Entertainment
Artists Equity launches fourth Writers' Room initiative for screenwriters
Led by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Eric Roth, the 12-week program selects eight writers to develop original film scripts.
The short version
- Independent studio Artists Equity launched the fourth round of its 12-week Writers' Room initiative.
- Eight writers were chosen to pitch and refine original feature screenplays split across two writer rooms.
- Oscar-winning screenwriters Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Eric Roth will mentor the participants and provide feedback.
Key facts
- Artists Equity selected eight screenwriters for its fourth Writers' Room program: Annabelle Gurwitch, Stephen Vitale, Gary Lundy, Michelle Alexander, Van Jensen, Karen Croner, Meko Winbush, and Shane Kennedy.[The Hollywood Reporter]
- The 12-week program is led by studio co-founders Ben Affleck and Matt Damon alongside screenwriter Eric Roth.[The Hollywood Reporter]
- Earlier iterations of the program developed active studio projects, including the erotic thriller Sirocco, written by Gideon Raff with director Amy Seimetz and executive producer Steven Soderbergh attached.[The Hollywood Reporter]
- Artists Equity's recent Netflix release, The Rip, paid viewership performance bonuses to its 1,200 cast and crew members after reaching 41.6 million views in its first three days.[The Hollywood Reporter]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unknown which specific pitch concepts from the eight selected writers will receive official greenlights for production.[The Hollywood Reporter]
Sources
- Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity Launches Fourth Writers’ Room Program (Exclusive)The Hollywood Reporter metered