Oscar-winning writer David Seidler will deliver the keynote address at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting presentation on Thursday, November 3, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel.
Seidler became a first-time Academy Award® nominee and winner with his original screenplay for the 2010 Best Picture winner “The King’s Speech.” He is currently working on “The Lady Who Went Too Far” and “Games of 1940.”
The Academy annually awards up to five Nicholl fellowships of $30,000 each. This year’s recipients are:
Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., “Guns and Saris”
Dion Cook, Altus, Okla., “Cutter”
John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., “Outside the Wire”
Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., “Unicorn”
Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., “The Tiger’s Child”
Including this year’s winners, 123 fellowships have been awarded since the program’s inception in 1985.
Fellowship recipients are each expected to complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of the Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.
About THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies. www.oscars.org
