November 9 – How to Rob a Bank

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on November 9th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the action heist comedy screenplay HOW TO ROB A BANK.

LOGLINE: A crew of bank robbers have been using social media to document heists that they have pulled off, leading to pursuit from the police.

ABOUT THE WRITER: In 2023, screenwriter MARK BIANCULLI wrote a legacy sequel to the 1993 Sylvester Stallone thriller Cliffhanger, which is coming out next year as a reboot starring Lily James and Pierce Brosnan. His first produced writing credit was a comedy pilot for MTV called Self Promotion, which was directed by Zach Braff, about an assistant whose boss goes missing, making her the prime suspect. He co-wrote the 2016 thriller The Good Neighbor, starring James Caan, and co-created the NBC series Linocln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, based on the 1997 novel, The Bone Collector. Some of his other writing credits include episodes of Amazon’s Hunters, starring Al Pacino, and the Fox series Doc, based on the true story of an ER doctor who lost his memory. Bianculli developed How to Rob a Bank for several years at Imagine before the project moved to Amazon’s MGM Studios.

(registration deadline: Friday, November 6)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

How to Rob a Bank, directed by David Leitch (John Wick, The Fall Guy), is scheduled to be released the Friday after our screenplay discussion. The film stars Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, Superman), Zoë Kravitz (The Batman), Rhenzy Feliz (The Penguin), Tati Gabrielle (Mortal Kombat II), John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights), Christian Slater (True Romance), and Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live).

Rated R. 115 pages. 122 minutes. Crime. Action. Comedy

JAMES ‘DOC’ MASON will provide in-depth script analysis and lead our discussion. Doc is a screenwriter, producer, consultant, and father of four. His book, Mastering the Logline: How to Excite Hollywood With a Single Sentence, with a foreword by WME story editor Christopher Lockhart, is available on Amazon. Doc is currently in pre-production on a drama feature Journey to Now, and is co-writer of the 2021 thriller feature Caged starring Edi Gathegi and Melora Hardin.

October 12 – Project Hail Mary

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on October 12 for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the sci-fi screenplay PROJECT HAIL MARY.

LOGLINE: A science teacher awakens alone on a spaceship, slowly realizing he’s been sent on a mission to stop a mysterious substance from killing Earth’s sun.

ABOUT THE WRITERS: Project Hail Mary is based on a novel by ANDY WEIR, who began writing science fiction and web comics for his personal website while working as a software engineer. His first published novel, The Martian, began as a free serial on his website. Fan demand for a Kindle edition forced him to self-publish the book on Amazon, where it became a surprise bestseller. The film adaptation of The Martian, starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott, made over $600 million and received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The screenplay was written by DREW GODDARD, who adapted Weir’s second novel, Project Hail Mary, as well. Goddard began his career as a staff writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and won a WGA award for his work on the TV series Lost with J.J. Abrams. His first produced feature screenplay was Cloverfield, followed by his directorial debut, The Cabin in the Woods, which he co-wrote with Joss Whedon. In between his two Weir adaptations, Goddard created the Marvel series Daredevil and wrote and directed Bad Times at the El Royale starring Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo. He is currently developing the next installment in The Matrix franchise, which he is attached to direct.

(registration deadline: Friday, October 9)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), Project Hail Mary opened in March and, earning more than $680 million dollars, is currently the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year so far. The film stars Ryan Gosling (Barbie), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), Ken Leung (Lost), and Meryl Streep. It is currently streaming for free for MGM+ and Prime Video subscribers and can be rented or purchased on physical media and all digital streaming platforms. If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated PG-13. 140 pages. 156 minutes. Science Fiction.

Brian HerskowitzBRIAN HERSKOWITZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Brian currently holds the title of lead faculty in screenwriting for the prestigious Boston University in Los Angeles – Writer In Hollywood Program, has taught online for UCLA Extension, and spent five years as the sitcom instructor for Writer’s Bootcamp. He has written for such TV shows as Blossom, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Acapulco Heat, Dream On, Renegade, and Murder, She Wrote. and in 2014 he released the book Process to Product: From Concept to Script: A Practical Guide for the Screenwriter. His feature screenwriting credits include the horror/thriller Darkroom and the family comedy Tio Papi. Also a talented actor, producer, and director, Brian made the award-winning short film Odessa or Bust starring Jason Alexander, Red Buttons, and Jason Schwartzman, and the domestic abuse documentary 1736: Somewhere To Turn. Find out more about Brian and his projects at brianherskowitz.com.

