Record Number of Entries for 2009 Nicholl Fellowships

Beverly Hills, CA — A record 6,380 scripts are in contention for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in screenwriting competition. Entries have come from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and from 46 other countries. The Academy will award up to five fellowships of $30,000 each in November.

The competition is open to screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing for film or television. Entry scripts must be the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors. Entries must have been written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible.

This year, scripts have come from across the United States as well as from Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Venezuela.

Several past Nicholl fellows have gone on to successful film writing careers, including Academy Award® nominee Susannah Grant (“The Soloist,” “In Her Shoes,” “Erin Brockovich”), Doug Atchison (“Akeelah and the Bee”), Mike Rich (“Radio,” “The Rookie,” “Finding Forrester”), Ehren Kruger (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Arlington Road,” “The Ring”) and Andrew Marlowe (“Hollow Man,” “End of Days,” “Air Force One”).

Last year’s competition drew more than 5,000 entries. Since the program’s inception in 1985, 108 fellowships have been awarded.