The Writers: “Vet spice freshman class”

The first of four Variety end-of-year articles on screenwriters:

This year’s crop of first-time writers in award contention aren’t all industry newcomers. From famous performers to accomplished television scribes to produced playwrights, the group has one thing in common: 2011 brought the theatrical release of their screenwriting debuts.

A few examples:

Glenn Close
“Albert Nobbs”

“I didn’t start from scratch,” Glenn Close says about co-writing her debut screenplay “Albert Nobbs.” The project, which she also stars in and co-produced has dominated Close’s imagination for years. Thesp won an Obie in 1982 for playing the title role Off Broadway and has worked on reprising the role on screen for decades. She shares writing credit with Gabriella Prekop and John Banville, along with Istvan Szabo for story, in adapting the novella from George Moore.

“While we were filming, I’d email John and say, ‘I need a good phrase for “My father was a drunk.” And then ‘A fierce whore for the drink’ would come back 20 minutes later. It was fabulous!”

Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Bridesmaids”

It took Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig just six days to write the first draft of “Bridesmaids.”

“We had a short window of time to get it done for (pic’s producer) Judd Apatow and because of Kristen’s SNL schedule,” Mumolo says. “But we went through years of rewrites after that.”

Although the comedy marks duo’s first script, they have been writing together ever since they met at the Groundlings 10 years ago.

“The end was the most challenging for us because you have to wrap up the movie somehow, but you don’t want the audience to predict it or expect it,” Wiig says. “We went through a lot of different versions.

“Initially we were both really adamant that we didn’t want a wedding at the end.”

For more of the article, go here.