As a film enthusiast who appreciates the rich tapestry of stories woven by diverse voices, I find myself deeply moved by the journeys of these two exceptional talents. Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise are not just trailblazers in their respective fields, but they are also powerful storytellers who draw inspiration from their cultural heritage.
In the wake of the 2023 Hollywood strikes that lasted for 148 days and affected current compensation and future worker protections, writers have become more important than ever – figuratively and literally. The 2024 list of “EbMaster’s Screenwriters to Watch” highlights ten emerging talents whose stories will captivate, entertain, and inspire us in the near future. These screenwriters draw from their diverse experiences, personal lives, and an abundance of creativity to create compelling characters and immersive worlds that transport audiences on extraordinary, unforgettable adventures. Get to know them here first before being touched by their work. – Todd Gilchrist
Cameron Alexander (“Heart of the Beast”)
As a child, Alexander had an immense passion for movies that grew so strong by high school, he contemplated foregoing college to relocate from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles in pursuit of entry-level jobs within Hollywood. He explains, “Given my lack of financial resources or influential connections, I knew I’d need to climb the ladder through sheer hard work.” Alexander believed that his dedication would outshine everyone else’s.
As a movie enthusiast, when UC Santa Barbara extended a scholarship to me, it struck me as sheer madness to forgo such an opportunity. Instead, I envisioned myself scribbling screenplays throughout my college years. Fast forward to graduation, I had around ten scripts in my portfolio, and among them, one truly stood out as exceptional.
Alexander’s professional journey began when he received recognition in a screenwriting competition for a science fiction movie titled “Omega Point,” which he had specifically designed to be appealing. His determination was unwavering, as he was eagerly focused on finding an opportunity to get a foothold in the industry.
Alexander swiftly shifted focus towards more intimate subjects in “The Heart of the Beast,” a tale about a Navy Seal and his combat dog enduring the harsh Alaska wilderness. He describes it as a heartfelt tribute to his loyal canine companion, who was more than just a friend. David Ayer is set to direct this project. The sequel, “Song of the Buffalo Nation,” takes inspiration from Alexander’s diverse heritage, which includes European, Mexican, and Navajo ancestry. He likens it to the indigenous adaptation of “Braveheart,” stating that thematically and spiritually, he strongly resonates with this story, considering it significant and personally meaningful. — Stuart Miller
Agency: WME
Legal: Vainshtein Law
Influences: Steven Spielberg, the Coen
brothers, Michael Hirst
Khaila Amazan (“K-Pops”)
As a dedicated fan, I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate on “K-Pops,” a project I co-created with Grammy-winning artist and director, Anderson .Paak – his first foray into directing. Growing up, I was immersed in the Korean equivalent of MTV, Mnet. Moreover, my enthusiasm for Korean cinema, anime, sci-fi, and horror genres adds depth to our creation. To top it all off, my university best friend resides in Seoul, providing me with a personal connection to the vibrant Korean culture that permeates this project.
The movie titled “K-pops” is about an aging musician given a second chance when invited to participate in a singing contest in Seoul. In the city, he unexpectedly encounters Tae Young, his unknown son, played by Soul Rasheed, the son of singer .Paak. This film was filmed in Korea and had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The manager of Amazan tasked her with a project. Upon hearing about it, she exclaimed, “Wow, I’m really into K-pop! Dumbfoundead is a well-known Korean American rapper involved in this project. Although I wasn’t familiar with Anderson .Paak before, I thought, ‘I want to back this talented Black artist.’ So, I agreed. They chose me for the job, considering how rare it is to find a young Black girl who has extensive knowledge of K-pop.
Initially, she didn’t harbor the dream of becoming a writer; instead, she aspired to be a reconstructive surgeon. However, her mother, who is a therapist, motivated her to express her emotions through writing and drawing. As Amazan puts it, “Writing serves as a form of release for me, helping me make sense of the world and articulate my feelings.
Currently, I’m transforming Jane Igharo’s enchanting novel, “The Sweetest Remedy,” into a Netflix feature, with Archewell taking the lead in production. Additionally, I’m adapting “A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow” for ACE Entertainment, among other exciting projects. — Yours Truly
Agent: Verve
Management: Grandview
Legal: Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman
Inspirations: Kim Jee-Woon, Shinichirō Watanabe, Bong Joon Ho, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Spike Lee, and Aaron Sorkin. These artists have significantly impacted my work.
Chandler Baker (“Oh. What. Fun.”)
