2024
Welcome to The Grey List
We’re honored to present you with a curated list of original, production-ready feature and pilot scripts from writers over the age of 40. We hope you enjoy the amazing range of stories represented here. And remember…
Creativity has no expiration date!
Special Guest Projects
HOMECOMING QUEEN
a feature by Eric Rogers
Once the queen of everything in her small hometown, Tami Lynn finds herself lost after high school when everyone else has gone off to college but her. Desperate to be noticed once more, Tami becomes a serial killer (but y’know, the good kind), while pursuing her dream of country music stardom.
Comps: TO DIE FOR meets DEXTER
Eric is a prolific television, film, and podcast writer whose produced credits include the Emmy-winning FUTURAMA and NYPD BLUE. He is currently the Creator, Executive Producer, and Showrunner of ANGRY BIRDS: MYSTERY ISLAND for Amazon Prime/Amazon Kids+ and Titmouse, Inc., premiering in 2024. Previously, Eric served as Creator, Executive Producer, and Showrunner for Netflix’s SKYLANDERS Academy, based on Activision-Blizzard’s best-selling Skylanders video game series. Eric was a 2011 WGA Award nominee for his FUTURAMA script, “The Silence of the Clamps”—clearly a clerical error that he hopes no one in the WGA ever discovers and rectifies.
Representation: Noah Jones, FWRD MGMT
Social Media | IMDB | Email
SKYBORN
a pilot by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Originally developed with the Jim Henson Company and Bad Wolf for SyFy, Skyborn tells the saga of six earthlings from vastly different walks of life who are abducted by fish-like monks from another world and given the startling news that one of them is not only the spiritual savior of their way of life but also the lynchpin in a war against a vast, mechanized armada run by capitalist lizards. Forced into a journey through a bizarre, comedic, and occasionally terrifying new galaxy, Skyborn is about ordinary people facing the most bizarre tests of character possible, and how they come out on the other end of the experience completely different, yet completely true to the selves they left behind.
Comps: THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY meets THOR: RAGNAROK with a detour at LITTLE BUDDHA
Javier “Javi” Grillo-Marxuach is one of the Emmy Award-winning producers of LOST and Jim Henson’s THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE, and is currently Executive Producer on the hit Netflix series THE WITCHER. His work includes stints as writer/producer on FROM, COWBOY BEEBOP, BLOOD AND TREASURE, RAISING DION, THE 100, MEDIUM, BOOMTOWN, and the original CHARMED. An advocate of mentorship and education, Grillo-Marxuach and his family have granted scholarships for writers at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and the Creative Writing Program at Carnegie Mellon University. Javi is co-host and co-creator of the CHILDREN OF TENDU podcast, an educational series for aspiring television writers. Javi is Puerto Rican; his name is pronounced “HA-VEE-AIR GREE-JOE-MARKS-WATCH.”
Representation: Josh Goldenberg and Michael Wilson, Kaplan/Perrone Management
And now…
The Grey List
3LLA
a pilot by Leah Simmons
After downloading her deceased daughter’s consciousness into an android body of her own design, a grief-stricken mother must protect her from the powerful corporation that wants to turn her into a weapon.
Comps: WESTWORLD, HANNAH, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, and GHOST IN THE SHELL
Industry Recognition: 2023 Stowe Labs Selection
Leah Simmons is a horror and sci-fi writer based out of South Dakota. Her roller derby thriller feature, VALENTINE CRUSH, has received over a dozen awards including Best Feature, Audience Award, and Best Original Soundtrack.
Available for representation
AIN’T NO COWBOYS IN NASHVILLE
a feature by Christopher J. O’Bryant
A robbery sets off a chain of revenge as an aspiring country singer, a broke bartender, and a two-strike criminal find their lives thrust together under the neon shadows of Music City as they try to make it out alive.
Comps: PULP FICTION meets NASHVILLE
Industry Recognition: Winner, California Film Awards Orson Wells Award; Finalist, Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival; Semifinalist, Barmstorm Cinema Collective
Christopher J. O’Bryant is an award-winning writer who focuses on horror, mystery, thrillers, and dramas for both the big and small screen, and has been consistently recognized for expertly bringing long-lasting emotional depth to the stories he creates and the characters who populate them. He is an avid reader and beloved supporter of the screenwriting community.
