Winners Announced For Prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowships

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Four individual writers and one writing team have been selected as winners of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.  Each winner will receive a $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at an awards presentation on Thursday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.  For the first time, the event will also feature a live read of selected scenes from the fellows’ winning scripts.

This year’s winners are (listed alphabetically by author):
      Frank DeJohn & David Alton Hedges, Santa Ynez, CA, “Legion”
      Patty Jones, Vancouver, BC, Canada, “Joe Banks”
      Alan Roth, Suffern, NY, “Jersey City Story”
      Stephanie Shannon, Los Angeles, CA, “Queen of Hearts”
      Barbara Stepansky, Burbank, CA, “Sugar in My Veins”

The winners were selected from a record 7,251 scripts submitted for this year’s competition.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.  The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

Directed by Rodrigo Garcia (“Albert Nobbs,” “Mother and Child,” “Nine Lives”) and produced by Julie Lynn ( “Albert Nobbs,” “Mother and Child,” “The Jane Austen Book Club”), the awards presentation and live read, which is supported by Lexus, will include members from the Academy’s Actors Branch performing scenes from the five winning scripts.  Casting for the live read will be announced.  Tickets to the event are available to the public at www.oscars.org.

Lexus will engineer a new and innovative extension of the fellowship for the first time. One of the top five winners will be presented with a grant which will allow them to write and produce a short film that will appear on certain Lexus creative platforms such as LStudio.com.

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd, is composed of writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie Jr., Tom Rickman, Eric Roth, Dana Stevens and Robin Swicord; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographer John Bailey; costume designer Vicki Sanchez; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; marketing executive Buffy Shutt; and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.

Since 1986, 133 fellowships have been awarded, including one to 2010 winner Destin Daniel Cretton who recently wrote and directed “Short Term 12” from his Nicholl Fellowship-winning script.  Creighton Rothenberger co-wrote “Olympus Has Fallen,” which opened in theaters this past March.  Rebecca Sonnenshine is a writer and executive story editor on “The Vampire Diaries.”  Andrew Marlowe is a writer and executive producer, and Terri Edda Miller is a writer and consulting producer on “Castle.”

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DEADLINES APPROACHING FOR ACADEMY NICHOLL SCREENWRITING COMPETITION

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Deadlines to submit entries to the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition are Wednesday, April 10 (regular deadline) and Wednesday, May 1 (final deadline). As many as five $35,000 fellowships will be awarded in November.

Several past Nicholl fellows have made news recently with their achievements. Destin Cretton won the Grand Jury and Audience awards at SXSW earlier this year with "Short Term 12," which he directed from his fellowship-winning screenplay. Creighton Rothenberger co-wrote "Olympus Has Fallen," starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett, which opened near the top of the box office last month.

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships competition is open to any individual who has not earned a total of more than $25,000 from the sale or option of screenplays or teleplays. This amount for 2013 is an increase from the $5,000 limit in previous years. To enter, writers must submit a completed application online, upload one PDF copy of their original screenplay in English and pay the appropriate entry fee before the deadline. The entry fee is $50 through 11:59 p.m. PT on April 10, and $65 through 11:59 p.m. PT on May 1.

For online applications, rules and other details, visit www.oscars.org/nicholl.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a new feature-length screenplay during the fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

Last year's competition drew a record 7,197 entries. Since the program's inception in 1985, 128 fellowships have been awarded.

SOURCE The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2013 ACADEMY NICHOLL SCREENWRITING COMPETITION NOW UNDERWAY

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now accepting entries for the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.  As many as five $35,000 fellowships will be awarded in November.

The Nicholl Fellowships competition is open to any individual who has not earned a total of more than $25,000 from the sale or option of screenplays or teleplays, or received fellowships or prizes of more than $25,000 that include a "first look" clause, an option or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work. To enter, writers must submit a completed application online, upload one PDF copy of their original screenplay in English and pay the entry fee before 11:59 p.m. PT on May 1, 2013.

Entry fee schedule is as follows:
Early deadline: March 1; entry fee US$35

Regular deadline: April 10; entry fee US$50

Final deadline: May 1; entry fee US$65

Online applications, rules and other details are available at www.oscars.org/nicholl.


Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a new feature-length screenplay during the fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.


Last year's competition drew a record 7,197 entries. Since the program's inception in 1985, 128 fellowships have been awarded.


Several past Nicholl fellows have recently added to their achievements. Destin Cretton directed "Short Term 12" from his fellowship-winning screenplay; the film will premiere in competition at South by Southwest® next month. Creighton Rothenberger co-wrote "Olympus Has Fallen," slated to open in March with Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett. Andrew Marlowe is the creator and executive producer of the ABC series "Castle," now in its fifth season. Rebecca Sonnenshine is the executive story editor on the CW series "The Vampire Diaries."


ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards–in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners–Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

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