September 14 – The Invite

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on September 14 for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the screenplay THE INVITE.

LOGLINE: When a bickering couple invites their enigmatic upstairs neighbors to a dinner party, the night spirals to unexpected places.

ABOUT THE WRITERS: The Invite is the fifth remake of the 2020 Spanish film Sentimental, written and directed by CESC GAY, based on his play, Els veins de dalt (The Neighbors Upstairs). Born in Barcelona, Gay has been making films in Spain since 1998. His 2015 film, Truman, about assisted suicide, won five Goya awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Following remakes of Sentimental in Italy, Switzerland, France, and South Korea, the US remake was adapted by WILL MCCORMACK and RASHIDA JONES. The pair, who are also both actors, were nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in the Best First Screenplay category for the 2012 romcom Celeste and Jesse Forever, which they also both acted in, alongside Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, and Emma Roberts. They went on to share a story credit for their work on Pixar’s Toy Story 4. Jones, the daughter of legendary musician Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton, is best known for her work on The Office and Parks and Recreation. McCormack won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short for If Anything Happens I Love You.

(registration deadline: Friday, September 11)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling), premiered earlier this year at Sundance, sparking a bidding war for distribution rights. A24 released the film in North America in July, where it has grossed over $25 million so far. The film stars Wilde, Seth Rogen (Long Shot), Penelope Cruz (Ferrari), and Edward Norton (The Incredible Hulk). If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated R. 92 pages. 107 minutes. Comedy.

Diana LesmezDIANA LESMEZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. A produced feature-film screenwriter and an award-winning filmmaker, Diana is a Jane-of-all-trades with vast industry experience in production, development, acquisitions, distribution, physical production, film finance, business and legal affairs, as well as new media. She wrote the adapted screenplay for the feature film The Journey Ahead starring Michael Madsen, and produced the feature film Culture Class in AmeriCCA directed by Emilio Estevez. Previously, she served as President of Production at a mini-studio, Arenas Entertainment in partnership with Universal Pictures, and was the Head of Development for a production entity, Patriot Pictures, and the industry liaison for Banque Paribas, a film financing institution, and has taught at the New York Film Academy. Via her banner company, Bumptious Media Consulting, Diana offers screenwriting and producing one-on-one coaching, workshops, and master classes, with a specialty in pitching and mastering communication skills. Visit her website, dianalesmez.com, for more information.

August 10 – One Night Only

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on August 10th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the romantic comedy screenplay ONE NIGHT ONLY.

LOGLINE: Two strangers try to find love on the one night of the year when pre-marital sex is legal.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Emmy Award nominated screenwriter TRAVIS BRAUN started his career as an intern on the CBS crime procedural Criminal Minds, graduating to become a writer’s PA on that show for a few seasons. After being accepted into the year-long Nickelodeon Writing Program, he transitioned to writing for the Disney Jr. series Muppet Babies, Vampirina, and Monsters at Work, and creating the shows Pupstruction, T.O.T.S., and Fast Layne. In 2023, Braun topped the Black List (the industry’s ranking of the best unproduced feature spec screenplay) with Bad Boy, a horror script about a rescue dog who suspects his owner is a serial killer. The film is currently in development with Ke Huy Quan and Riverdale‘s Lili Reinhart attached to star. The following year, Braun became the first screenwriter ever to top the Black List two years in a row, this time with his spec script One Night Only. The scribe told Final Draft he goes to see movies at the AMC Burbank three times a week hoping to discover something new. “That’s what I am trying to find in my writing too, is just chasing that feeling of what’s fresh, what’s a completely new take on a horror movie or a thriller or a romcom and just trying to find something that feels fresh and different and unexpected. Because as an audience member, as a lover of movies, that’s what I’m always looking for.”

