The Black List Unveils Shortlist For The 2016 Feature Writers Lab
From the Black List:
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 11, 2016) — Seven screenwriters have been chosen for the Black List’s 2016 Feature Writers Lab. The writers, none of whom have made more than $100K in their writing careers, were selected from more than 800 submissions.
All seven will participate in a weeklong, residential workshop in Los Angeles from October 17–22 for which all expenses will be paid by the Black List. Each writer will workshop one screenplay through a peer workshop and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriting mentors. Additionally, they will attend a series of events and screenings that will further expose them to the realities of a life as a professional screenwriter.
The 2016 participants and their screenplays are (listed alphabetically by author):
Tom Dean, THE TIME TRAVELER’S LA RONDE
Lauri Donahue, THE BUSHWHACKER
Julie A. Lynch, THE TRUTHSAYERS
Noga Pnueli, I’M STARTING TO SUSPECT MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER IS AN ALIEN FROM OUTER SPACE
Max Schwartz, NEW COKE
Jason Young, SCARLETVILLE
Christine Zosche, THE MAKER UNDERGROUND
The 2016 Black List Lab mentors are Eric Heisserer (ARRIVAL), Stephany Folsom (THOR: RAGNAROK), Graham Moore (THE IMITATION GAME), Kirsten Smith (LEGALLY BLONDE), Scott Neustadter (THE FAULT IN OUR STARS), Victoria Strouse (FINDING DORY) and Scott Myers (GO INTO THE STORY, the official screenwriting blog of the Black List).
Participant Bios
Tom Dean is a screenwriter from Leucadia, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Digital Cinema from DePaul University in Chicago.
Lauri Donahue is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a screenwriter and playwright. She lives in Jerusalem, Israel.
Julie Lynch’s award-winning film, GETTING OFF, premiered at TIFF to critical acclaim and was acquired by Showtime. She recently founded Sandalphon Entertainment to produce film and television projects that empower and inspire positive change. She lives in Los Angeles.
Noga Pnueli is an Israeli Los Angeles-based screenwriter. She graduated from New York University with a BFA and an MA. In 2015, she optioned her first feature screenplay FIND THE ONE, and in August of 2016, the Black List produced a live reading of her script I’M STARTING TO SUSPECT MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER IS AN ALIEN FROM OUTER SPACE.
Max Schwartz’s NEW COKE, a satire of the 1980s Cola Wars, draws upon his experiences as a corporate marketing consultant. He lives in Los Angeles.
Jason Young is a sci-fi/thriller writer with a background in engineering and design. He currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where he works for a software company.
Christine Zosche is a New Jersey native and a graduate of Boston College and Columbia University. She has taught in Latin America, worked with New York City nonprofits, and contributed to Adweek.
# # #
ABOUT THE BLACK LIST
The Black List, an annual survey of Hollywood executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays, was founded in 2005. Since then, more than 300 Black List scripts have been produced, grossing over $25 billion in box office worldwide. Black List movies have won 45 Academy Awards, including four of the last eight Best Picture Oscars and nine of the last eighteen Best Screenplay Oscars.
In October of 2012, the Black List launched a unique online community where screenwriters make their work available to readers, buyers and employers. Since its inception, it has hosted more than 30,000 screenplays and teleplays and provided more than 50,000 script evaluations. As a direct result of introductions made on the Black List, hundreds of writers have found representation at major talent agencies and management companies, as well as sold or optioned their screenplays.
Currently, the Black List hosts over 3000 scripts for consideration by over 3500 film industry professionals ranging from agency assistants, to studio and network presidents, to A-list actors and directors.
More information on the Black List is available at www.blcklst.com. For regular updates, join our mailing list or follow the Black List on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Media Contact
Megan Halpern, megan@blcklst.com
Once again, I am excited and honored to participate as a mentor in a Black List lab. This will be my 8th one (including five mini-labs) and in fact, I’ve been a part of every single one of the feature-writing events the Black List has hosted. You can read reflections by participants in previous Black List labs below:
Las Vegas (September 2013)
New York (May 2015)
Toronto (September 2015)
Chicago (October 2015)
San Francisco (October 2015)
Los Angeles (November 2015)
Athena Film Festival (February 2016)
In addition to the one-on-one mentoring sessions and group workshops, the seven writers will enjoy an incredible schedule of events in which — frankly — I’m pumped to participate!
Kudos yet again to the Black List for providing educational opportunities for writers outside the Hollywood system to deepen their understanding of the craft and take their scripted projects to the next level.
See you in Los Angeles!