Mermade, the digital platform of global women-owned production company Merman, is joining forces with Genius Entertainment, founded by multi-hyphenate 19-year old entrepreneur Marsai Martin, to launch a competition for unproduced screenwriters, giving them a shot at finally getting produced. The competition calls for candidates to submit a writing sample that will get them into a mentorship program to create a script based on a logline provided by the producers. The final winning screenwriter will be paired with an experienced director and the script will be co-produced by Mermade and Genius Entertainment as a series of approximately six three-minute episodes for a social platform such as TikTok.
“We’re looking for unproduced screenwriters to create a short-form Gen-Z propulsive thriller,” said Merman global managing partner Kira Carstensen, “and we can’t think of a better producing partner to help develop and mentor this project than Marsai’s Gen-Z focused team at Genius.”
Genius Entertainment’s Nicole Dow said “The goal is to truly empower the creatives. What makes our competition different is that the winner doesn’t just get an award, they actually get produced. This is a proof of concept initiative.”
The competition is being managed and co-produced by Genius and Mermade, the emerging creators platform and digital division of Merman that also functions as a talent incubator and mentorship program for up and coming directors, screenwriters and other visual artists.
It is anticipated that the winning screenplay will be shot using new technology native to social platforms. Mermade and Genius are also in discussion with brands about partnerships and integration opportunities in the final project.
“There is real value and interest in creating short form series today,” said Carstensen. “They live in a native, social-first space, and in that format you can shoot on a smart phone and not only keep costs down but keep the creative level high and incredibly flexible. It’s a great entry point for new talent.”
Open submission ends on July 30 at 11:59pm PT, or when 300 applications are received. For more information about the competition and entries contact, click here.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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