August 31, 2023
AFI Spotlight on BLUE BEETLE Screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer
Ushering in a new age of DC superheroes, BLUE BEETLE, arrived in theaters August 18, having miraculously survived the film industry shutdown during COVID, two studio sales and now two strikes. Featuring DC's first-ever live-action Latino superhero, the film was adapted from the original comics by AFI Alum Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (AFI Class of 2013) and...
May 31, 2023
What is Screenwriting and What Does a Screenwriter Do?
JUMP TO SECTION What is Screenwriting? What does a Screenwriter do? Who becomes a Screenwriter? What are the career paths for Screenwriters? What is the Screenwriting program at the AFI Conservatory film school? 10 Screenwriting Terms to Know Recent Projects by AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Alumni What is Screenwriting? Screenwriting is the specialized craft of writing...
April 3, 2023
Spotlight on Raelle Tucker and Brennan Elizabeth Peters, the Writers and AFI Alumni Behind THE POWER
Emmy®-nominated television writer, producer, and showrunner Raelle Tucker (AFI DWW Class of 2003) first crossed paths with writer Brennan Elizabeth Peters (AFI Class of 2015) when they were paired during AFI’s Writers’ Room Ready program to develop Brennan’s first pilot “The Empress.” Her script not only went on to win the AFI Writers' Room Ready...
December 13, 2022
Celebrating the AFI Alumni Named to the 2022 Black List
This week, the 2022 Black List announced its annual list of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, recognizing 74 feature-length scripts written by 80 up-and-coming screenwriters. The list was voted on by over 300 leading film executives in the industry. Congratulations to the following AFI Conservatory Alums whose screenplays were selected for recognition! PUMPING...
July 1, 2022
Spotlight Interview on Writer Wei-Ning Yu (THE DROPOUT, SEVERANCE)
This month, we spoke to screenwriter and AFI Alum Wei-Ning Yu (AFI Class of 2010) who first broke into writing for television on the neo-noir murder mystery BRIARPATCH. This year, she served as a writer on the critically acclaimed true-crime series THE DROPOUT from Liz Meriwether that charted the course of disgraced Theranos CEO and Founder...
April 7, 2022
AFI Announces Recipients of Writers’ Room Ready Awards
Program Pairs Winners With Industry Mentors The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the recipients of the 2021 and 2022 Writers’ Room Ready Awards, which recognizes outstanding original television pilot scripts written by AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows. The program supports the next generation of television writers by pairing graduating Fellows from the film school with...
October 1, 2021
The 2021 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting Honors AFI Alumni
AFI is excited to announce that AFI Conservatory Alum Haley Hope Bartels (AFI Class of 2019) was named one of the 10 Academy Nicholl Fellowship finalists this year for her script “Pumping Black.” The prestigious international screenwriting competition, held by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, identifies and champions talented new artists, with...
June 1, 2021
A.J. Devlin on his New Novel ROLLING THUNDER and What he Learned at the AFI Conservatory
Inspired by detective novelists such as Michael Connelly, Robert Crais and Carl Hiaasen, writer A.J. Devlin (AFI Class of 2004) published his first novel COBRA CLUTCH in 2018, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for best debut. Devlin combined his passion for crime fiction with his family’s love of sports – his dad is a…
May 14, 2021
Catching up with MARE OF EASTTOWN creator, writer and AFI alum Brad Ingelsby
Originally on track to pursue a Business career, Brad Ingelsby (AFI Class of 2005) landed at AFI after taking a screenwriting class and hasn’t looked back since. He broke onto the scene in 2013 with the film OUT OF THE FURNACE, directed by Scott Cooper and starring Christian Bale, which he first started writing at…
April 30, 2020
AFI Announces Winners of 2020 Writers’ Room Ready Awards
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 Writers’ Room Ready Awards: Haley Bartels, Christina Kingsleigh Licud, Kenda Greenwood Moran and Alessandro Pederzoli! The award recognizes outstanding work by AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows, and the winners will be paired with mentors, giving them an opportunity to work directly with established artists. 75% of the past winners…
January 7, 2020
AFI Alum Scott Silver Scores BAFTA and WGA Nominations for JOKER
Congratulations to AFI alum and Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter Scott Silver who received a BAFTA nomination and a WGA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing JOKER, alongside writer/director Todd Phillips. This marks his second BAFTA and WGA nominations, after he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for THE FIGHTER in 2011. JOKER, which premiered at…
December 5, 2019
AFI Bids Farewell to STAR TREK Maverick, D.C. Fontana
Earlier this week, the AFI Conservatory lost a dedicated faculty member and Hollywood lost a trailblazing writer with the passing of D.C. Fontana. She was the first female writer for STAR TREK and wrote 11 episodes of the original series, which ran for three seasons from 1966-69. She co-wrote the pilot for STAR TREK: THE…
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