Available for representation
AUGMENTED
a pilot by Rob Rinow & Val Stulman
When a tech-savvy young woman searching for her missing brother stumbles across an online Augmented Reality game that is murdering people for real, she must work with a dedicated Homeland Security agent to uncover an internet-spanning conspiracy before they become the next targets.
Comps: A modern-day X-FILES meets MR. ROBOT
Industry Recognition: Endorsed by Executive Producer, Jeffrey Lampert
Rob and Val met while attending the UC Riverside MFA program for Screenwriting/Playwriting. Separately, Rob has had two horror films produced, and Val was a Humanitas New Voices Finalist. Together, they’ve written multiple feature screenplays and pilots which have placed highly in numerous contests, garnering support from several upper-level writers/producers.
Representation: Roger Strull, Preferred Artists
BAD SUSHI
a feature by J.E. Swainston
When all hell breaks loose, a group of mall employees who band together to fight off a horde of shoppers transformed into monsters find themselves cast as the main characters in a monster movie of their own.
Comps: DAWN OF THE DEAD meets CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
J.E. Swainston is a writer/director based in Canada who excels at combining the macabre with a twisted sense of humor to explore the human condition and the monsters that live within us all. Specializing in stories ranging from horror and sci-fi, to comedy, action, and drama, she blends these genres in new and exciting ways to tell stories featuring the characters she has always wanted to see on screen.
Available for representation
BEST LAID PLANS
a feature by Kelly Anelons & Megan Anelons
When her husband of 40 years dies, a reserved widow resolves to find out what she’s been missing. She risks her reputation and relationships with her co-dependent daughter and meddling BFF to help an irreverent young lesbian save Boston’s oldest sex shop.
Comps: BOTTOMS meets IT’S COMPLICATED
Industry Recognition: Winner, StoryPros (2023); Finalist, Nashville Film Festival (2020)
Kelly Analons and Megan Anelons are a mother-daughter comedy writing team. Their ideas are shaped by built-in generational conflict (Gen Xer vs. Millennial) and disagreements over the worst romance tropes. They write about underdogs, focusing on themes of love, failure, sexuality, and fabulously imperfect women finding self-acceptance.
Available for representation
BIRDSONG
a pilot by Jennifer Dunn
After years of abusing Oxy to reject her disruptive supernatural powers, a young Appalachian witch must defy her family’s scam faith healing ministry to embrace her bloodline’s demanding destiny.
Comps: SHARP OBJECTS meets JUSTIFIED
Industry Recognition: Winner, Atlanta Film Festival (2020); Winner, Creative Screenwriting Diverse Voices (2020); CineStory Fellowship (2020); The Writers Lab Fellowship (2022); Story Incubator Fellowship (2023)
Jennifer Dunn grew up in rural North Georgia between a cemetery and a trailer park and wore a homemade dress to prom—twice. She’s now a recovering tech entrepreneur turned award-winning filmmaker and aspiring TV writer. BIRDSONG won the 2020 Atlanta Film festival Pilot Competition and the 2021 Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Competition in Drama, and her short, THE SERVICE, won Best Georgia Film at the Georgia Shorts Film Festival. She regularly speaks and presents on screenwriting to other rural kids with big creative dreams.
Available for representation
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
a feature by Dougie Brimson
After losing his legs in combat, a young soldier returns from Afghanistan to discover that his own personal battle is only just beginning.
Comps: COMING HOME meets KAJAKI
Dougie Brimson turned to writing after 18 years of military service. Best known for penning multi-award-winning soccer movie GREEN STREET, he has been involved with numerous other films since. Dougie is also a successful novelist, having authored 17 books which have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.
Available for representation
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THE BOWERY
a pilot by Jennifer Grand
Using a combination of real people and fictional characters, this is the remarkable true story of how some of the most prolific criminals in all of American history started in the same place, at the same time: New York City after the Civil War.
Comps: BOARDWALK EMPIRE, THE KNICK,
Prior to joining the WGA, Jennifer had a successful 15-year career in sales and marketing that gave her the opportunity to work and live around the world. It was an incredible experience, but her first love was always screenwriting, and now she’s on to her second act. She loves adapting true stories (especially true crime), and when she’s not adapting, her favorite genres are psychological horror and thrillers. She’s written for MGM Studios and is a member of the WGA LGBTQ+ Committee.
