Screenwriters from Los Angeles, Texas, South Carolina and the U.K. have been named winners of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, the Academy announced on Friday. Writers of the four winning screenplays will receive $35,000 prizes on Nov. 13 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters.
For the second time, the ceremony will also feature a live reading of selected scenes from the winning screenplays by members of the Academy. Last year’s winners were read by Anton Yelchin, Elle Fanning, Jason Isaacs and Taraji P. Henson [photo above].
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The winning writers and screenplays:
Sam Baron, Cambridge, United Kingdom, “The Science of Love and Laughter”
Alisha Brophy, Los Angeles, CA, and Scott Miles, Austin, TX, “United States of Fuckin’ Awesome”
Melissa Iqbal, London, United Kingdom, “The Death Engine”
Sallie West, Charleston, SC, “Moonflower”
The $35,000 prize is designed to enable the winning writers to complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.
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This year’s Nicholl Fellowship Committee was chaired by screenwriter Robin Swicord, and also included writers Tina Gordon Chism, Daniel Petrie Jr., Eric Roth, Kirsten Smith and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographer John Bailey; executive Marcus Hu; producers Stephanie Allain, Albert Berger, Julia Chasman, Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; agent Ronald R. Mardigian; and marketing executive Buffy Shutt, the committee’s vice chair.
Nicholl Fellowships have been awarded since 1986, with 137 winners in that time.