January 9 – Miss Sloane

(registration deadline: Friday, January 6)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot on December 12th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay MISS SLOANE.

Logline: A ruthless lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.

First-time British screenwriter JONATHAN PERERA wrote Miss Sloane while working as an elementary schoolteacher in South Korea after a BBC News interview with corrupt D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff inspired him to explore the untapped milieu of the behind-the-scenes power players pulling the strings in American politics for his first-ever attempt at writing a screenplay. The original spec script found representation through a query letter and landed on the 2015 Black List. Perera is managed by Scott Carr of Management SGC and the script was repped by Peter Dodd and Carolyn Sivitz at UTA.

Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love). Starring Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty), Alison Pill (The Newsroom), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Dr. Who), John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun), Michael Stuhlbarg (Trumbo, Steve Jobs), Mark Strong (The Imitation Game), and Sam Waterston (Law & Order).

Producers and Production Companies: Perera’s manager took the property to executive producer Patrick Chu at FilmNation (Arrival, The Founder) where Ben Browning (Passengers) produced alongside Kris Thykier (Kick-Ass) of Archery Pictures. EuropaCorp (Taken franchise), the France-based international distributor co-founded by Luc Besson (The Professional), picked up Miss Sloane for distribution after a bidding war in Toronto.

Release Date: Opened in limited release on November 25th, followed by a wide release on December 9th. If you have not seen it yet and plan to go to the movie before our meeting, reading the script before watching the film is advised.

Rated R. 132 minutes. 123 pages. Drama, Thriller, Political Thriller.

WENDELL WELLMAN will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Trained at the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Wendell has acted in feature films, television, and on stage. He has taught screenwriting at UCLA and wrote FIREFOX, SUDDEN IMPACT, and the final Dirty Harry script for Clint Eastwood. He recently completed adapting the novel The River Journey by Robert Nathan and is currently working on setting up his screenplay Top Hat. Wendell’s book, A Writer’s Roadmap, is available at Amazon.

December 12 – GOLD

(registration deadline: Friday, December 9)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot on December 12th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay GOLD.

Logline: An unlikely pair venture to the Indonesian jungle in search of gold in a treasure hunt story inspired by the 1996 Bre-X scandal, the most elaborate fraud in the history of mining.

Writers: PATRICK MASSETT & JOHN ZINMAN, the team who adapted the video game Tomb Raider into the massive 2001 hit Lara Croft movie that made Angelina Jolie an international superstar, were nominated for an Emmy and five WGA awards for their work on the series Friday Night Lights. More recently they have written for such shows as The Blacklist and The Chicago Code. Massett is a former actor who has appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Murphy Brown, and Quantum Leap.

Directed by Sephen Gaghan, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic (2000), Gold stars Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Edgar Ramirez (The Girl on the Train), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Timothy Simons (Veep), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek (2009)), and Stacy Keach (The Bourne Legacy).

Producers and Production Companies: Two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), who began developing the script in 2011 with the writers, executive produced the film with Michael Nozik (Haggis’s The Next Three Days, Syriana, Quiz Show) through their HWY 61 Films. Producers Teddy Schwarzman (The Imitation Game) and Ben Stillman provided financing through their Black Bear Pictures. McConaughey and the two writers also have producing credits.

Release Date: December 25 (TWC-Dimension).

Rated R. 121 minutes. 129 pages. Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Crime.

LANE SHEFTER-BISHOP will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Currently the CEO of Vast Entertainment, the go-to book-to-screen company, producer/director Lane Shefter-Bishop has won numerous accolades for her work including an Emmy, six Telly awards, and the DGA Fellowship Award for Episodic Television. Lane holds a BA in Literature from UC Santa Barbara and an MFA in Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and began her career producing and directing projects at ABC, Showtime, HBO, and MTV. In 2016 she released her first book, Sell Your Story in a Single Sentence: Advice from the Front Lines of Hollywood. Follow @LaneShefterBish on Twitter.