(registration deadline: Friday, August 7)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Directed by Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), Universal’s One Night Only opens nationwide on August 7. The film stars Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown, Top Gun: Maverick) and Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts). The supporting cast includes Molly Ringwald (Pretty in Pink), LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Julia Fox (Uncut Gems), Ben Marshall (Please Don’t Destroy), comedian Ziwe, and indie pop star King Princess.

Rated R. 95 pages. 102 minutes. Romantic Comedy.

STEVE KAPLAN will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. The industry’s most sought-after expert on comedy, Steve has taught at UCLA, NYU, Yale, and other top universities, and created the HBO Workspace and the HBO New Writers Program. As co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan Punch Line Theatre he developed writers such as Peter Tolan (Analyze This), David Crane (Friends), Tracy Poust (Ugly Betty), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea), and Mark O’Donnel (Hairspray). Steve teaches a number of different workshops all over the globe, including The Comedy Intensive, a 2-day workshop that covers the fundamental principles of comedy. Look for his books The Hidden Tools of Comedy and The Comic Hero’s Journey, learn more about Steve and his workshops at kaplancomedy.com, and follow him on Twitter at @skcomedy where you can tweet quick comedy questions at him with the #AskKaplan hashtag.

July 13 – OBSESSION

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on July 13th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the hit horror screenplay OBSESSION.

LOGLINE: A man buys a supernatural toy that grants his wish for his friend Nikki to fall in love with him, resulting in unforeseen consequences.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Best-known as half of the YouTube sketch comedy duo “that’s a bad idea,” CURRY BARKER met his comedy partner, Cooper Tomlinson, in film school. The pair promptly dropped out, turning the making of online videos into their own film school, and continued studying screenwriting through Aaron Sorkin’s online MasterClass. Barker’s short, The Chair, garnered more than ten million views on YouTube and earned him agency representation. He made the found-footage feature film Milk & Serial for $800 — spent entirely on the camera and one professional actor. Unable to find a distributor, he cut the film from 80 minutes to a more online-friendly 62 minutes and released the film on YouTube, where it went viral. An episode of The Simpsons inspired Barker to enhance a story idea he was already working on, which became Obsession. When producers expressed interest in expanding The Chair into a feature, he pitched Obsession instead. After turning down a deal to make the film for $2 million if he would change the main character to make him more heroic, he settled on a different deal to direct the film with a $1 million budget. Obsession grossed $370 million worldwide, becoming this year’s eighth highest-grossing film so far and Focus Features’ highest-grossing film ever, domestically.

(registration deadline: Friday, July 10)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Obsession premiered in 2025 in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival, sparking a bidding war that resulted in Universal’s Focus Features acquiring distribution rights for $15 million, the most ever paid for a genre film in TIFF history. Released in May to increasing weekly box office results due to strong word-of-mouth, the film stars Michael Johnstone (Teen Wolf), Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois), Cooper Tomlinson (“that’s a bad idea”), Megan Lawless (The Hate U Give), and Andy Richter (Late Night with Conan O’Brien). If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated R. 98 pages. 108 minutes. Horror.

Brian HerskowitzBRIAN HERSKOWITZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. Brian currently holds the title of lead faculty in screenwriting for the prestigious Boston University in Los Angeles – Writer In Hollywood Program, has taught online for UCLA Extension, and spent five years as the sitcom instructor for Writer’s Bootcamp. He has written for such TV shows as Blossom, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Acapulco Heat, Dream On, Renegade, and Murder, She Wrote. and in 2014 he released the book Process to Product: From Concept to Script: A Practical Guide for the Screenwriter. His feature screenwriting credits include the horror/thriller Darkroom and the family comedy Tio Papi. Also a talented actor, producer, and director, Brian made the award-winning short film Odessa or Bust starring Jason Alexander, Red Buttons, and Jason Schwartzman, and the domestic abuse documentary 1736: Somewhere To Turn. Find out more about Brian and his projects at brianherskowitz.com.

