Thirteen finalists are vying for the 23rd annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their scripts will now be judged by the Academy's Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five $30,000 fellowships.
This year's finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):
- Jeremy Bandow, Minneapolis, Minnesota, "Hive"
- Griffin Broadway, Brooklyn, New York, "An Arabian Tale"
- Nancy Froeschle, Portland, Oregon, and Stephen Trow, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, "The Greater Glory"
- Patricia Ann Hale, Brooklyn, New York, "The Home of Positive Thinking"
- Christina D. Hammonds Reed, Hacienda Heights, California, "Heart Problems"
- Ken Kristensen and Colin Marshall, Los Angeles, California, "Out of Breath"
- Jason A. Micallef, Santa Monica, California, "Butter"
- Eric Nazarian, Burbank, California, "Giants"
- Lee Patterson, Durham, England, "Snatched"
- Becky Peterson and William Bryant, Iowa City, Iowa, "Ross"
The finalists were selected from 5,224 scripts submitted for this year's competition, which is open to anyone who has never "sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a 'first look' clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work.'"
The Nicholl Committee is chaired by screenwriter and 1992 Nicholl fellow Susannah Grant. Other members are screenwriters Naomi Foner, Dan Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman, and Dana Stevens; actress Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven Poster; executive Bill Mechanic; and producers Gale Anne Hurd, David Nicksay, Peter Samuelson, Robert Shapiro and Buffy Shutt.
As per the Academy's press release, "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."
Since the program's inception in 1985, 103 fellowships have been awarded. Two 1999 fellows had films released this year: Annmarie Morais wrote How She Move, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in January; and Rebecca Sonnenshine wrote American Zombie, released earlier this year, and co-wrote The Haunting of Molly Hartley, which is scheduled to open on Halloween. Kurt Kuenne, a 2002 fellow, wrote and directed the documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father, slated for release later this month.
Susannah Grant wrote the adapted screenplay for The Soloist, opening in November. She wrote and directed Catch and Release (2007) and received an Academy Award nomination for her Erin Brockovich (2000) screenplay. She also wrote or co-wrote Charlotte's Web, In Her Shoes, 28 Days, Ever After and Pocahontas.
Among the other Nicholl fellows who have had success in the film industry are:
- Allison Anders (1986 fellow) – Things behind the Sun (co-writer-director), 2001; Mi Vida Loca (writer-director), 1994; Gas Food Lodging (writer-director), 1992
- Doug Atchison (2000 fellow) – Akeelah and the Bee (writer-director), 2006, Nicholl entry script
- Raymond De Felitta (1991 fellow) – 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris (director), 2007; The Thing about My Folks (director), 2005; Two Family House (writer-director), 2000, Nicholl fellowship year script
- Jacob Aaron Estes (1998 fellow) – Nearing Grace (writer), 2006; Mean Creek (writer-director), 2004, Nicholl entry script
- Ehren Kruger (1996 fellow) – Blood and Chocolate (co-writer), 2007; The Brothers Grimm (writer), 2005; The Ring (writer), 2002; Scream 3 (writer), 2000; Arlington Road (writer), 1999, Nicholl entry script
- Andrew W. Marlowe (1992 fellow) – Hollow Man (writer), 2000; End of Days (writer), 1999; Air Force One (writer), 1997
- Karen Moncrieff (1998 fellow) – The Dead Girl (writer-director), 2006; Blue Car (writer-director), 2003, Nicholl entry script
- Mike Rich (1998 fellow) – The Nativity Story (writer), 2006; Radio (writer), 2003; The Rookie (writer), 2002; Finding Forrester (writer), 2000, Nicholl entry script
Additionally, Jeffrey Eugenides, an 1985 fellow, went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his novel Middlesex.
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