Available for representation
THE CHICKEN FESTIVAL
a feature by Randi Barros
A restless teenage girl trying to come to terms with her mother’s illness and the chaos it’s creating at home finds escape and trouble at a small-town chicken festival over a long, hot summer weekend.
Comps: LADY BIRD, CODA, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, and ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET
Industry Recognition: Top 50, Nicholl Fellowship (2023); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2023); Finalist, Cinestory (2021)
Randi Barros is an award-winning screenwriter and film editor whose character-driven stories often focus on misfits, rebels, and unexpected moments of beauty. Her scripts have been honored by the Nicholl Fellowship, CineStory, The Writers Lab, Austin Film Festival, Athena, Outstanding Screenplays, and more. She is the writer/director of the short film, YES, which begins production in March 2024.
Representation: Jennie Lew Tugend (EP of The Chicken Festival)
THE ESCAPIST
a feature by Rudi O’Meara
In a bid to survive WWII without firing a shot, a naïve, young, jazz-obsessed musician joins the Musikkorps Leibstandarte-SS (Hitler’s elite personal orchestra) and soon finds himself thrust into some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
Comps: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT meets THE ARTIST
Industry Recognition: Black List Recommended; Top 25, Roadmap Writers JumpStart Writing Competition (2023)
Rudi O’Meara is an award-winning screenwriter who specializes in telling stories about misfits and outsiders struggling to redefine themselves (and their tribe) in order to survive. His scripts have received 9s on The Black List, been featured on Coverfly’s Red List and The Stunt List, and recognized by organizations including the Austin Film Festival, Final Draft, ISA, Launch Pad, Page, ScreenCraft, and the Vail Film Festival.
Available for representation
EXITS
a feature by Lucas McNelly
A Federal Judge and his fugitive son hit the road one step ahead of the law.
Comps: ROAD TO PERDITION meets 25TH HOUR, set in the car you took to college.
Lucas McNelly is a writer, director, and basketball data journalist who lives on the coast of Maine with his wife and their three children. His third feature film, MAINE NOIR, is currently in post-production.
Available for representation
FATHER TRINITY
a feature by Phoenix Black
On the set of a martial arts horror TV show, three stories of masculinity interweave: a stuntman’s son sabotages his father’s affair, a sex-addicted star falls in love, and a grieving stagehand finally faces his demons.
Comps: MULHOLLAND DRIVE meets MOONLIGHT
Industry Recognition: Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch, ISA (2024); Runner Up, Roadmap Writers Diversity Initiative Competition (2022); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2021)
Named to the Top 25 Screenwriters To Watch in 2024 by the International Screenwriting Association (ISA), Phoenix is a single foster mom, former UN aid worker, and chaos specialist who writes genre-benders about identity, racism, and loss. Her social dramas, blended with whatever the muse brings, are told from her perspective as an Asian woman of color with a disability.
Available for representation
FORTY ELEPHANTS
a pilot by Emily Aspland
Based on the real-life story of Diamond Alice and her Victorian gang of female jewel thieves, the Forty Elephants. Set in 1850, when the Met police were brand new and women had no rights, Alice and her diverse gang of women fight for survival in this brutal gangster drama that asks what it means to be criminal in an unfair, unequal world.
Comps: GOOD GIRLS meets BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Industry Recognition: Nominated, BAFTA Rocliffe (2019); Winner, Screenplay Festival, TV Drama (2019); Finalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices (2019); Semi-Finalist, Cinestory TV Drama (2019)
Emily is a working-class writer from the Midlands in the UK. The first person in her family to go to university, her drive has brought her to America where she has secured not just her green card but representation and numerous competition wins and placements. Emily loves to write dark dramas with complex, messy, working-class women at the helm.
Representation: Tom Spriggs, Principal Entertainment
GOOD LOOKIN’ CORPSE
a pilot by Toni Cunningham
High school in the ‘90s was never an easy ride, but when a new girl arrives to a midwestern suburb, dodging mean girls, finding her identity, and navigating the tightrope of vintage racism are the least of her worries. When her talents put her in a position to battle it out with the popular cheerleader for the role of team captain, no one gets out alive.