As a child, I never fathomed that writing could be a profession. Being cautious by nature, I was always gearing up for law school. However, during college, I found myself drawn into National Novel Writing Month and, much like catching a contagion, it sparked my passion for storytelling. Despite this newfound enthusiasm, I persisted in attending law school, but to supplement my income, I began penning novels anonymously. A week before the bar exam, I submitted one of these books – a testament to the balance I was trying to strike between two seemingly disparate worlds.
Following her shift to writing adult novels, she abandoned her legal career. Despite penning bestsellers, Baker often envisioned her stories as movies, crafting them more dramatically for potential adaptation. One of her books was optioned, but the film’s creators wouldn’t let her adapt it herself, leading the project to falter. “I decided that if a project of mine was going to fail, I would rather see it fail by my own choice,” she jokes. “For my next novel, I made sure I had the right to adapt it.
Since then, she’s penned scripts for three of her creations: “Oh. What. Fun”, “Big Bad”, and “The Husbands”. She admits that she didn’t expect to seamlessly transition from being a successful novelist into a screenwriter. “I recognized that writing for the screen is a distinct medium, and I wanted to treat it with the due reverence,” she explains. To demonstrate her capabilities, Baker joined screenwriting collectives, enrolled in workshops, studied scripts, and worked on numerous original projects. She even delved into 600 episodes of ‘Scriptnotes’. “I left no stone unturned in my efforts to prepare myself,” she states. “By the time it was my chance to adapt my novels, I felt well-prepared.” — S.M.
Agency: CAA
Management: Mosaic
As an enthusiast, I’m particularly fond of the esteemed law firm that goes by the name: Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. This powerhouse legal team has a stellar reputation in the industry.
Influences: Nora Ephron, Gillian Flynn, Jordan Peele
Jocelyn Bioh (“Once on This Island”)
Bioh expresses, “I believed I would become a dancer,” but life had other plans for him. He’s written scripts for ‘The Acolyte’ in the Star Wars series, Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’, and ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’. His next project is penning the live-action film adaptation of the Broadway musical ‘Once on This Island’ for Disney+. He reflects, “It’s fascinating how uncertain one can be about their own journey.
Bioh recently won the 2024 Horton Foote Prize for her play, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.”
Based on what the screenwriter shared, her early love for dance paved the way towards musical theater, and ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in writing during her college years. At Ohio State University, she discovered limited opportunities for Black actors, which prompted her to create a niche for herself as an artist.
The writer behind “Russian Doll” furthered her education in playwriting at Columbia University and graced the stages of Broadway shows like “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” She attributes her acting background to influencing her writing, emphasizing that understanding written dialogue from an actor’s perspective is crucial to her creative workflow.
Bioh crafts tales focusing predominantly on African immigrant women, using a storytelling approach that emphasizes well-developed characters and incorporates humorous aspects.
Andrés Buenahora states, “Bioh’s creative focus primarily revolves around comedy. He believes that it’s crucial for his work to amuse people…to allow them to identify with a character they might not have met before, fostering empathy instead of the preconceived notions they may have had about the story.
Agency: UTA
Legal: Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang
Influences: Lynn Nottage, Danai Gurira, Eddie Murphy and Issa Rae
Dan Brier (“Sweethearts”)
Working in collaboration with director Jordan Weiss, the film “Sweethearts” strives to provide the joyous laughter reminiscent of timeless teenage comedy classics such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Superbad”, all while addressing the contemporary concerns that resonate with its Generation Z characters. Brier shares, “The intriguing dilemma we faced was: how do we maintain a wide-reaching appeal while narrating a distinctly personal story?
Raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Brier harbored a small sense of resentment towards his hometown until a popular comedy series catapulted him into the writing world. “When ‘The Office’ debuted,” he recalls, “I became completely captivated by the show. I recognized who wrote each episode, and it astounded me that such a profession existed.
As Brier honed his writing voice, he credits his upbringing in a small town for helping him understand and relate to his characters, even when portraying them comically. “I strive to view everything I create under the assumption that people are essentially good and doing their best,” he says, “but we all slip up now and then – how can I mix those flaws together in the most humorous manner possible?