November 14 – Nocturnal Animals

(registration deadline: Friday, November 11)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay NOCTURNAL ANIMALS.

Logline: An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

Writers: Director and producer TOM FORD penned the script, based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by AUSTIN WRIGHT. Ford gained worldwide acclaim as a fashion designer before making his motion picture directorial debut in 2009 with A Single Man, which he also co-wrote. That film earned its star, Colin Firth, his first Oscar nomination. Novelist and literary critic Austin Wright died in 2003 at the age of 80. The only novel of his to be adapted for the screen to date, Tony and Susan was not successful in Wright’s lifetime. Released posthumously in the UK for the first time in 2010, the book finally found its audience and was re-released in the US to critical acclaim.

The stellar ensemble cast includes five-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Big Eyes), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Demolition), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Revolutionary Road), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Isla Fisher (Now You See Me, Confessions of a Shopaholic), Armie Hammer (The Social Network, The Birth of a Nation), Laura Linney (The Big C), and Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex).

Producers and Production Companies: As with A Single Man, Ford produced Nocturnal Animals through his production company, Fade to Black Films, again with Robert Salerno, whose other credits include 21 Grams and next year’s Going Places, a spin-off of The Big Lebowski.

Premiere: Venice Film Festival, September 2 (Grand Jury Prize winner). Also played at Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival.

Release Date: November 18 (L.A. & New York), November 23 (limited), December 9 (wide) (Focus Features).

Rated R. 115 minutes. 126 pages. Drama, Thriller.

JEFF KITCHEN will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Jeff is a sought-after script doctor and working writer who has taught screenwriting professionally since 1989. He is the author of Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting, and has trained development executives from all the major studios who have consistently said that he teaches “the most advanced development tools in the film industry.” Creative Screenwriting listed him as one of the top five screenwriting teachers working today. Visit his website DevelopmentHeaven.com.

October 10 – The Accountant

(registration deadline: Friday, October 7)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay THE ACCOUNTANT.

Logline: After a life spent un-cooking the books for the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations, a brilliant forensic accountant tries to go straight just as the US Treasury Department closes in on him and the body count starts to rise.

Screenwriter: The Accountant is the third feature writing credit for BILL DUBUQUE. In 2008, the newbie scribe won the PAGE International Screenwriter Award for Best Drama for his original spec script Confessions of a Headhunter, which premieres this month at the Toronto International Film Festival as The Headhunter’s Calling starring Alison Brie and Gerard Butler. Before that got made, Dubuque was hired to rewrite The Judge for Robert Downey Jr.’s production company, Team Downey, and director David Dobkin. The Judge became Dubuque’s debut writing credit in 2014 and earned an Academy Award nomination for Robert Duvall. The Accountant was on the 2011 Black List.

Ben Affleck (Argo, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) stars in the title role alongside Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Pitch Perfect), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent) and John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun). The film was directed by Gavin O’Connor (Jane Got a Gun, Warrior).

Producers and Production Companies: The Accountant was produced by Lynette Howell for Electric City Entertainment (Captain Fantastic, Big Eyes, Blue Valentine) and Mark Williams for Zero Gravity Management. Williams also directed Dubuque’s other 2016 release, The Headhunter’s Calling. Zero Gravity (Beasts of No Nation, The Cooler) “is actively seeking talented writers with a unique voice and vision.”

Release Date: October 14 (Warner Bros.).

Rated R. 128 minutes. 113 pages. Drama, Crime, Thriller.

MELODY JACKSON will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Melody completed her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies in 2003 with her dissertation on “The Mythic Impact of Film.” She has been praised by Creative Screenwriting on multiple occasions for her exceptional knowledge of traditional three-act structure and character development. Known for approaching plot and structure through examination of character motivation and relationships, Melody offers consulting and marketing services to screenwriters through Smart Girls, which she founded in 1992. Visit SmartG.com or follow @smartgirlspr on Twitter.

