Episodes of "Fleabag," "Fosse/Verdon," "Killing Eve," "Unbelievable," "Watchmen" in running for TV honor
The USC Libraries named the finalists for the 32nd-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award, which honors the year’s most accomplished film and television adaptations, as well as the works on which they are based.
The finalist writers for feature films are:
–Matthew Carnahan and Mario Correa for “Dark Waters” (Focus Features) based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich
–Steven Zaillian for “The Irishman” (Netflix) based on the nonfiction work “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt (Steerforth Press)
–Taika Waititi for “Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) based on the novel “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens (publisher Harry N. Abrams)
–Author Louisa May Alcott and screenwriter Greta Gerwig for “Little Women” (Sony Pictures; publisher–Signet Classics)
–Anthony McCarten for “The Two Popes” (Netflix) based on his play “The Pope” (Flatiron Books)
The finalist writers for television are:
–Phoebe Waller-Bridge, for the first episode of “Fleabag” (Amazon) based on her one-woman play of the same name (Nick Hern Books)
–Joel Fields and Steven Levenson for the episode “Nowadays” from “Fosse/Verdon” (FX) based on the biography “Fosse” by Sam Wasson (Mariner Books)
–Emerald Fennell for the episode “Nice and Neat,” from “Killing Eve” (BBC America) based on the novel “Codename Villanelle” by Luke Jennings (Mulholland Books)
–Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman for the first episode of “Unbelievable” (Netflix) based on the article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong (ProPublica & The Marshall Project)
–Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson for the episode “This Extraordinary Being,” from “Watchmen” (HBO) based on the comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics)
Chaired by USC professor and past president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2020 Scripter selection committee selected the finalists from a field of 61 film and 58 television adaptations.
Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin, Anne Thompson and Kenneth Turan; authors Lisa Belkin, Steve Erickson and Michael Ondaatje; screenwriters Larry Karaszewski and Erin Cressida Wilson; producers Mike Medavoy and Suzanne Todd; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Since 1988, Scripter has honored the authors of printed works alongside the screenwriters who adapt their stories. In 2016, the USC Libraries inaugurated a new Scripter award, for television adaptation.
Comedic Director Roderick Fenske Joins Yard Dog TV For U.S. Spot Work
Roderick Fenske, the award-winning agency copywriter/creative director turned comedic director of commercials and films, has joined Yard Dog TV for U.S. representation.
Fenske--known for his idiosyncratic casting, stylish art direction, and blend of practical and digital effects--saw his newest commercial work, for Drink Weird Ice Tea, break earlier this month. His most recent short film, I’m Dead, You’re Welcome, starring JR Russell, Taissa Zveiter, Sandy Eels, and Julia Lorpriore, is making the rounds of film festivals now, having won Best Comedy Short at the Flagstaff International Film Festival last month.
Fenske, who started out in the business as a copywriter, is one of a select group of agency creatives to have found success in both New York and London, where his last post was as a creative director at TBWA there. “I owe so much of my career to Trevor Beattie [TBWA London chairman/creative director at the time], because he believed in me and started my career directing commercials,” said Fenske, citing work for Sony PlayStation, French Connection UK, and Channel 5.
Those spots led to an invitation to become a member of the visionary Swedish film collective known as ACNE. “I learned so much there working in a directing collective. With everybody talking about how to make stuff look stylish and cinematic it was like a film school for me,” Fenske explained. “Production design is so important because humor can be much more unexpected when you have an elevated look.”
Over the course of his career, Fenske’s work has received many international awards from shows including the Cannes Lions, British D&AD, and AICP. He moved from London to Los Angeles, and during this time he met Yard Dog... Read More