Academy Reveals Nicholl Fellowships Finalists

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected the 10 finalists, consisting of nine individual screenwriters and one writing team, in its 2012 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.

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The finalists, chosen from 7,197 scripts that were submitted, will be judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, which may award as many as five $35,000 fellowships. The recipients will be announced later this month and will be honored Nov. 8 at a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire.

The committee is chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd and includes writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven B. Poster; costume designer Vicki Sanchez; executive Bill Mechanic; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; marketing executive Buffy Shutt; and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.

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The Nicholl competition is open to any individual who has not earned more than $5,000 writing for film or television or received a fellowship prize that inclues a “first look” clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.

Entry scripts must be feature length and the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors. The scripts must have been written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. 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.

This year’s finalists, which include the first finalist from South Africa, are listed alphabetically by author:

Nikole Beckwith, Brooklyn, NY, Stockholm, Pennsylvania

Ryan Belenzon & Jeffrey Gelber, Los Angeles and Sherman Oaks, CA, X

Robert Carter, Red Bank, NJ, A.W.O.L.

Sean Robert Daniels, Laezonia, Gauteng, South Africa, Killers

James DiLapo, New York, NY, Devils at Play

Allan Durand, Lafayette, LA, Willie Francis Must Die Again

Laurel Minter, Seattle, WA, When Thunder Sleeps

Bob Roden, Berkeley, CA, Return of the Dipsticks

April Rouveyrol, Glendale, CA, Life Copy

Michael Werwie, Los Angeles, CA, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile