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Nicholl Screenwriting Competition Announces 10 Finalists

Ten scripts have been selected as finalists for the 20th anniversary Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The scripts will now be read and judged by the Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships.

This year's finalists are (listed alphabetically by script title):

“Chalk,” Weiko Lin, Los Angeles

“The Days Between,” Morgan Read-Davidson, Downey, California

“Dogwoods,” Robert Zameroski, Stevenson Ranch, California

“Fire in a Coal Mine,” Seth Resnik, West Hollywood, and Ron Moskovitz, Los Angeles

“The Last Wish Girl,” Lauren Sheppard, Austin, Texas

“Masterpiece,” Shannon Elizabeth Slater, Somerset, United Kingdom

“No Country,” Michael D. Zungolo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“Pirates of Lesser Providence,” Colleen Cooper De Maio, Los Angeles

“Ring of Fire,” Gian Marco Masoni, Santa Monica, California

“Sane,” Robin Brown, Santa Monica

This is the first time a writer in the United Kingdom has reached the finalist round.

The finalists were selected from 5,879 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.

These ten scripts will now be judged by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by writer and 1992 Nicholl Fellow Susannah Grant and comprised of writers John Gay, Fay Kanin and Hal Kanter, cinematographers John Bailey and Steven Poster, editor Mia Goldman, actor Eva Marie Saint, executive Bill Mechanic, producers Gale Anne Hurd, David Nicksay and Buffy Shutt, and agent Ron Mardigian.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during the 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, 88 fellowships have been awarded, and a number of the fellows have achieved considerable success. This year saw the release of three films written by 1996 Fellow Ehren Kruger: “The Ring Two,” “The Skeleton Key” and “The Brothers Grimm.” Kruger’s previously produced credits include “Arlington Road,” ”The Ring,” “Scream 3” and “Reindeer Games.” Susannah Grant wrote this year’s “In Her Shoes.” In 2000, she received an Academy Award nomination for her "Erin Brockovich" screenplay and also wrote or co-wrote

"28 Days," "Ever After," and "Pocahontas." Raymond De Felitta, a 1991 Fellow, directed this year’s “The Thing about My Folks.” Previously, De Felitta wrote and directed "Two Family House" (from his Nicholl Fellowship year script) and "Cafe Society."

Other notable successes include last year’s critically acclaimed "Mean Creek," written and directed by Jacob Estes from his 1998 Nicholl-winning script, and "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," co-written by 1993 fellow Victoria Arch. "Admissions" (aka "Island of Brilliance"), Dawn O'Leary's 1993 winning script, premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2004. 1998 Fellow Mike Rich wrote "Radio," "The Rookie" and "Finding Forrester," which was his Nicholl-winning script. In addition, 1998 Fellow Karen Moncrieff's "Blue Car" was released in 2002, Allison Anders, a 1986 Fellow, is the co-writer and director of "Things Behind the Sun" and the writer-director of "Gas Food Lodging" and "Mi Vida Loca." 1992 Fellow Andrew Marlowe wrote "Air Force One," "Hollow Man" and "End of Days." 1986 Fellow Jeffrey Eugenides won a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for his novel "Middlesex."

Updated: 10/20/2005

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