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EXCLUSIVE: Neophyte scribes Annie Harnick and Nick Cion have made their first pitch sale to Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, for an untitled romantic comedy that is aimed at a young audience. The newcomers certainly know the terrain, as Harnick is a junior at Harvard and Cion is a junior at Princeton. Each is 20 years old, making them far younger than most of the scribes Deadline writes about.
They were repped in the deal by ICM Partners, and there is a back story here. Esther Newberg, the powerhouse ICM publishing agent, asked her West Coast counterparts to read a script by the duo, called The Valedictorian. She didn’t tell them who the writers were. And the agents swear that it wasn’t until after they sparked to the script and moved to sign the writers that Newberg admitted that Cion is her great nephew. The agents sent out their script, and got 21 positive responses to the 22 producers.
The scribes met with all the producers. In their meeting with SKE’s Sidney Kimmel and his production president Matt Berenson, they mentioned another project idea. That resulted in their first deal, and while Kimmel didn’t want to blow the concept by revealing it, it must have been good because it’s only the second pitch the company has bought in its history. While The Valedictorian didn’t sell in the first round of meetings, the agency will refocus the effort on the indie set.
The newbie scribes have been friends since seventh grade, and they wrote the script while both were doing internships between semesters. Since this deal follows the $3.6 million book pact that Lena Dunham made last week, it indicates to me that the media business is plugging into a burgeoning young generation. That is somewhat exciting, but since I have clothes in my closet older than these screenwriters (I’m not saying they fit), it’s hard not to feel ancient even recounting this story.
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Mike,
We all know that you are rocking everything from Z Cavaricci’s to tie-dyed shirts. Stop fronting.
“And the agents swear that it wasn’t until after they sparked to the script and moved to sign the writers that Newberg admitted that Cion is her great nephew.”
Yeah right. It still never would have gotten into the agents hands if it wasn’t for nepotism, and I doubt she held that back anyhow.
“The newbie scribes have been friends since seventh grade”
Yeah, right, I’m sure they’re more than friends … she’s hot, and he looks like a playa!
Oh yeah congrats 20 yr olds. Now go get a real job cause your connections are only going to carry you so far.
In what world would you call that girl “hot”?????
LOL @ “And the agents swear that it wasn’t until after they sparked to the script and moved to sign the writers that Newberg admitted that Cion is her great nephew.”
I believe that…not! Between this malarky and that terrible show Girls hollywood is not helping its image of being a town ran by nepotism. #DOBETTER.
Been in the business for 8 years and for every person I know that was born into a connection, there are 20 others who moved to LA or NY and networked/clawed/begged their way into a first job.
Nepotism exists in every industry. Get over it, get your hustle on and stop complaining, losers.
Yeah, but how many 20 years old college students do you know who were gifted an opportunity like this? I thought so, now go bring Mrs. Newberg her coffee…
Nepotism may exist in every business Ias if that’s an excuse), but not as egregious as it is in Hollywood. It’s this very reason that so much product here is crap. SO get over yourself, “producer”.
“Producer” is obviously a beneficiary of nepotism. The ONLY way a 20 year old sells a script is to know someone in the industry. Period.
You’re an idiot. It doesn’t matter what age, sex, race, background, religion, or species you are. If you don’t write good stuff, it’s not going to sell. Studios only buy quality work. Ben Affleck was only 25 when he won an Oscar for best screenplay. Juno was written by a stripper. Hollywood is CONSTANTLY searching for new talent and great material. If it can’t find it, it’s because clowns like you don’t have the skill to offer them anything. Get over yourself and quit bitching.
Come on, of course she didn’t prejudice the read by saying it was a family member. That just gives you a shitty, dishonest read, any agent worth their salt, and Esther most certainly is, would understand that it would not serve her purposes to disclose that information. Don’t be ridiculous.
Yeah but — be honest… How many junior agents have the stones to go negative on something when a senior agent hands them a script and says, “Here’s something I love.” — regardless of who wrote it?
It sounds like a lot of people making comments are feeling insecure because they cant write well enough to get any of their work bought, or even seriously looked at… Maybe instead of ragging on some kids for their success you should let this be a wake up call. Look for a new dream because you obviously suck at what youd like to do
I’m a 19 yr old screenwriter, and this like totally gives me hope. I’m SICK of geriatrics running Hollywood! Anyone over 40 should just be given their walker, a case of Ensure, and a one-way ticket to Boca Raton. I saw Paul Thomas Anderson at a restaurant in LA a few months ago. He had, like, gray hairs in his beard. Disgusting. It’s like, “Hey, Paul, COCOON called, they want their cast back!”
The audience is young in America. Old people don’t leave the house. Let’s keep it that way. Writers over 29 are out of touch.
And sure, maybe I didn’t go to Harvard, but my uncle, who’s like 900, by the way, who’s like already a fossil, is a connected guy, and I’m excited to send my script around on his wrinkled ass’s behalf.
Yolo!!!!
Alistair,
Your comment shows exactly what out of touch really is. As unintentional as it was, well done.
–Deg
And the fact you didn’t get the sarcasm shows how out of touch you are.
You’re right Biff, I did miss it. But judging from some of the comments below, I’m not the only one. Although I wouldn’t say missing sarcasm shows, ‘out of touch’… I’d say it simply shows how touchy the subject of agism really is in hollywood.
And the fact you consider that rant to qualify as sarcasm shows just how out of touch you are.
I’ve been calling for mandatory euthanasia in Hollywood for years.
Gives you hope? geriatrics running hollywood?
As if you’re gonna be 19 forever. First of all. Hollywood LOVES youth. The younger you are, the better chance that people will take you seriously here. It’s gotten so bad that writers over 30 are now complaining they can’t get in the door because all the studios want “fresh young writers” So no, geriatrics may give the funding, but they don’t “run hollywood” and there are plenty of opportunities out there for young people.
Second of all, even if old people DID run hollywood, you too, will be old one day, so if that was the case, your chance would be coming anyway! So I don’t understand what the complaints are about. I understand being upset that only young people are favored in this industry (because youth is so fleeting) but being upset that only old people are favored (which is not true at all)????
We are young for only about 25 years of our live and are only out of our parent’s rules for 7 of those years. We are “old” for the rest of it. Considering that we are old for a longer time than we are “young adults.” i would not be upset that “geriatrics” run hollywood. In fact, I am sure plenty of people WISH that more “old” people were given a chance in the industry
um: I think Allistair S’s post was satire, making fun of younger writers wanting their shot.
Writers over 30 can’t get in the door because the tennis balls fixed to their walkers are getting caught in the doorframes.
Pretty obviously satire. I mean, P.T. Anderson’s obviously not an old dude and regarded as one of the best working directors today, and… why am I even bothering? Way to get worked up.
If Alistair ever sells anything, I’m leaving ths business.
Oh Alistair, your sarcasm really cracked me up:))
Hey 19 year old — here are your marching orders — grow up, get some life experience, get rid of the self entitled tone, learn how to write and try making it on your ability instead of your uncle.
Hey 40 year old — here are your marching orders. Go home. Take your Lipitor. And try and watch Golden Girls without falling asleep in your tattered, cat-hair strewn, plaid recliner.
P.S. On your way home, don’t forget to turn off your blinker.
Thanks for the witty come back, now I’m sure you don’t have a clue.
You’re still not getting the sarcasm… Such a fail.
Hahaha holy sh*t.
Anyone who utters acronyms like “Yolo” is not and will never be a writer.
LOL…. Alistair S, you’re a young, stupid punk. You totally dis everyone in Hollywood with any experience and wisdom about the industry. With that attitude, you’ll NEVER get in. Do a little research on the greatest movies ever made and get back to us on how many of those writers and directors were under 30. You seem to think your “elders” are out of touch, but the truth is you don’t have a clue!
Alistair S. – Didn’t quite get the name of the charm school you graduated from but judging from your post it must have been a damn fine one. BTW, you didn’t need to include that little factoid “maybe I didn’t go to Harvard….”. It’s obvious. It is encouraging, however, to see that the shared computer in the mental institution you now inhabit is in good working order!
Comments from this “19 year old” can’t be for real but if somehow she is, like, totally reading Deadline I have a message for her…. Watch out for that kid in a stroller, honey. You look way old to him and he’ll be writing scripts in no time and taking your gigs. That is if you should get considered for any. From your writing style exhibited here, you are like, totally going to need more than family connections to make it. Attitude is everything and yours is way bad.
co-signed. I guess I’m too old to come up with my own rebuttal.
Does anyone know what The Valedictorian is about?
If they can write, good for them. If they can’t, at least they’ll know before they graduate.
Hey neophyte writers sans connections, pay attention. Those who sell, like these kids, and Lena Dunham, are those who know somebody. I would estimate that 95 percent of the writers I come in contact with got somewhere because of a relative. Don’t be stupid. Hollywood is CLOSED to outsiders. Go home and get a job at Walmart.
Hey 19 year old, you are a dumb ass.
Think again kid. The US census tells us, as of 2010 there were about 45 million people under the age of 24. There are about 100 million people between 30 and 65. And the median age is 37. Look at .”To Rome with Love” or “Hope Springs” don’t think those romantic comedies were written by anyone close to 19. I’m not saying there should be a Hoveround in every movie. I’m just saying the odds for success are better if the older generation isn’t ignored in front of the camera or behind the camera
The screenwriter of ‘Hope Springs’ turned 31 last month, so I’m sure she was in her 20s when she sold that script.
Try 34. And she also started writing in TV at apparently 20, so, well, kill me.
We have reached the time in our society where the rich, privilege and connected (RPC) get everything, totally flaunt it and promote it. Now I am starting to understand the startling homelessness in Los Angeles – they are not related to the RPC.