June 8 – BUGONIA

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on June 8th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the Oscar nominated screenplay BUGONIA.

LOGLINE: Two men kidnap a powerful CEO, believing her to be an alien sent to destroy Earth.

ABOUT THE WRITERS: Bugonia was written by WILL TRACY. Raised in Portland, Oregon, Tracy was editor of The Onion and has won six Emmy awards: three for his writing on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, three for his writing on HBO’s Succession. He also created the HBO miniseries The Regime starring Kate Winslet and was an executive producer on the HBO Original movie Mountainhead starring Steve Carrell. Tracy’s first feature screenwriting credit was the black comedy horror film The Menu, a 2019 Black List spec co-written with his fellow Onion scribe Seth Reiss, which we discussed in StoryBoardDG in 2022. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Bugonia is a remake of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi black comedy Save the Green Planet!, written and directed by JANG JOON-HWAN. Initially set to direct the English-language remake written by Tracy, Jang was forced to step down for health reasons and was replaced by Yorgos Lanthimos.

(registration deadline: Friday, June 5)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Bugonia is the fourth collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) and two-time Academy Award winning actress Emma Stone (Zombieland), who produced the film and stars alongside Jesse Plemons (The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin). Bugonia premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was released last October by Focus Features. Currently streaming on Netflix, the film grossed over $40 million and can be rented or purchased on most streaming platforms or on physical media. If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated R. 102 pages. 118 minutes. Comedy. Thriller.

JOHN VORHAUS will provide in-depth script analysis and lead our discussion. Vorhaus is best known for his comedy-writing classic, The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not. He has taught and trained writers in 40 countries on six continents at last count, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania, and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and more than two dozen works of non-fiction. His latest books are The Book of Practice: How to Do Better What You Want to Do Well and The Comedy Writer’s Companion. Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He lives in Southern California and can be found online at www.johnvorhaus.com.

May 11 – Sentimental Value

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on May 11th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the Oscar nominated screenplay SENTIMENTAL VALUE.

LOGLINE: An aging filmmaker writes a screenplay for his estranged TV-star daughter, hoping to repair their relationship, but she wants nothing to do with him.

ABOUT THE WRITERS: Norwegian writer-director JOACHIM TRIER and his co-writer ESKIL VOGT have co-written all six of Trier’s films, which have been described as “melancholy meditations concerned with existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity.” Their Oslo trilogy consists of: Reprise, which focuses on two aspiring writers whose lives take different paths; Oslo, August 31st, about a recovering drug addict on leave from rehab; and The Worst Person in the World, which was Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature. Trier is a third-generation filmmaker and, as a teenager, was a skateboarding champion who shot his own skateboarding videos. Apart from his work with Trier, Vogt has written and directed two features: Blind, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Screenwriting award; and The Innocents, a supernatural thriller about children with mysterious powers. Among the pair’s other collaborations is the supernatural coming-of-age thriller Thelma, picked by StoryBoard regular Danny Hercules as one of his top ten favorite films of 2017.

(registration deadline: Friday, May 8)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Sentimental Value was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, and is the first film in Oscar history to earn four acting nominations for a film that is primarily in a language other than English. The film, which stars Stellan Skarsgård (Dune, Andor), Renata Reinsive (The Worst Person in the World), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Women in Oversized Men’s Shirts), and Elle Fanning (Predator: Badlands), premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix, before going on to win Best International Feature at the BAFTA and Academy Awards. It is currently streaming on Hulu and can be rented or purchased on most streaming platforms or on physical media. If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated R. 137 pages. 133 minutes. Drama.