Comps: HEATHERS meets DEATH BECOMES HER
Industry Recognition: Shortlist, The Black List and CBS Studios/NAACP Venture Writers Program (2023)
Toni Cunningham has lived many experiences in her 40 years: former college dropout, current Ph.D. student, ballerina, roller derby coach, cheerleader, social media manager, screenwriter, filmmaker, and so much more. She pulls from her personal experiences to create well-rounded and grounded characters. Creating BIPOC-led stories sits at the crux of her ethos, and she has a special interest in creating more Black Final Girls for the horror genre.
Available for representation
GRISTLE
a feature by Heidi Hornbacher
When a very bad dog finds out that not all dogs go to heaven, he cons his way into a second chance at life, but it means he must help a rebellious teen repair her relationship with her father by learning to sail.
Comps: HEAVEN CAN WAIT with the teen angst of ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET and the canine heart of A DOG’S PURPOSE
Industry Recognition: Top 50 Features, Launch Pad (2023); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2022); Winner, Table Read My Screenplay - Action/Adventure (2021)
Heidi writes stories of misfits grappling with heartbreak and loss to find their place in the world. A graduate of UCLA’s screenwriting program, she’s written numerous features, treatments, and TV pilots for indie producers. She cofounded the Slamdance Script Clinic and PageCraftWriting.com. Her documentary short, ARROW, about a rescue horse’s wild journey home won Best Short Doc at the Malibu International Film Festival.
Available for representation
THE HOT KILLS
a feature by Jeremiah Lewis
On the way to a concert in 1982 NYC’s underground punk scene, a group of friends find themselves hunted by a vigilante inspired by punk’s dark imagery.
Comps: SCREAM meets THE WARRIORS
Jeremiah Lewis is a writer and producer who grew up in the backwoods of Tidewater, Virginia. His brand is “Murder, Monsters, and Mayhem,” centering on slashers, creature features, and the disruption of reality through a horror lens. His Killer Shorts Finalist gothic horror script, THE RICKETY MAN, was made into an award-winning film, and he currently has a horror feature about lucid dreaming in pre-production. Jeremiah believes in creating a supportive space and community for all writers and relishes having seasons again in New England with his wife and two dogs.
Available for representation
HOTEL STORY
a feature by Kay Tuxford
A Type-A 40-something who can’t conceive a much-wanted baby with her husband secretly hires a youthful sperm donor to impregnate her while she’s away on a business trip.
Comps: BEFORE SUNRISE meets GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE
Industry Recognition: Top 15%, Nicholl Fellowship (2020); Recommended by Script Pipeline
Kay Tuxford is a fearless bisexual, in a 10-year-plus throuple, who writes angry, smart women who are distrustful of society (for good reason)—but of course need connection with their fellow human beings to make this world worthwhile. Kay is the writer of THE MISEDUCATION OF BINDU, EP’d by the Duplass Brothers and currently on Peacock TV and Tubi. She is a 2x Nicholl Semi-Finalist, a Script Pipeline TV Winner, a WIF x Black List Episodic Lab Semi-Finalist, and a TV pilot she wrote once earned her a handshake from Ari Emanuel in an elevator.
Available for representation
HUDSON VALLEY
a pilot by Josh Price
A guilt-ridden former detective discovers confessions to future murders in her daily newspaper, forcing her out of retirement to track down a serial killer through upstate New York.
Comps: MARE OF EASTTOWN meets THE BONE COLLECTOR
Josh Price may not be the best at any one thing, but he did drive a tan 1992 Ford Aerostar for eight years, and that takes guts. Inspired by history, sci-fi, underdog stories, and secret worlds, Josh’s characters often confront guilt, regret, identity, and the pursuit of second chances. His pilot, LINCOLN FILE, received a 9 on The Black List, and his short, DEEP FAKE, is currently in pre-production and scheduled to begin filming next year.
Representation: Brian Bremer and Briana Franklin, People Store
I AM HERE
a feature by Jade Shine
When a jilted empty-nester has a manic reaction to anti-depressants, she and her estranged mother set out on a raucous road trip to Vegas to audition as P!nk’s backup singer.