More privileged Ivy Leaguers with double doors held wide open for them. These kids have never struggled a day in their lives. Let’s see how fresh their weekends-in-the-Hamptons voices are.
Yeah….. probably has nothing to do with the fact that they’re smart enough to go to Ivy League schools, and just MIGHT have some brains and talent… You must be one of those “you didn’t build that” idiots.
“Esther Newberg, the powerhouse ICM publishing agent, asked her West Coast counterparts to read a script by the duo, And the agents swear that it wasn’t until after they sparked to the script and moved to sign the writers that Newberg admitted that Cion is her great nephew.”
This is where I stopped reading.
Esther — how does a 20 year old person off the street get to you?
Nepotism – in Esther’s world, you start by actually being talented.
Look, maybe the kids are talented. That’s not the issue. They aren’t the first young people to sell somehting, and at this point that’s all it is. Who knows if these projects will ever be made. But the reality is, that no 20 year old writer is getting to a “powerhouse ICM agent” without a family connection. We all know for a fact that there are plenty of talented writers who can’t even get their stuff read, and here are two kids, probably part timing-it, who now get a sale at 20 years old while attending Harvard and Princeton. I’m not worried about it, it’s still a rarity in the business. But I am often times shocked at how people can’t acknowledge that simply providing access to relatives is a MAJOR advantage to those with no family in the business. Case in point, Jason Reitman is a very talented film maker. Bryce Dallas Howard a beautiful and talented actress. They will both swear up and down that their parents didn’t help them, but somehow they managed to get all the right meetings and auditions in their early 20′s, when most kids starting out in the business are still figuring that type of stuff out. These were not coincidences. Look, if my mom was a player in the business, I sure as hell would have taken advantage of it, I just like to think I would be self aware enough to say “yes, I am where I am because of my family and now I will work hard to prove why I belong here”.
Bullshit. Just own up to the nepotism and move on. Denying is just makes it sound more preposterous.
Jeff — I happen to know these kids and to say that they have never struggled a day in their lives just proves that you should try not to speak without knowing the facts. Both of these kids had fathers who died when they were very young, and mothers who worked hard to provide for them. They are smart. That’s why they ended up at Harvard and Princeton. They have struggled, worked hard and,at the same time, have pursued their passion. Why don’t you take your own advice and wait until you see how fresh their voices are before passing judgment.
Yes, but if they didn’t have that connection NO ONE would read their script – which is a rip of (500) Days of Summer – They’d get shut down like every other wannabe writer.
I’m really tired of hearing all you losers complain about nepotism. What a crock! I’ve written 3 screenplays in the past 3 years, with no prior experience. Every one of then ended up being read by producers or studio exec. Warner Brothers seriously considered buying my last script. I come from a very poor family with NO inside track to Hollywood. The reason people don’t break into the industry is because they’re not good enough – plain and simple. You guys are all like the whiny little losers who audition on a talent show and get rejected, then bitch and moan about how unfair the judges are while all of America can see you don’t have what it takes to make it. Shut up, already!
CBS just bought a comedy based on Alistair S.’s snarky responses on Deadline. Kevin Dillon (Entourage) is attached. Circle of Confusion is producing.
Wow the comments have been hijacked. Congrats to these two young writers, pretty incredible stuff. Good luck.
Nice. Good for these guys. I hope it’s a success.
Congrats to Alistair for punking all these humorless old fools! Sheesh, I really thought better of Deadline posters.
Congrats to SK and Tauber. It’s so nice to see two elderly gentlemen with such startling courage. Lovely to give young radical outsider artists a shot. (Enough of that insufferable Charlie Kaufman.)
The fact is any moron can write a screenplay in a month. And they usually do.
Jeff, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Both these kids have worked incredibly hard starting before they were friends in seventh grade. They both graduated high school with over 4.0 averages, Annie got a 2400 on her SATs, Nick a 36 on his ACT and they both work and maintain A- averages at their perspective schools. They wrote this screenplay during the past summer while they were both working 40 hour weeks interning. They have had nothing handed to them, on the contrary, they’ve soared in spite of what’s been taken from them. They’re 20, they’re amazing, you’re old and you’re not.
The comments are getting a little out of hand. People are projecting their own insecurities. At the same time, defenders seem to ignore just little bit of info. Awesome for these kids. Way to go. Seriously. But, my father died when i was young. I worked hard to go to college and graduate. I didn’t have an ICM agent in the family. It took me years to get to the place they are starting out (I mean getting pitch meetings, being repped, that sort of thing) I don’t know if they came from wealth or not, and don’t care. I hope they succeed. It’s hard for everybody. But I think we are all grown up enough to realize that a hard luck story and plucky hard work isn’t what got them in that room. That’s all. I kind of wish they left the relation to Newberg out of the story, would have been more beneficial to all involved I think.
seriously? she’s gorgeous
Wow. I haven’t had this much fun reading Deadline comments since back during the Great Strike of aught-seven. Oh wait… did I just give away my age?
NICK IS THE BEST!! and annie
shuddup alistair