September 12 – The Girl on the Train

(registration deadline: Friday, September 9)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN.

Logline: Obsessively fantasizing about the perfect couple that lives down the street from her ex-husband, a self-destructive woman finds herself entangled in a mystery that will forever alter the lives of all involved.

Writers: Based on a bestselling novel, The Girl on the Train was adapted by ERIN CRESSIDA WILSON, whose first produced screenplay, Secretary, won the 2002 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Her other credits include Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, Chloe (directed by Atom Egoyan), and Men, Women & Children (directed and co-written by Jason Reitman). The novel, written by PAULA HAWKINS, debuted in 2015 at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list, remaining at the top for 16 weeks. Hawkins had previously released a string of less successful romantic comedy novels under the pen name Amy Silver before challenging herself to write darker material with The Girl on the Train, which has often been called “the next Gone Girl.”

Directed by Tate Taylor (The Help), The Girl on the Train stars Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), Haley Bennett (The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven), Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive), Luke Evans (The Hobbit trilogy), Édgar Ramírez (Point Break), Allison Janney (The West Wing), Lisa Kudrow (Friends), and Laura Prepon (Orange Is the New Black).

Producers and Production Companies: DreamWorks Pictures acquired film rights to the novel in 2014. The film was produced by Marc Platt, former president of production for Orion, TriStar, and Universal, under his Marc Platt Productions banner. The former entertainment attorney’s other producing credits include the Legally Blonde franchise, Wanted, Drive, Bridge of Spies, and the Broadway musical Wicked.

Release Date: October 7 (Universal Pictures).

Rated R. 105 minutes. 100 pages. Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery.

LEE JESSUP will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Born and raised in Israel, Jessup is a career coach for screenwriters whose clients include Golden Globe and Emmy nominated writers as well as emerging screenwriters just starting on their professional writing path. She previously ran development for a small production company and was product manager for Baseline’s ScriptShark coverage service. Her book Getting It Write: An Insider’s Guide To A Screenwriting Career is a comprehensive guide with practical advice for aspiring and working screenwriters. Find out more at leejessup.com and follow Lee on Twitter (@LeeZJessup).

August 8 – SOLACE

(registration deadline: Friday, August 5)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay SOLACE.

Logline: An FBI agent must work with a paranormal specialist to hunt a psychic serial killer.

Screenwriters: TED GRIFFIN is best known for writing the mega-hit heist movie Ocean’s Eleven. In 2011, he co-created the series Terriers for the FX cable network. Griffin’s other writing credits include a pair of con-man capers, Best Laid Plans and Matchstick Men, produced SEAN BAILEY, producer and co-screenwriter of Solace. Currently the president of production at Walt Disney Pictures, Bailey co-founded the production company LivePlanet in 2000 with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Moore, with whom he produced Project Greenlight. Solace is Bailey’s only feature writing credit.

Originally intended as a sequel to Se7en, Solace is the English-language debut of Brazilian director Afonso Poyart (2 Rabbits). The film stars Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), Colin Farrell (Minority Report, The Lobster), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey’s Anatomy, Watchmen), and Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch, Limitless).

Producers and Production Companies include Beau Flynn for the Flynn Picture Company (San Andreas, Hercules), Thomas Augsberger for Eden Rock Media (Mr. Brooks), Tripp Vinson (the producer whose Las Vegas bachelor party inspired The Hangover), and Venture Forth (Rock the Kasbah), with financing by Silver Reel’s Claudia Bluemhuber (Under the Skin, The Host) and FilmNation (The Founder).

Release Date: September 2 (Relativity).

Rated R. 101 minutes. 107 pages. Crime, Thriller, Mystery.

