Notable Nicholl Fellows
In 2009, three films written or co-written by Nicholl Fellows opened theatrically: “The Soloist” (Susannah Grant, 1992), “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Ehren Kruger, 1996) and “Trucker” (James Mottern, 2003). Raymond De Felitta (1990) wrote and directed “City Island,” which premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
Pictured here is a scene from “The Nativity Story,” written by 1998 Fellow Mike Rich. Rich also penned “Finding Forrester,” “The Rookie” and “Radio.”
Max Adams – 1994 Fellow
Max Adams co-wrote the 1997 film “Excess Baggage,” for which she also received story credit. She served as a consulting producer on “The Loch Ness Monster” and is also the author of The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide.
Allison Anders – 1986 Fellow
Allison Anders is the writer-director of “Gas Food Lodging,” “Mi Vida Loca” and “Grace of my Heart,” and the co-writer-director of “In the Echo,” “Things Behind the Sun,” “Sugar Town” and “Border Radio.” She directed one segment of the compilation film “Four Rooms” and episodes of the series “Sex and the City,” “Grosse Pointe,” “Cold Case,” The L Word,” “Men in Trees” and “What About Brian.” Anders also served as the executive producer of “Lover Girl.”
Victoria Arch – 1993 Fellow
Victoria Arch wrote and directed “Quest for the Yeti,” which screened at the 2003 Big Bear Film Festival. She co-wrote “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” and the TV movie “Three Secrets,” which aired on CBS in 1999. She wrote and directed the short films “Dumped,” “Bad Man” and “ Miriam Cornsweig’s Farewell Performance.”
Doug Atchison – 2000 Fellow
Doug Atchison directed “Akeelah and the Bee” from his Nicholl entry script, which earned him an NAACP Image Award for best screenplay. He also co-wrote 2007’s “Spinning into Butter.”
Radha Bharadwaj – 1989 Fellow
Radha Bharadwaj is the writer-director of “Closet Land,” her Nicholl entry script, and of “Basil,” which she adapted from the Wilkie Collins novel.
Gabrielle Burton – 2000 Fellow
Gabrielle Burton wrote “Manna from Heaven,” which premiered at the 2001 South by Southwest Film Festival. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Searching for Tamsen Donner and the forthcoming novel Impatient with Desire.
Dennis Clontz – 1986 Fellow
Dennis Clontz was part of a team of Los Angeles Times journalists awarded a Pulitzer Prize for spot reporting on the Northridge earthquake. He wrote the award-winning play “Generations” and his plays received over 50 productions nationwide. He died in 2004.
Richard Cray – 1995 Fellow
Richard Cray wrote the 2006 TV movie “A Christmas Wedding” as well as segments of “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” and “Belle’s Magical World.”
Raymond De Felitta – 1991 Fellow
Raymond De Felitta directed “Two Family House,” which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, from his Nicholl Fellowship year script. He wrote and directed “’Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris,” “Cafe Society” and the Oscar®-nominated short film “Bronx Cheer”; he also co-wrote “Shadow of Doubt.” He directed “The Thing about my Folks,” which premiered at the 2005 Sarasota Film Festival, and wrote and directed “City Island,” which premiered at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival.
Robert Edwards – 2001 Fellow
Robert Edwards directed “Land of the Blind” from his Nicholl entry script; the film premiered at the 2006 International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Ronald Emmons – 1991 Fellow
Ronald Emmons wrote “Rendezvous,” which aired on Black Entertainment Television in 1999. He died in 2005.
Jacob Estes – 1998 Fellow
Jacob Estes directed “Mean Creek,” which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, from his Nicholl entry script; the film also received a Humanitas Prize and won two Independent Spirit Awards. He wrote “Nearing Grace,” which premiered at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Jeffrey Eugenides – 1986 Fellow
Jeffrey Eugenides is the author of the novel The Virgin Suicides; the film version premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. His novel Middlesex was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.
Scott Fifer – 1995 Fellow
The TV movie from Scott Fifer’s fellowship year script “Twice Upon a Time” aired on Lifetime in 1998. As a staff writer on “Beverly Hills 90210,” he co-wrote several episodes during the original show’s final season.
Myron Goble – 1993 Fellow
“Down in the Delta,” from Myron Goble’s Nicholl entry script, was released in 1998.
Susannah Grant – 1992 Fellow
Susannah Grant wrote “Erin Brockovich,” for which she received Academy Award® and WGA nominations, and “28 Days.” She co-wrote “Charlotte’s Web,” “Pocahontas” and “Ever After: A Cinderella Story,” and she adapted “The Soloist” and “In Her Shoes.” She also wrote and directed a number of episodes of the Fox-TV series “Party of Five.” She wrote and made her feature directorial debut on “Catch and Release,” which premiered at the 2006 Austin Film Festival.
Humphrey Gyde – 1998 Fellow
Humphrey Gyde was the co-writer of “Almaz Black Box.”
Anthony Jaswinski – 1997 Fellow
Anthony Jaswinski wrote and directed “Killing Time,” which premiered in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. He also wrote “Backwoods” and is the author of the novel Rocketship Nation.
Jodi Ann Johnson – 1993 Fellow
Jodi Ann Johnson was one of the initial writers of Disney’s “Mulan.”
Ehren Kruger – 1996 Fellow
“Arlington Road,” from Ehren Kruger’s 1996 Nicholl entry script, was released in 1999. Kruger wrote “Reindeer Games,” “Scream 3” and “The Ring,” based on the original Japanese novel and film, and he co-wrote “Imposter” and “New World Disorder.” He also wrote “The Brothers Grimm,” “The Ring 2” and “Skeleton Key,” and co-wrote “Blood and Chocolate” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
Kurt Kuenne – 2002 Fellow
Kurt Kuenne wrote and directed the feature documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father,” which premiered at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the short films “Slow,” “The Phone Book,” “Validation” and “Rent-a-Person.”
Mark Lowenthal – 1989 Fellow
Mark Lowenthal is the writer-director-producer of “Where the Elephant Sits,” his Nicholl entry script, which premiered at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival.
T.J. Lynch – 1999 Fellow
T.J. Lynch is the co-writer of “A Plumm Summer,” which premiered at the 2007 Heartland Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the short film “Water Under the Bridge.”
Andrew W. Marlowe – 1992 Fellow
Andrew W. Marlowe wrote “Air Force One,” “End of Days” and “Hollow Man,” as well as several episodes of the NBC-TV series “Viper.” He is the creator and executive producer of the ABC-TV series “Castle.”
Randall McCormick – 1987 Fellow
Randall McCormick co-wrote “Speed 2” and received story credit on “Titan A.E.” He also wrote “The Scorpion King 2: Rise of the Warrior” and co-wrote “Psycho Sushi.”
Jim McGlynn – 1989 Fellow
“Traveler,” produced from Jim McGlynn’s Nicholl entry script, was released in 1997.
Terri Edda Miller – 1992 Fellow
Terri Edda Miller has been a writer and producer on several episodes of the ABC-TV series “Castle.” She also wrote and directed the short films “Dysenchanted,” “My Femme Lady” and “Truly.”
Karen Moncrieff – 1998 Fellow
Karen Moncrieff directed “Blue Car” from her Nicholl entry script; the film premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. She has also directed episodes of the TV series “Six Feet Under” and “Touching Evil.” Most recently, she wrote and directed “The Dead Girl,” which premiered at the 2006 AFI Film Festival.
Annmarie Morais – 1999 Fellow
Annmarie Morais wrote “How She Move,” which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. For Canadian television she wrote “Hotel Babylon” and co-wrote “Kink in My Hair.” Most recently, she has served as a consulting producer and writer on the Canadian TV series “Da Kink in My Hair.”
James Mottern – 2003 Fellow
James Mottern directed “Trucker” from his Nicholl entry script; the film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
Dawn O’Leary – 1993 Fellow
“Admissions,” from Dawn O’Leary’s Nicholl entry script “Island of Brilliance,” premiered at the 2004 Mill Valley Film Festival.
Deborah Pryor – 1989 Fellow
“Briar Patch,” from Deborah Pryor’s Nicholl entry script, premiered at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival. Its DVD release has been retitled “Plain Dirty.”
Mike Rich – 1998 Fellow
“Finding Forrester,” from Mike Rich’s Nicholl entry script, was released in 2000. He also wrote “The Rookie,” “Radio” and “The Nativity Story.”
Bragi Schut – 2003 Fellow
Bragi Schut created and was co-executive producer of the CBS series “Threshold.” He also wrote “Season of the Witch,” currently in production. He also wrote and directed the short film “Charlie Thistle.”
Rebecca Sonnenshine – 1999 Fellow
Rebecca Sonnenshine wrote “Happily Even After,” which premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival, and co-wrote “American Zombie,” which premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. “Within,” from the script she wrote during her Nicholl Fellowship year, is currently in post-production. She also co-wrote “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” and produced “Bunny” and “Reversion,” which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
T.C. Smith – 1990 Fellow
T.C. Smith wrote the TV movie “Beverly Hills Family Robinson,” which aired on ABC in 1997. He co-wrote the short film “Scream, Teen, Scream!,” which screened at the 1997 Berlin Film Festival. Smith also co-wrote and co-starred in the short film “Ernest and Bertram,” which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
Warren Taylor – 1987 Fellow
Warren Taylor adapted Bob Randall’s novel The Last Man on the List, which aired on the USA Network as “Dead Husbands” in 1998. He wrote the TV movie “In the Eyes of a Stranger,” a revised version of his Nicholl entry script “In the Dark.” His adaptation of Joy Fielding’s novel Tell Me No Secrets aired on ABC.