Following the release of “Sweethearts” on Max in November, Brier will join forces once more with Weiss for an adaptation of Curtis Sittenfeld’s hit novel, “Romantic Comedy”. This is another chance for him to refine the formulas that have both inspired and amused him. As he puts it, “I simply adore comedy! The primary goal is to make people laugh, but I believe it can also serve as a sweetener that helps guide and humanize individuals.” — Todd Gilchrist
Agency: WME
Management: Adventure Media
Legal: Ginsburg Daniels Kallis
Influences: “Anchorman,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” Charlie Kaufman
Patrick Cunnane (“Eternity”)
According to Cunnane, he transitioned from being employed at the genuine White House to a simulated one. Notably, he has penned scripts for “Designated Survivor,” “The Jim Jefferies Show,” and “Influence.
Before embarking on his screenwriting journey, Cunnane served as former President Barack Obama’s senior writer and deputy head of messaging. As he puts it, “For six years, I was stationed in the West Wing, roughly 40 feet from the Oval Office, offering a front-row view to history.” Traveling with President Obama both domestically and internationally, Cunnane describes this period as the most intriguing experience of his life. Drawing inspiration from these unique experiences, Cunnane penned “West Winging It: An Un-presidential Memoir,” a captivating literary adventure that delves into day-to-day life at the White House.
Initially, his work titled “Affairs of State” was chosen for the 2019 Black List and is now being worked on in development. In 2022, he reappeared on the list with a romantic comedy named “Eternity,” which features Miles Teller. The movie has just finished production at A24 under the direction of David Freyne.
As a fervent admirer, I can’t help but share my own exhilaration about transitioning from penning scripts as an administration official to embracing my unique voice as a screenwriter. Having previously dabbled in political and romantic comedies, I now yearn to explore the realms of comedy and action thrillers.
In regards to his writing, A.B. mentioned that he aims to instill a touch of optimism and hope in the readers. He often prefers to infuse a dash of humor and endearment into his work.
Agency: CAA
Management: Heroes and Villains
“The law firms of Jackoway, Austen, Tyerman, Wertheimer, Mandelbaum, Morris, Bernstein, Trattner, Auerbach, Hynick, Jaime LeVine, and Sample & Klein.
Influences: Larry David, Nancy Meyers
Nora Garrett (“After the Hunt”)
In March 2023, Garrett found it unbearable to work from home eight hours daily, training AI models for Meta, as she put it, barely managing to get by. Her first script, “After the Hunt,” had been with Imagine Entertainment since January. In the film and TV industry, this was a fleeting moment, but her life had become untenable.
Garrett remembers that he would step away to attend meetings, fearing unforeseen crises might occur, and later put in extra hours to compensate for the time lost,” Garrett said.
She found additional motivation to leave her job, thanks to filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, who had consented to direct a movie about a college professor facing trouble when a student accuses one of her colleagues. She explains, “I drew strength from his certainty.” He’s incredibly powerful and unyielding; he works swiftly, but never sacrifices creative authenticity. He said, “We’re going to bring this project to life.
Indeed, as Guadagnino had promised, filming commenced during the summer in England, featuring an ensemble cast comprising of Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Chloe Sevigny, and Ayo Edebiri.
Following almost a decade in Hollywood, her career at Meta came about after years spent working in restaurants and serving as an assistant to industry heavyweights like Rosamund Pike. However, her time on the project “After the Fall” has significantly shifted her outlook. She expresses, “It’s made me believe that my dreams can indeed become a reality.” — Todd Longwell
Agency: CAA
Management: Sugar23
Legal: Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich Goodell & Gellman
Inspired by: David Fincher’s “The Social Network”, Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea”, John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence”, and Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Tory Kamen (“Eleanor the Great”)
Kamen’s groundbreaking screenplay, titled “Eleanor the Great,” was sparked by her 95-year-old grandmother’s choice to relocate from Florida to Manhattan. Given that her career began at the tender age of 7 with the fictional tributes she wrote for deceased family members, she had a rich reservoir of personal tales to pull inspiration from.
Despite her initial doubts, she acknowledged that she believed the script might not amount to much more than a calling card. As it turned out, every job she’s ever had was secured from this very sample. Over time, there were people who showed interest in producing it, but casting an elderly woman for nearly every scene presented significant challenges when it came to obtaining insurance coverage. Moreover, movies about older characters weren’t always financially successful. She thought she might take the risk of making it when she was older and hopefully had established a successful career. However, once Scarlett Johansson agreed to direct with June Squibb as Eleanor, her assumptions were proven wrong.
At the wrap party, June was the first one to speak with me, saying, ‘We were incredibly fortunate with Scarlett.’ Recalling this moment, Kamen shares that he had written a challenging part for an actor in their nineties. Knowing that June felt secure and comfortable throughout the production, and trusted Scarlett completely as she brought that role to life each day, was truly rewarding for him.