DIANA LESMEZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Currently an independent writer, producer, and director for her company, The StoryMaker Entertainment, Diana’s screenwriting has placed her as a finalist in the Walt Disney Fellowship Program, Broad Humor Film Festival, and Slamdance Screenwriting Competition. Her vast background in the entertainment industry includes developing film projects for Atlantic Streamline (Igby Goes Down) and Patriot Pictures (Air Force One) and she has taught at the New York Film Academy and the Los Angeles Film School. Diana also offers pitching, producing, distribution, and marketing consulting services through her Bumptious Media Consulting banner. Follow her on Twitter (@DianaLesmez).

June 13 – Our Kind of Traitor

(registration deadline: Friday, June 10)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay OUR KIND OF TRAITOR.

Logline: While on holiday in Marrakesh, a Russian oligarch lures an unsuspecting British couple into helping him defect, positioning them between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service, neither of whom they can trust.

Writers: Academy Award nominated screenwriter Hossein Amini (Wings of the Dove) adapted the 2010 novel of the same name by John le Carré (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). Amini’s other acclaimed screenplays include Drive, 47 Ronin, and Snow White and the Huntsman.

Our Kind of Traitor stars Ewan McGregor (Star Wars prequel trilogy), Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Skyfall, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel’s The Avengers, Mama Mia!, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Damian Lewis (Homeland). The film is directed by Susanna White (Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang).

Producers and Production Companies: The Ink Factory’s Simon  Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell (A Most Wanted Man), Potboiler Productions’ Gail Egan (Mr. Turner), StudioCanal, Film4, and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Release Date: July 1 (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions).

Rated R. 108 minutes. 105 pages. Spy thriller.

BRIAN HERSKOWITZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Brian currently holds the title of lead faculty in screenwriting for the prestigious Boston University in Los Angeles – Writer In Hollywood Program, has taught online for UCLA Extension, and spent five years as the sit-com instructor for Writer’s Bootcamp. He has written for such TV shows as Blossom, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Acapulco Heat, Dream On, Renegade, and Murder, She Wrote. His feature screenwriting credits include the horror/thriller Darkroom and the family comedy Tio Papi. Also a talented actor, producer, and director, Brian made the award-winning short film Odessa or Bust starring Jason Alexander, Red Buttons, and Jason Schwartzman, and the domestic abuse documentary 1736: Somewhere To Turn. Find out more about Brian and his projects at brianherskowitz.com.

May 9 – Money Monster

(registration deadline: Friday, May 6)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay MONEY MONSTER.

Logline: A financial TV host and his producer are put in an explosive situation when an irate investor takes over their studio.

The screenplay, which appeared on the 2014 Black List, was written by ALAN DiFIORE & JIM KOUF. This is DiFiore’s first feature writing credit. He co-created the Canadian TV series The Bridge and is a writer/producer on the hit NBC series Grimm. Kouf is the co-creator of Grimm and wrote for The Ghost Whisperer and Angel, and is also known for his many feature screenplays including National Treasure, Rush Hour, and Stakeout. JAMIE LINDEN (We Are Marshall, Dear John) was brought in for rewrites on Money Monster (making this the second script in a row we’ll be studying from a writer who previously adapted a Nicholas Sparks novel).

Money Monster is the fourth pairing of Oscar winners George Clooney (The Descendants) and Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich), and the fourth feature film directed by two-time Academy Award winning actress Jodie Foster. The $30 million film also stars Jack O’Connell (Unbroken) and Dominic West (The Wire).

Producers and Production Companies: Daniel Dubieck (Up in the Air) launched Allegiance Theater in 2012 to produce Money Monster. Stuart Ford provided the financing through his company, IM Global (Insidious, Sleeping with Other People). Clooney also produced with Grant Heslov through their Smokehouse Pictures banner (Argo).

Release Date: May 13 (Sony/Tri-Star).

Rated R. 95 minutes. 123 pages. Drama, Thriller.

DIANE DRAKE will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Prior to writing the hit movies Only You (starring Robert Downey Jr. and Marissa Tomei) and What Women Want (starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt), Diane served as Vice President of Creative Affairs for Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa, Tootsie), honing her story skills while analyzing hundreds of screenplays to find and develop material for the Oscar-winning producer-director. She has taught through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and currently offers online courses and workshops at www.dianedrake.com. Her first book, Get Your Story Straight, is scheduled for release in 2016. Follow her on Twitter (@dianedrake) to find out more.

