SU Alumni Successes

ScreenwritingU Alum Lisa Marie Sandoval (ProSeries 45, MSC 4) was hired by Mark Maine of Angelic Pictures to rewrite the feature SPACE SAMURAI: OASIS. SPACE SAMURAI: OASIS is the first of the female-hero, sci-fi trilogy franchise story written by Mark Maine, original screenplay by  Mark Maine and Mike Terrell.  Lisa has also been tapped to

ScreenwritingU Alum Margaret Riseley (ProSeries 21, MSC 4) has been hired by Producer Mark Castaldo of Destiny Pictures to rewrite a screenplay based on the book "Chasing Victory" by Joshua Shifrin. The project is currently in development. "Already familiar with Margaret's screenwriting and professional work ethic, I knew after introducing her to the book and

ScreenwritingU Alum Sharon Axcell’s (ProSeries 64, MSC 10) biographical screenplay based on the book 'George and Me' by Angie Best, the ex-wife of the famous Irish footballer George Best, has been optioned by producer Paul Ruffman. Sharon connected with the producer during the Master Screenwriter Certificate Program. After pitching her own project to Paul he

ScreenwritingU Alum, Robert Gemmill (ProSeries 42, MSC 2, BW 4) has entered into a joint venture agreement with producer Ken Gord to produce the TV series he wrote. Canadian based producer Ken Gord has produced over twenty mini-series and television movies for CBS, Fox, UPN, Global Television Network, CTV, Lifetime and Paramount Television. Robert wrote

ScreenwritingU Alum Jason Lauer (ProSeries 58, MSC 8, BW TV 4) optioned his Spy/Thriller TV pilot to producer James Quince.  He created the pitch bible, wrote the pilot, and marketed it to producers during ScreenwritingU’s six month program: Binge Worthy TV™ Bootcamp.  Well done, Jason!

ScreenwritingU Alum Jonny Payne (ProSeries 59, MSC 9) had his action screenplay WING MEN optioned by John Yarincki and Conor Charles of Eclectic Pictures. Eclectic Pictures previous projects include The Iceman (2012), Playing for Keeps (2012), Lovelace (2013),  Septembers of Shiraz (2015) and Angel Has Fallen (2019). WING MEN, Jonny’s first screenplay option, was inspired

ScreenwritingU Alum Gabriell DeBear Paye’s (ProSeries 36, MSC 2 and 7) screenplay on the history of the disability rights movement that led up to the "Americans With Disabilities Act" of 1990 was optioned by producer Nanda Rao! The script is based on the book "What We Have Done, An Oral History of the Disability Rights

ScreenwritingU Alum David Jones (ProSeries 44) finished the horror assignment Director Alastari Orr hired him to write, which is now close to release. Titled TRIGGERED, the movie was shot in South Africa earlier this year and is currently in post production. The director had previously optioned a screenplay from David called CRATES, and based on

ScreenwritingU Aum James Ridgley (ProSeries 60, MSC 8) had his screenplay optioned by Traverse Media. The producers are long time associates of James who loved his coming-of-age, family-focused Comedy and optioned it. James developed the screenplay while in the Master Screenwriters Certificate Program. Presently, James is writing two TV Series Projects, and recently completed a

ScreenwritingU Alum writing partners, Sebastian Smith (ProSeries 48), and  Heidi Stangeland (ProSeries 54, MSC 7) had their female-driven WWII epic optioned by producer Victor Kepler. The original screenplay was written by Sebastian, based on true events. He brought Heidi onboard during the rewrite phase. The project is in development, with the screenplay out to a