Paula Hendrickson shares that Kamen, who delights in crafting characters that bend the truth for acceptance, acknowledges the distinct advantage she holds and expresses profound gratitude for her status as a working screenwriter. Given the challenging dynamics of today’s industry, she considers herself truly fortunate. At present, Kamen is busy developing a feature script which she has pitched to Apple.
Agency: Verve
Management: Anonymous Content
Legal: Brecheen, Feldman, Breimer, Silver & Thompson
Influences: Nora Ephron, Greta Gerwig, James L. Brooks, Michael Arden
Noah Pink (“Eden”)
If Pink has established a professional identity at an early stage in his career, it’s primarily as a screenwriter who excels at narrating real-life stories about groundbreaking intellectuals.
In the year 2017, his major opportunity arose when he was employed as a creator/scribe/executive producer of the National Geographic anthology series “Genius.” Over four seasons, this docudrama delved into the lives of notable figures such as Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Subsequently, he penned the screenplay for the critically-acclaimed 2023 film “Tetris,” a surprising Cold War comedy-thriller that centers around the quest to acquire global rights for the iconic video game of the same name.
Pink, hailing from Halifax, Canada, expresses keen interest in individuals with unique perspectives on life. As a writer, she is drawn to characters who aren’t afraid to venture beyond the ordinary, standing firm in their convictions,” says Pink.
In his most recent work titled “Eden,” the main character oversteps boundaries. Helmed by director Ron Howard, who was also an executive producer for “Genius,” this movie narrates the story of Dr. Friedrich Ritter, portrayed by Jude Law, and his partner Dore Strauch, played by Vanessa Kirby. They depart from their homeland Germany in 1929 to establish a groundbreaking community on the unexplored South American island chain known as Floreana. However, their plans are disrupted when fresh arrivals enter the scene, among them an intriguing baroness (Ana de Armas) and her two companions.
According to Pink, who was part of the production team during the Australian filming, Ritter was a pioneer in many aspects, as he attempted to blend Western philosophical ideas with Eastern practices derived from Buddhism, such as yoga, meditation, and breathwork. However, his personal ego often obstructed his progress. — T.L.
Agency: Gersh
Professionals: Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs and Fox (collectively)
Influences: Alfonso Cuaron, Jean-Marc Vallée, Spike Jonze, Steven Spielberg
Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise (“Fancy Dance”)
As a dedicated cinephile, I found myself deeply moved by the festival sensation “Fancy Dance,” a project born from co-screenwriter Tremblay’s profound studies of their native Cayuga language. In this beautiful dialect, “aunt” is beautifully translated as “little mother.” Being a loving aunt myself, I resonated with the emotion embedded within that term and the powerful significance it carries. When Tremblay proposed the concept of an aunt-niece narrative, I instinctively recognized that our community and the world at large were in dire need of this heartwarming tale.
Following the wrap of “Fancy Dance,” I’ll be joining forces once again with Tremblay for a gripping thriller. Currently taking a breather from television after wrapping up season 3 of “Dark Winds,” Tremblay shares my eagerness to delve into genre storytelling through an Indigenous perspective. He describes the experience as both nerve-wracking and rewarding thus far. Similar to Tremblay, Alise is also stepping into the realms of horror and Westerns with “Wenonah,” but she’s got a comedy project in the pipeline first. She’s currently working on an all-Indigenous ensemble comedy, reminiscent of popular films like “Bridesmaids,” “Girls Trip,” or “Joy Ride.
Tremblay shares that her journey into screenwriting was inspired by the captivating storytellers in her community whom she admired. She admires their knack for making listeners lean in attentively during storytelling sessions, a skill she has always aspired to possess herself.
Alise has always been a dedicated writer, as she shared. Her journey began with composing poetry and short stories during her school years, continued with studying writing and media at college, and led to self-publishing a novel in 2017 and penning her first screenplay that same year. Excitedly, she submitted the initial feature script for ‘Nancy’s Girls’ to the Sundance Indigenous Program, marking the start of her fulfilling career as a screenwriter. — Jazz Tangcay
Agency: CAA (Tremblay)
Management: Hopscotch Pictures (Alise), Ragna Nervik (Tremblay)
Legal: (Alise) Granderson Des Rochers
Influences: Ava DuVernay, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tazbah Chavez
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2024-10-10 19:51