UPDATE: Diane’s book, Get Your Story Straight, is now available at Amazon.com.

March 14 – 10 Cloverfield Lane

(registration deadline: Friday, March 11)

Meet on the Fox Studios backlot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE.

Room meets Cloverfield. Waking up from a car accident, a young woman finds herself in the basement of a man who says he saved her from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable. Fearing she was really abducted, she tries to escape, despite the dangers she might face outside.

The original microbudget spec script, The Cellar, which is the draft we will be discussing, was written by Josh Campbell & Matthew Stuecken. Campbell, who was the editor for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, is currently writing an English-language remake of John Woo’s The Killer. Stuecken was previously an associate producer on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Their contained thriller, The Cellar, was on the Tracking Board’s 2012 Hit List.

Paramount Pictures bought the script for their specialty label, Insurge (Project Almanac, Area 51), and Bad Robot (Star Trek). Academy Award nominated screenwriter Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) was hired to rewrite the script, which became a “blood relative” of Bad Robot’s found-footage hit, Cloverfield.

10 Cloverfield Lane stars scream queen Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Final Destination 3), John Goodman (Roseanne, Trumbo, Red State), and Tony award-winning Broadway star John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening, American Idiot).

Produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Lindsey Weber. Executive produced by Bad Robot co-founder Bryan Burk.

Release Date: March 11 (Paramount). If you plan to see the movie before our meeting, reading the script before watching the film is advised.

Rated PG-13. 105 minutes. 95 pages. Sci-Fi, Thriller.

WENDELL WELLMAN will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Trained at the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Wendell has acted in feature films, television, and on stage. He has taught screenwriting at UCLA and wrote FIREFOX, SUDDEN IMPACT, and the final Dirty Harry script for Clint Eastwood. He recently completed adapting the novel The River Journey by Robert Nathan and is currently working on setting up his screenplay Top Hat. Wendell’s book, A Writer’s Roadmap, is available at Amazon.

July 13 – Self/less

(registration deadline: Monday, July 6)

Meet on the 20th Century Fox studio lot for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay SELF/LESS.

When a wealthy man dying of cancer has his consciousness transferred into a healthy body, he discovers the mystery of his new body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause.

Directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell, Mirror Mirror).

Written by brothers David Pastor & Alex Pastor, who were nominated for two Gaudi Awards last year for writing and directing the dystopian thriller The Last Days in which the entire population of the world is stricken with agoraphobia so severe, if they step outside they will die.

Universal’s Focus Features relaunches its action/horror/sci-fi label Gramercy Pictures with Self/less as its second new release since 2001.

Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) stars as the new and improved version of Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, House of Sand and Fog). Also starring Matthew Goode (The Good Wife), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Natalie Martinez (Under the Dome), Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher), and five-time Emmy nominee Victor Garber (Alias).

Release date: July 10 (Gramercy Pictures). If you plan to see the film before the meeting, reading the script before seeing the movie is advised.

Rated PG-13. 116 minutes. 118 pages. Sci-fi, Thriller.

PETER RUSSELL will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Peter started as a story analyst reading thousands of scripts for Imagine, Participant, HBO, CBS, Walden, and more. He began teaching screenwriting at UCLA in 2004, and in 2009 was named UCLA Extension Instructor of the Year for Film & Television. Recently, he was invited to teach television pilot creation for Pepperdine University’s Seaver College Screenwriting MFA program. Along with Celia Stewart Russell, he has discovered deep, hidden patterns in the best films and developed The Storymaker, a process for quickly developing an original, complex, vivid story from a single idea. Meet Peter in person at StoryBoard on July 13, and find out more about his seminars, workshops, and online classes at How Movies Work (howmovieswork.com).