JEN GRISANTI will provide in-depth script analysis and lead our discussion. International speaker Jen Grisanti is a renowned story and career consultant at Jen Grisanti Inc. She has been a writing instructor for Writers on the Verge at NBC for 13 years and spent 12 years as a studio executive. Her most recent studio role was Vice President of Current Programming at CBS/Paramount. Jen has authored three books: Story Line: Finding Gold in Your Life Story, TV Writing Tool Kit: How to Write a Script That Sells, and Change Your Story, Change Your Life: A Path to Your Success. In January 2008, Grisanti founded Jen Grisanti Consultancy Inc., a highly successful consulting firm dedicated to helping talented writers break into the industry. Drawing on her experience as a studio executive, where she provided daily notes to executive producers and showrunners, Grisanti personally guides writers in developing their material, refining their pitches, and focusing their careers. Since launching the consulting firm, Grisanti has worked with over 2,500 writers across television, film, and novels. Thanks to her expertise and mentorship, more than 177 of her writers have staffed television shows, and 128 scripts have been sold by the writers she has worked with, including 13 that advanced to series.

April 13 – SINNERS

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on April 13th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the Academy Award winning screenplay SINNERS.

LOGLINE: A bootlegger opens a juke joint in the deep South but must spend opening night fending off uninvited guests.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Former college football player turned Academy Award winning writer-director RYAN COOGLER first gained acclaim with his debut feature, Fruitvale Station (2013), which won top prizes at Sundance and Cannes. He’s known for combining intimate, character-driven storytelling with large-scale genre filmmaking. In 2015, Coogler launched the Rocky spin-off franchise, Creed. He followed that success with two Marvel juggernauts, Black Panther (2018) — the first comic book superhero movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture — and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), both earning a combined $2.2 billion at the box office worldwide. In between, Coogler provided input and cultural feedback for Pixar’s Soul (2020) and, as a producer, he was part of the first all-Black producing team ever to be nominated for Best Picture, for Judas and the Black Messiah. He was also nominated for an Oscar for co-writing the song “Lift Me Up” from Wakanda Forever. Sinners continues Coogler’s interest in blending genre with social themes.

(registration deadline: Friday, April 10)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Sinners was nominated for 16 Academy Awards, more than any other film in Oscar history, winning in four categories, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, and has grossed over $370 million. The screenplay also won BAFTA, WGA, and Fangoria awards. Currently streaming on HBO and Prime Video, the film stars Michael B. Jordan (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Jack O’Connell (Ferrari), and blues legend Buddy Guy. It can also be rented or purchased on most streaming or on physical media.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated R. 126 pages. 137 minutes. Drama. Horror.

WENDELL WELLMAN will provide in-depth script analysis and lead our discussion. Wendell WellmanScreenwriter, actor, playwright, teacher, and author of A Writer’s Roadmap, Wendell has taught screenwriting at UCLA and UWV and has been a frequent guest moderator at StoryBoardDG.com’s Screenplay Development Group. As an actor, Wendell has appeared in episodic television, theater, and motion pictures, including prominent roles in the films The Klansman starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton, Sudden Impact, and Sommersby. As a writer, he teamed up with Alex Lasker to adapt the novel Firefox for director Clint Eastwood, which Quentin Tarantino praised on his podcast for its “fantastic use of exposition.” Wendell did additional work for Eastwood on the screenplay for Sudden Impact and wrote a final Dirty Harry project. Wendell also co-founded the West End Theatre Group and served as its artistic director while continuing to alternate between acting and writing assignments. StoryBoard congratulates Wendell on the publication of his latest book, A Hero’s Delusion: Rewriting the Rules: A New Paradigm on Screenwriting, available now at Amazon.com.

March 9 – HAMNET

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Meet ONLINE from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on March 9th for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the Oscar-nominated screenplay HAMNET.

LOGLINE: The wife of an up-and-coming 16th-century English playwright must navigate grief and the widening gulf between her and her rising-star husband in the aftermath of their young son’s sudden death, ultimately confronting how loss reshapes both art and family.

ABOUT THE WRITERS: Director CHLOE ZHAO adapted the historical fiction novel Hamnet with its author, MAGGIE O’FARRELL. O’Farrell is from Northern Ireland and has three children with her husband, YA author William Sutcliffe (Whatever Makes You Happy). Her books have won numerous awards, including the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Hamnet, her first novel to be adapted for the big screen. Hamnet was published in 2020, the same year Chloe Zhao released Nomadland starring Frances McDormand. That film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director at the Golden Globe Awards and the BAFTAs, the PGA and DGA awards, four Independent Spirit Awards, and three Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Frances McDormand). Zhao is the second woman in history to with the Oscar for Best Director. She was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Nomadland.

