Estrin
BornJune 20, 1954
Occupationscreenwriter, producer, director, author
Known for
Works
Spouse(s)Susan
WebsiteAllen Estrin, PragerU

Career

Estrin co-founded the digital media website PragerU, short for "Prager University", with Dennis Prager and is currently the executive producer of The Dennis Prager Show.[1]

When Estrin originally conceptualized PragerU, he had planned for it to be a brick-and-mortar university, but later proposed instead that they create short educational videos online.[2][6] Estrin credits a copyright lawsuit with forcing PragerU videos to stop using photographs,[5] and Jeremy Boreing with helping to develop their current animation style.[7] Estrin represented PragerU at President Donald Trump's "Social Media Summit" in July, 2019.[8][9] He predicts that leftists will eventually create their equivalent of PragerU.[1]

Estrin was a screenwriter for several television shows including:[10][11]

He also co-wrote Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.[12] And with his brother Mark Estrin (1947-2005)[13] he wrote Bare Essentials,[14] and Warm Hearts, Cold Feet.[3][15] He was also a co-producer for Bare Essentials. With Prager, David Zucker, and Susan Silverberg Grossand he wrote For Goodness Sake.[16] He and Prager wrote a sequel, For Goodness Sake II.[17] Estrin is a lecturer in screenwriting at the American Film Institute. He directed "Israel in a Time of Terror".[18]

Books

Estrin wrote The Hollywood Professionals, Volume 6: Capra, Cukor and Brown,[19] published in 1980, about directors Frank Capra, George Cukor, and Clarence Brown.[20]

With Joseph Telushkin, Estrin also co-wrote the novel Heaven's Witness, published in 2004. Publishers Weekly offered a mostly positive review, saying "Detailed backstories, plus numerous psychoanalytical and New Age tidbits, slow the plot in places, but the past-life angle sustains interest."[4] The Washington Examiner praised the book as "the most interesting of this year's religious mysteries."[21] Kirkus Reviews said it was "especially good at balancing belief and skepticism about reincarnation."[22] And the Jewish Journal called the book "a page-turning whodunit" that "raises some lofty questions about the nature of the afterlife and what happens to us after we die."[23] CBS optioned this book for a 2005 TV movie,[23] paid both authors to write the script, but then stopped making such movies.[24]

Personal life

Estrin married Susan Chamberlain in 1985.[25] He is the son of Donald and Mildred Estrin, with brothers Joel and Mark, and a sister Amy.[13]

A scholar of the movies,[19] Estrin has brought his knowledge of film to the Dennis Prager Show,[26] where Prager calls him the "Living Martyr".[27][28]

Estrin is a honey aficionado.[29]

In 2002, Estrin was denied life insurance because he traveled to Israel. Because of this, he sued 14 insurance companies. This led to some insurers changing such policies,[30] and to a bill in California to outlaw such travel restrictions on policies.[31]

References
  1. Oppenheimer, Mark. "Inside the Right-Wing YouTube Empire That's Quietly Turning Millennials Into Conservatives – Mother Jones". Motherjones.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  2. Bowles, Nellie (2020-01-04). "Right-Wing Views for Generation Z, Five Minutes at a Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  3. "Mark Estrin, 57; Co-Founder of Winery Known for Prose, Pinots". Los Angeles Times. May 12, 2005.
  4. "Fiction Book Review: HEAVEN'S WITNESS by Allen Estrin, Author, Joseph Telushkin, Author. (467p) ISBN 978-1-59264-091-1". Publishersweekly.com. 2004-08-16. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  5. Donnelly, Madaline (2015-11-04). "How Dennis Prager's Online University Reaches Millions". Dailysignal.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  6. "Fireside Chat Ep. 100 – The Founding of PragerU With Allen Estrin" – via open.spotify.com.
  7. Nguyen, Tina (2018-12-09). ""Let Me Make You Famous": How Hollywood Invented Ben Shapiro". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  8. "White House social media summit not a 'one-and-done,' Trump's allies say". The Washington Post. 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  9. Overly, Steven. "Social media gadflies gather for airing of grievances with Trump". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  10. "Biography | Allen Estrin". The KAIROS Company. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  11. Posted on March 3, 2018, at 10:01 a.m. ET (2018-03-03). "How PragerU Is Winning The Right-Wing Culture War Without Donald Trump". Buzzfeednews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), retrieved 2020-02-11
  13. "Estrin, Mark". Chicago Tribune. 2005-05-11.
  14. "TV Reviews : Clothing-Thin Plot in 'Bare Essentials'". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1991.
  15. "Warm Hearts, Cold Feet UPI Arts & Entertainment -- Television". UPI.
  16. "A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : GRAND EXPERIMENTS : Maybe if They Put Dennis Prager on an 'Airplane!' It'll Get off the Ground". 1992-05-31.
  17. For Goodness Sake II on IMDb
  18. "Israel in a Time of Terror - 7thart Releasing". www.7thart.com.
  19. Poague, Leland (1981). "Reviewed work: The Hollywood Professionals Volume 6: Capra, Cukor, Brown, Allen Estrin". Film Criticism. 5 (2): 70–74. JSTOR 44019009.
  20. Callenbach, Ernest; Fell, John (1980). "Director Studies". Film Quarterly. 33 (4): 49–51. doi:10.2307/1212019. JSTOR 1212019.
  21. "The Year in Books". Washington Examiner. 2004-12-13. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  22. "HEAVEN'S WITNESS - KIRKUS REVIEW". Kirkus. 2010-05-10.
  23. "'Heaven's' Mysterious Spirits". 2004-12-23.
  24. "Joseph Telushkin Kibbitzes About His New Book". 2014-07-21.
  25. "Estrin, Allen | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  26. "Allen's Movie Recommendations". dennisprager.com.
  27. "Broadcast Transcript". drjamesdobson.org. 2019-12-11.
  28. "Dennis Prager 20181129 – 1 Living Martyr". dennisprager.com. 2018-11-29.
  29. "Allen's Honey Journal". 2013.
  30. "Allstate won't blacklist Israel travelers". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2004-07-02. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  31. "Panel OKs Bill on Travel Bias in Insurance". Los Angeles Times. 2005-07-07. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
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