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Academy Narrows Field For Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday September 27, 2010 @ 3:35pm PDTTags: AMPAS, Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, Gale Ann Hurd, Movies, Nicholl Committee, Screenwriters
Mike Fleming

Academy Announces Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Finalists for 2010

Beverly Hills, CA – Ten writers have been selected as finalists for the 25th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their scripts will now be read and judged by the Academy’s Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships.

This year’s finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Art Corriveau, Santa Fe, New Mexico, “Nicky Flynn Finally Gets a Life”
Destin Daniel Cretton, San Diego, Calif., “Short Term 12”
Sebastian Davis, Los Angeles, Calif., “Drunk-Dialing”
Marvin Krueger, North Hollywood, Calif., “And Handled with a Chain”
Andrew Lanham, Austin, Texas, “The Jumper of Maine”
Tim Macy, Kansas City, Mo., “The Last Queen”
Micah Ranum, Beverly Hills, Calif., “A Good Hunter”
Cinthea Stahl, North Hollywood, Calif., “Identifying Marks”
Logan Steiner, Redondo Beach, Calif., “The Promise of Spring”
Sage Vanden Heuvel, Ann Arbor, Mich., “Inner Earth”

The finalists were selected from 6,304 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not 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, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd, is composed of writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven B. Poster; executive Bill Mechanic; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.

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, 113 fellowships have been awarded, and a number of fellows have achieved considerable success. Mike Rich, a 1998 fellow, wrote the upcoming “Secretariat.” Susannah Grant, a 1992 fellow, earned an Oscar nomination in 2000 for her “Erin Brockovich” screenplay. Andrew W. Marlowe, a 1992 fellow, created and executive produces ABC’s “Castle,” for which Terri Miller, also a 1992 fellow, is a writer-producer. “City Island,” which was written and directed by 1991 fellow Raymond De Felitta, premiered at the 2009 Berlin and Tribeca film festivals, and premiered theatrically in March of this year.

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The Importance Of Academy Screenings: Oscar Prospects For ‘The Town’ Lift Quickly

By PETE HAMMOND | Monday September 20, 2010 @ 8:30pm PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, AMPAS, Ben Affleck The Town, Movies, Oscar Buzz, Oscar Contenders, Oscar Screenings, Oscars, The Town
Pete Hammond

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Science’s official private weekend screenings for voting members are generally a must-stop for serious Oscar contenders, not only to show the films to voters all at once but also to gauge reaction both audibly during the film and by buzz in the lobby and restrooms after. After complaints about the quality of some the films shown, the Academy last year revamped the committee that chooses them and now seems much more savvy about booking movies that aren’t wasting members’ time – or so they’d like to think. While some fluff still gets screened, the cinematic menu this time of year turns to a heavy sked of Oscar prospects.

Not everything gets booked because there are basically just four slots each weekend: two matinees and two evening shows. But of the 10 pictures nominated last year, only The Blind Side, which seemed to catch even Warner Bros by surprise, did not play at one of these screenings.

In terms of this year’s Oscar contenders, it was a big weekend for Ben Affleck’s The Town (which he directed and co-wrote and stars in for Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures) which topped the weekend box office with nearly $24 million. That was a bit of a surprise, particularly for an adult-skewing drama (albeit one with a LOT of action in it). Then again, it had a 94% fresh critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But what was really significant awards-wise is that I hear it had a smash screening at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills on Saturday night. So you have a film right out of the gate among Fall releases that looks to be a serious awards prospect.

Even though the movie’s official Academy screening was skedded just as Yom Kippur was ending, the turnout was larger than normal and the response at the end very enthusiastic. A 2-time Oscar winner who frequently attends these private weekend screenings for voting members told me, “There was big loud applause at the end credits — and that’s something I rarely see at the Academy.” He went on to praise the film as easily one of the best he has seen there in some time (and, interestingly, he’s not impressed with much of the 2010 output so far). He singled out Affleck’s direction and the acting ensemble for particular kudos. Two other Academy members who saw the film at non-Academy screenings told me the same thing. So Warners could Read More »

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Waiting For Godard Might Not Be In Vain

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday September 7, 2010 @ 3:19pm PDTTags: AMPAS, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Luc Godard Honorary Oscar, Oscars, Tom Sherak
Mike Fleming

The Academy responds to recent speculative reports that Jean-Luc Godard won’t attend the Academy Awards to accept his honorary Oscar:

Statement Regarding Jean-Luc Godard’s
Reply to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In response to Academy President Tom Sherak’s letter informing him that the Board of Governors had voted him

… Read More »

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Peter Jackson Unveils His Childhood Movie

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday July 15, 2010 @ 5:05am PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, AMPAS, BAFTA, Peter Jackson, Ray Harryhausen Tribute, Video

EXCLUSIVE: One for the fanboys. This clip was shot in London at BAFTA’s recent Ray Harryhausen tribute where Peter Jackson presented an amateur childhood movie he made recreating Harryhausen’s famed Cyclops scene from The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. (Note that, at the beginning, the teenaged Jackson hadn’t yet figured out … Read More »

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RED STATE ALERT: Movie Academy Elects Michael Moore To Its Board Of Governors

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Wednesday July 7, 2010 @ 9:24am PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, AMPAS, AMPAS Board Of Governors, Hawk Koch, Jim Gianopulos, Kathryn Bigelow, Marvin Levy, Michael Moore

Hollywood-hating conservatives are going to have a field day with this:

michael moore 2Beverly Hills, CA – A trio of Oscar® recipients – director Kathryn Bigelow, film editor Anne Coates and documentarian Michael Moore – make up the year’s first-time electees to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors. Coates received her award for the editing of “Lawrence of Arabia,” Moore won in the Documentary Feature category for “Bowling from Columbine,”

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SHOCKER! Academy Discusses Moving Oscars To January; Moguls See Plusses

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday June 22, 2010 @ 9:23pm PDTTags: 83rd Academy Awards, ABC, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, AMPAS, BAFTA Awards, SAG Awards, Tom Sherak

Osc2BREAKING NEWS!… EXCLUSIVE… 2ND UPDATE: Latest news is that it’s more likely to be the plan for 2012. But outside chance it could be for the next Oscars. Also, Academy executive director Bruce Davis sent out an email scolding AMPAS board members … Read More »

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