Comps: THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION meets LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Industry Recognition: Jade has been a PAGE Semi-Finalist, AFF Second Rounder, and a Roadmap Top Tier Finalist.
Jade Shine writes Mom-Coms to voice the flaws, fears, and ferocious wants of moms. With two optioned features and multiple contest accolades, she draws on her unique journey from a San Francisco cult to an Iowa farm. A former Occupational Therapist, she applies intricate character transformations to her writing. Based in Houston, Texas, Jade aspires to hit the road as a backup singer for P!nk.
Available for representation
IN VITRO VERITAS
a pilot by Catherine Loerke
When an overly clinical fertility doctor loses the funding for an IVF treatment that will put her clinic on the map (and finally make her a mom), she must partner with the last patient she wants to help: her ex-husband’s new wife, an emotional wellness empress.
Comps: GREY’S ANATOMY, but make it a rom-com
Industry recognition: Winner, WGAE Writers Room Fellowship (2019); Finalist, Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition (2021); Winner, Stanford Alumni in Entertainment Script Competition (2021); Finalist, Moonshot Initiative Pilot Accelerator (2023); The Red List, Coverfly (2021-23)
Catherine Loerke is an MD-turned-writer dispensing medical knowledge through rom-com and fantasy. Raised by an Irish-American family in small-town RI and with past lives as a Yale surgeon, management consultant, and workplace DEI expert, she had no option but to write stories about emotionally repressed people learning to feel. Recently staffed to a mini-room for The Film TV, Cat is a WGA Writers Room Fellow, Script Pipeline Finalist, and the writer-director of SAND MAMA, a short film selected by Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Cinequest and Indy Shorts, among others.
Available for representation
JUNE
a feature by Eric Anderson
A grief-stricken father finds the limits of his love challenged after performing an ancient blood ritual to bring his teenage daughter back from the dead.
Comps: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN meets RAW
Eric Anderson is a writer/producer and one of the founders of Corn Bred Films which has released two films: OTHER PLANS (rom-com) and LOVE UNDER FIRE (documentary). He is also currently developing ORIOLE PARK (The Grey List 2023), a coming-of-age thriller set against the Gacy murders, and JUNE, a resurrection horror film with producer Sonny Mallhi (THE STRANGERS).
Available for representation
THE LAST GOOD DAY
a feature by TJ Berry
A deadbeat dad takes his kids on an amazing day of bizarre bucket list activities to avoid sharing the news that their mother has just died in a car accident, while his brother-in-law hunts them down to tell the kids himself and take them forever.
Comps: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC meets YES DAY
Industry recognition: Top 10 Finalist, PAGE (2023); Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival (2023); Semifinalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab (2023)
TJ Berry is a queer and autistic writer who grew up between Repulse Bay, Hong Kong and the Jersey Shore. She has been a political blogger, bakery owner, and spent a disastrous two weeks working in a razor blade factory. She now writes from Los Angeles with considerably fewer on-the-job injuries. She is also the author of the science-fiction novels SPACE UNICORN BLUES and FIVE UNICORN FLUSH from Angry Robot.
Available for representation
LAUREN OF ARABIA
a pilot by Lisa Steadman
When a mousy Midwestern Home Ec teacher transplants her husband and young daughters to Saudi Arabia in 1979 and is forced to spy on her fellow expats to keep her husband’s closeted homosexuality a secret, she discovers her painful invisibility is actually her secret weapon.
Comps: THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT meets WHITE LOTUS
Industry recognition: Winner, Stage 32 TV Drama Screenwriting Competition (2023); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2023)
Lisa Steadman is an LA-based bestselling author (Simon & Schuster), content creator and screenwriter. Originally from Montana, Lisa spent her childhood overseas—first in Australia, then in Saudi Arabia with her expat teacher parents, becoming what’s known as a “third culture kid.” From her bestselling book, IT’S A BREAKUP, NOT A BREAKDOWN, to her popular blog series, CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL MOM, Lisa uses humor, heart and depth to explore the gray area of modern relationships in a multicultural world.
Representation: Mark Saffian, Content House Management
MINOTAUR
a feature by Tim Auld
Ashamed of being treated as a hero, a self-loathing war veteran hopes to earn valor by searching the remote wilderness for a missing child only to find she’s being hunted through a booby-trapped labyrinth by a psychotic green beret.
Comps: DELIVERANCE meets THE DEER HUNTER
Industry recognition: Semifinalist, Nicholl Fellowship (2023); Winner, StoryPros Awards (2021); Winner, Emerging Screenwriters - Genre Screenplay Competition (2021); Finalist, Richmond International Film Festival (2022); Top 10 Finalist, ISA Drama Genre Busting Screenplay Competition
Tim Auld is a writer/director whose short films have been selected for numerous festivals, most notably the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2022, he also directed a pilot for a six-part television series set in London. Tim is determined to make meaningful action films that his wife and daughter would watch over and over again.
Available for representation
MOODY & THE GHOST
a pilot by Kim Hornsby
When a badass ghost hunter with a successful YouTube show loses her sight & telepathy in an accident, she finds both senses restored in the presence of a manipulative ghost who offers to stick around and save her show—for a price.
Comps: THE GHOST WHISPERER meets CASTLE
Industry recognition: Winner, Script Summit - 1 hour Drama Pilot (2021); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2022)
Kim Hornsby lives on an island off Seattle where she writes novels and screenplays among old growth cedars and owls. A USA Today Bestselling author and produced screenwriter, she specializes in Romance and Suspense, sometimes combining both genres in one story. Kim has several movies beginning production in 2024, including a Lifetime Thriller and a Christmas Romance.
Representation: Tessa Shaffer, Corvisiero Literary Agency
MY MOM SOLVES MYSTERIES
a pilot by Kirk Damato
A police academy dropout enlists his Filipina mother—a nosy retiree with ridiculous detective skills—to solve offbeat mysteries for him.
Comps: FRESH OFF THE BOAT meets MURDER, SHE WROTE
Industry recognition: CAPE New Writers Fellowship (2022); Pre-Rainbow Pages Mentorship Program (2024)
Kirk Damato is a writer of genre comedies and animation, best known as the co-creator of the cult web series CAKEY! THE CAKE FROM OUTER SPACE. He was a member of the 2022 CAPE New Writers Fellowship with his pilot, MY MOM SOLVES MYSTERIES, and is currently writing on two animated series for Omens Studios.
Available for representation
NECESSARY EVIL
a feature by David Stokes
After his wife and son are kidnapped by the Mob, a Chicago lawyer is given a series of horrific tasks to complete in order to get his family back alive.
Comps: RANSOM meets SAW
Industry recognition: NECESSARY EVIL has been optioned three times and was originally scheduled to shoot in 2020 starring Thomas Jane, Anne Heche, and James Caan before production was shut down because of the pandemic.
David Stokes is a professional screenwriter from the UK whose scripts are generally dark, sometimes funny, and occasionally horrifically violent. NECESSARY EVIL is all three of these things. He also finds it very strange to write about himself in the third person.
Representation: Madeleine Cotter, WGM Atlantic
NEPTUNE
a pilot by Lisa Lutes
A group of women navigate life on board the predominantly male world of an Alaskan fish-processing ship.
Comps: DEADLIEST CATCH meets SUPERSTORE
Industry recognition: Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2023)
Lisa Lutes is a Canadian screenwriter with Ukrainian roots who writes live action and animated features and pilots in the comedy and family genres (with the occasional drama mixed in). When she’s not raising her daughters and cats, she’s mountain biking the Trans-Canadian Trail, swimming laps at the pool, and trying to make the perfect pizza.
Available for representation
NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE
a feature by R.B. Ripley
On election day, when a polarizing underdog candidate is taken hostage by a mysterious figure from his past, a troubled detective must risk her own career to find them before time runs out.
Comps: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN meets DOG DAY AFTERNOON by way of PHONE BOOTH
Industry recognition: Semifinalist, ISA Thriller Competition
R.B. Ripley is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who tells grounded stories about complicated and broken characters who find redemption by choosing to be part of a family (blood or chosen). His work has been recognized by Final Draft Big Break, Austin Film Festival, International Screenwriters Association, and Finish Line script competitions, among others. A former classical composer and conductor, and a native of Pittsburgh, he now calls Los Angeles home with his husband of twenty-three years.
Representation: Bob Sobhani, Magnet Management
PARSONS
a feature by Thuc Doan Nguyen
Inspired by a true story, an interracial couple helping to lead massive marches for workers’ rights around the US in the 1880s must prove their innocence after a deadly explosion goes off during a rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago.
Comps: NORMA RAE meets KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Industry recognition: Top 15%, BBC Writers’ Room; Top 50, ISA Fast Track Fellowship; Semifinalist, Creative Screenwriting Feature Screenplay Competition (2023)
Thuc Doan Nguyen was born in Vietnam and was a child boat person refugee. She grew up in the American South and has lived in London, NYC and Los Angeles. She studied screenwriting at UCLA-Extension and has worked as a producers’ and writers’ assistant for both Warner Brothers and Jerry Bruckheimer Television.
Representaion: Vivek Kolli, LINK; and Zachary Stein, Granderson Des Rochers
PERMANENCE
a pilot by Lira Kellerman
15 months after a mother’s suicide rocks three generations of an interracial family, they all confront their feelings of betrayal, loss, and identity when Dad’s new girlfriend arrives for Thanksgiving, and he does, like, the absolute most bone-headed, clueless, dumbest thing ever.
Comps: THIS IS US meets KENAN
Industry recognition: NBC Writers on the Verge Fellowship; Semifinalist, Final Draft Big Break; Semifinalist, Sundance Episodic Lab
Lira was both a comedy writer for the CBS Diversity Sketch Showcase, and a drama writer for the NBC Writers on the Verge Fellowship, which means she expertly crafts jokes about things she probably shouldn’t. She excels at weaving levity into heavy themes including identify, betrayal, grief, and mental illness.
Representation: Chris Coggins, Heroes and Villains Entertainment
REGRESSION TEST
a feature by Michael Dean
When a genius software engineer is swindled out of her revolutionary code by a billion-dollar startup, she vows to expose the company and its CEO at all costs.
Comps: TOTAL RECALL meets THE GAME
Industry recognition: Top 5%, Nicholl Fellowship (2023); Finalist, Richmond International Film Festival (2023); The Stunt List, Originals Bureau (2023)
Michael Dean is a UCLA-trained screenwriter who brings 20+ years of Wall Street and Tech experience into his writing. His childhood in the Navy city famous for the Zodiac killer influences the grit of his characters and the atmosphere of his scripts.
Available for representation
RESISTANCE
a feature by Caitlin McCarthy
A true story of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and the horrors of Auschwitz seen through the eyes of one girl, forced to grow up quickly as she moves from the school yard to the concentration camp, working for the Resistance along the way.
Comps: HANNA meets SCHINDLER’S LIST
Industry recognition: Black List Recommended; Winner, Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition; CANNESFILMS UNLIMITED Writers Residency; Short list, Black List and Hornitos “Take Your Shot” short film program.
Caitlin McCarthy writes stories that tackle political and social issues with a wink, blending humor with heartbreak while always staying focused on action. An award-winning screenwriter at international film festivals and labs, her scripts include WONDER DRUG, now in pre-production with Lori Singer as director, Caitlin McCarthy & Lori Singer as co-writers, Stephen Nemeth/Rhino Films & Caitlin McCarthy as producers, and Vanessa Hope as Executive Producer.
Representation: Barry Krost, Barry Krost Management (BKM)
RUSALKA
a feature by Jonathan WC Mills
A gritty, modern-day fable of a young woman coming of age in an isolated Alaskan community whose forbidden relationship with a rebellious teenager from out of town ultimately leads to tragic consequences.
Comps: EDGE OF SEVENTEEN meets TWILIGHT and THE SHAPE OF WATER
Industry recognition: 8 on The Black List; Finalist, ScreenCraft Science Fiction Screenwriting Competition
Jonathan WC Mills is an Alaska-based writer whose work has been produced into feature films, published as graphic novels, and featured in publications like Business Insider and Forbes. He has worked for and with notable producers and personalities like Paris Hilton, Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY), Slash, Bill Mechanic (CORALINE), and is a proud member of the WGAW.
Available for representation
SELDON SEEN
a feature by Peter R. Feuchtwanger
After starting at a new high school, a charmingly quirky teen with a delusional disorder, or “daydreaming on steroids,” quickly falls for another new student but, after finding that she has bipolar disorder, the lovebirds struggle to find order in their disorders.
