A Year In The Life of An Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Winning Team

Of all the screenwriting competitions, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is arguably the most prestigious and as a result influential in the lives of winners. For some insight into what it’s like to win the fellowship, check out this post written by the 2014 Nicholl winning writing team Alisha Brophy & Scott Miles.

…here’s what to expect from your Nicholl Year: You’ll sign with an agency. Choose an agent who is invested in your overall career and not those who simply namedrop their biggest clients. Oh, they rep Scorsese? Guess which one of you gets your calls returned? You should also expect to go on more general meetings than you thought humanly possible. Your status in Hollywood can be determined by whether they offer you an option between water and coffee before the meeting (coffee’s for closers). Once we were offered fresh squeezed orange juice and never felt better about our careers. Sadly, it has yet to happen again. Pro-tip: Meetings will zap your writing time, so stack as many appointments as you can on the same day. Keep a pillow in your car for between-meeting naps. You’ll thank us later. Also, don’t bother writing anything original for awhile. You’ll only be offered the opportunity to adapt studio-purchased IP based on blogs, twitter feeds, and bumper stickers. For the record, we are 100% available to write a script based on your blog, twitter feed or bumper sticker.

The months of tireless meetings and writing sessions finally paid off when we earned a chance to pitch, alongside Elizabeth Banks, on a project at Lionsgate. Everything about the experience was intimidating, right down to the hundred square foot conference table between us and the execs. The studio had bought us lunch, but when could you take a bite? You’re pitching for thirty straight minutes, trying to remember every line, and burying the inner voice repeating, “Do they like me? Do they hate me?” So, when we left, we did what any starving artist would do and we took those sandwiches with us. Thankfully, we got more than a meal out of it. We were hired! And so we dove into our very first big studio gig. The lesson is clear: always pitch alongside Elizabeth Banks.

For the rest of the article, go here.

For my January 2015 interview with Alisha and Scott, go here.