Program Pairs Rising Screenwriters with Top Television Creatives
Lucia Aniello, Regina Corrado, Paul W. Downs, Coco Francini, Liz Hannah, Jen Statsky and Matthew Weiner
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the mentors for the 2025 Writers’ Room Ready program, which recognizes outstanding original television pilot scripts written by AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows.
This year’s mentors are Emmy® winner Lucia Aniello (HACKS), Emmy ® nominee Regina Corrado (MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN), Emmy® winner Paul W. Downs (HACKS), Emmy ® nominee Coco Francini, Emmy ® nominee Liz Hannah (AFI Class of 2009, LEE, THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE), Emmy® winner Jen Statsky (HACKS) and Emmy® winner Matthew Weiner (MAD MEN). These top entertainment creatives will be paired with the following recent AFI graduates, all from the Class of 2024: Arden Earnest, Eric Schabla, Greer Sinclair, Matthew Syrett and Lauren Thomas.
Writers’ Room Ready, part of AFI’s Bridge to the Future which is dedicated to supporting Alumni and recently graduated Fellows in their career development, supports the next generation of television writers and pairs graduating Fellows with acclaimed and award-winning industry mentors, providing these filmmakers a unique opportunity to work directly with established artists.
“Professional growth accelerates with expert guidance,” said Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute. “We are grateful to our accomplished mentors whose wisdom and expertise help our Writers’ Room Ready participants develop their potential into truly industry-ready skills.”
Arden Earnest mentored by Coco Francini
Script: “Cosa Nostra” | One-Hour – Crime Drama
In 1903 New Orleans, the loyalties of three teenage Sicilian-American sisters will be tested when the unruly middle child Serafina joins the city’s mafia. Inspired by my Sicilian, gun-toting great-grandmother who was in the mob. Stage 32 TV Drama Screenwriting Contest 2024 Finalist
Eric Schabla mentored by Regina Corrado
Script: “Jump” | One-Hour – Drama
After her wealthy father’s business goes belly-up, an obsessive equestrian champion loses everything. Forced to start over, she must reckon with her splintering family, an escalating addiction and the shame of working as a lowly stable hand in the cutthroat world she used to dominate.
Greer Sinclair mentored by Matthew Weiner
Script: “Jack and Julie” | One-Hour – Drama
After a chance meeting at a downtown L.A. jazz club, a young, rebellious singer falls in love with an out-of-work actor—only she’s iconic torch singer Julie London and he’s television legend Jack Webb. The tempestuous relationship inspires London’s record-breaking debut album and Webb’s hit police show DRAGNET.
Matthew Syrett mentored by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky
Script: “Beached” | Half-Hour – Dramedy
After her banishment from Madison Avenue, a relentless ad executive reinvents herself in the overly quiet seaside suburbs of Atlantic City by launching a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme.
Lauren Thomas mentored by Liz Hannah
Script: ”Echoes” | One-Hour – Thriller
Seeking redemption, a recovering addict breaks parole to find her missing goddaughter in their isolated hometown. Once back, she must reconcile with the people she has harmed to uncover a horrific truth.
About the participants
Arden Earnest is a writer-director with degrees from the AFI Conservatory and USC School of Cinematic Arts. She is the recipient of a Slamdance Screenplay Award, a ScreenCraft Grand Prize Winner. Arden is currently in post-production on a short film she wrote and directed, inspired by her award-winning feature script COUNTERPOINT. When she isn’t spending an obscene amount of time in Final Draft, you can find her arguing that HEAT is, in fact, a love story. Arden is represented by UTA, Bellevue Productions, and Vainshtein Law.
Eric Schabla is a writer and performer from the Midwest. His scripts have placed in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, Coverfly’s Red List, the Austin Film Festival and Screencraft, among others. He has also adapted foreign films and television for Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ via Voice and Script International, Iyuno and Igloo Music.
As an actor/playwright he’s worked with the Tony Award winning Guthrie Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, American Players Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe (UK), to name a few.
Eric previously served as an adjunct lecturer at AMDA Hollywood and is also a published poet. He’s interested in writing dramas with vivid character and muscular language.
Greer Sinclair is a writer, director, and actor. A native of Los Angeles, she spent her formative years in rural Louisiana where she began writing. She is a Screenwriting Fellow of the American Film Institute Conservatory where in 2024, she was nominated for the Sloan Fellowship Award. Prior to AFI, she studied film and theatre at Mount Holyoke College and Sarah Lawrence College before receiving her Bachelor’s in film from the San Francisco Art Institute where she began directing short films and music videos. Sinclair previously co-hosted the Noir City film festival, where she highlighted women in the film noir genre. Her writing on film and culture has been published in Vanity Fair and Air Mail.
Matthew Syrett is a filmmaker best known for producing the Academy Award®-winning film Freeheld and as the lead story producer for Netflix’s MerPeople. His creative works have won Oscars, Emmys, and Sundance awards, and have appeared on HBO, PBS, Netflix, and AppleTV. Syrett holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Beyond film and television, Syrett has held executive roles in media, advertising, and technology, including Vice President at Grey Advertising, Senior Product Manager at IMDb (Amazon), co-founder of financial services firm Marstone, and VP of Product at Rakuten USA.
Lauren Thomas is a recent graduate of the American Film Institute with a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting. Previously she attended The Rhode Island School of Design, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. Prior to attending graduate school Thomas worked as a freelance photographer and as an art director at a startup health and wellness company. While Thomas has specialized in commercial photography her personal work and writing takes an interest in the psychological process of healing.