(registration deadline: Friday, March 6)

Registration in advance is required to attend the discussion, and includes a copy of the script sent to you in advance.

Single Meeting Fee: $45
SPECIAL OFFER – ONLY $150 FOR A 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL!

Click the Register Now button for instructions.
(Email StoryBoardDG@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Hamnet premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States by Focus Features last December. Among its many accolades, the film, starring Jessie Buckley (The Bride!), Paul Mescal (Gladiator II), Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie), and Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist), is currently nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Jessie Buckley), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It can currently be rented or purchased on most major streaming platforms and is scheduled to drop on Peacock on March 6.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet but plan to, it’s best, for purposes of our discussion, to read the script first so that when reading, you are not filling in other details of what you have seen and your first impression comes from what you read on the page.

Rated PG-13. 118 pages. 125 minutes. Drama. Historical Fiction.

Diana LesmezDIANA LESMEZ will provide in-depth analysis and lead our discussion. A produced feature-film screenwriter and an award-winning filmmaker, Diana is a Jane-of-all-trades with vast industry experience in production, development, acquisitions, distribution, physical production, film finance, business and legal affairs, as well as new media. She wrote the adapted screenplay for the feature film The Journey Ahead starring Michael Madsen, and produced the feature film Culture Class in AmeriCCA directed by Emilio Estevez. Previously, she served as President of Production at a mini-studio, Arenas Entertainment in partnership with Universal Pictures, and was the Head of Development for a production entity, Patriot Pictures, and the industry liaison for Banque Paribas, a film financing institution, and has taught at the New York Film Academy. Via her banner company, Bumptious Media Consulting, Diana offers screenwriting and producing one-on-one coaching, workshops, and master classes, with a specialty in pitching and mastering communication skills. Visit her website, dianalesmez.com, for more information.

March 2 – Special Pre-Oscars Meeting (FREE)

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StoryBoard Development Group Presents

A Special Exclusive StoryBoardDG.com Pre-Oscars Event!

Meet online from 7:00-10:00 PM Pacific Time on March 2nd to discuss this year’s ten Oscar-nominated screenplays!

It’s Awards Season again, which means it’s time for our 4th Annual FREE pre-Oscars session of StoryBoard! Join us for a casual conversation about each of the ten nominated screenplays and discuss their chances of winning the industry’s top prize.

This event is free and open to anyone. If you’re not a StoryBoardDG member, this is an excellent opportunity to get a sample of our monthly in-depth screenplay discussions!

***HOW TO REGISTER*** If you wish to participate in this free pre-Oscars event, please send an email to StoryBoardDG@gmail.com prior to March 2 and you will receive an email with login instructions on the day of the event.

Don’t worry about reading the scripts. Just try to see as many of the films as you can before the meeting.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Blue Moon
Robert Kaplow

It Was Just an Accident
Jafar Panahi

Marty Supreme
Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier

Sinners
Ryan Coogler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Bugonia
Will Tracy

Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro

Hamnet
Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell

One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson

Train Dreams
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

DANNY HERCULES will lead the not-so-in-depth discussion. Danny is the curator and host of the Royale Film Festival and Bisbee Festival of Animation, and creator, publisher, and one of the authors of ScripTipps, a line of inexpensive ebooks on screenwriting conceived in part by his participation in StoryBoard. An award-winning filmmaker, Danny was co-founder and president of San Diego Filmmakers and sat on the board of directors of Scriptwriters Network where he ran their writers groups and staged readings programs. In 2012 he published the popular young adult Christmas novel North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus and later adapted it into a musical through the Academy of New Musical Theatre, where he also wrote the book for Chaturbate: The Musical, which premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2017. A member of StoryBoard’s Screenplay Discussion Group since November 2009, Danny has never missed a meeting.

Note: StoryBoard will also hold our regular Screenplay Development Group meeting on Monday, March 9, when DIANA LESMEZ will lead an in-depth analysis and discussion of Hamnet.