Comps: FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF meets AMÉLIE as if written by a PG-13 Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Industry recognition: Semifinalist, Nicholl Fellowship (2021); Finalist, ScreenCraft Comedy Competition (2020); Finalist, TSL Free Screenplay Competition (2020); Semifinalist, Final Draft Big Break (2020); ISA Development Slate (2022-23); The Stunt List (2023)
Born in NYC, Peter spent his childhood being raised by a globetrotting, hippie mother in France, England, Spain, Puerto Rico, NorCal, CO, VT, Eastern Long Island, & NYC. Retreating into a lush fantasy life (later discovered to be a mixed-type delusional disorder), he wrote as an outlet for his imaginings. Now, after years in professional NY theater (production and design), Peter’s committed to screenwriting, taking on characters who seek order in their disorders.
Available for representation
THE SLIPPING
a feature by Aaron Isaac Vasquez
A haunted detective investigates the brutal murder of a city’s founding family, uncovering a dark secret in a cave beneath their estate that threatens to unravel the city’s history.
Comps: TRUE DETECTIVE meets HEREDITARY
Industry recognition: Finalist, Los Angeles International Horror Film Festival (2023)
Austin-born and now Portland-based, Aaron Isaac Vasquez is a writer and director specializing in thriller and horror stories with a dramatic twist, often featuring strong Latina and Latino leads. His diverse portfolio of short films and screenplays showcase his dedication to captivating storytelling and contributing to the film community with a unique perspective.
Available for representation
STILL WATERS
a pilot by Nicole Jones-Dion
Based on actual events that shocked Helsinki during the turbulent 1930s, this serialized Nordic noir mystery follows the investigation of a rookie reporter on the trail of what he believes is a serial killer. Instead, he uncovers a coven of occultists who are using ancient blood magic rituals to stop the rise of fascism in Europe.
Comps: TRUE DETECTIVE meets BABYLON BERLIN
Industry recognition: On a shortlist that hasn’t yet been publicly announced.
Winner of the 2022 FOX Writers Fellowship in Drama, Nicole is an LA-based writer-director who specializes in telling elevated genre stories. Her feature writing credits include STASIS (from the executive producer of CLOUD ATLAS); THEY FOUND HELL for the SyFy Channel; DRACULA: THE DARK PRINCE (starring Academy Award-winner Jon Voight); and TEKKEN 2: KAZUYA’S REVENGE (based on the best-selling video game series).
Representation: Matt Prater, Citizen Skull
TAKE MY LIFE
a feature by Larry Collins
A bisexual man switches places with an alternate version of himself to find out which has the better life—the one who ended up with his high school girlfriend or his college boyfriend—only to discover that who he married isn’t as important as who loves him.
Comps: The multiversal landscape of EVERTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE with the heartbeat of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Industry recognition: Winner, Big Apple Film Festival (2023); Second Round, Austin Film Festival; Semifinalist, Final Draft Big Break (2023); Finalist, Dallas International Film Festival (2023)
Larry Collins is a drama/dramedy writer who is also a television news reporter with 8 Emmy Awards. He currently works for NBCUniversal and recently attached a producer (SCRUBS, COUGAR TOWN, SCORPION) to a half-hour dramedy pilot. Larry also wrote and narrated a news docuseries on Peacock TV and is a former MTV intern from the TRL glory days.
Available for representation
TELEGRAPH HILL
a pilot by Jan Libby
It is late November 1936, and three queer friends are forced into a deadly battle with San Francisco’s most powerful and dangerous when one of the friends is falsely accused of a brutal killing spree.
Comps: BABYLON BERLIN meets THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Jan Libby is an award-winning LGBTQ+ writer. She credits her love for twisty mysteries and crime thrillers to a wild childhood, split between New Orleans and rural Maine. When she’s not busy writing, Jan’s taking a stroll with her adorable dog, Fletcher, or road-tripping to explore abandoned roadside attractions.
Available for representation
TENT CITY
a feature by Gillian Fritzsche
When a friend is beaten to death by the cronies of a real estate developer, amnesiac homeless man Sonny and his friend Pops work to build a safe community for themselves and their friends—a tent city. In the process, Sonny discovers that the developer holds devastating secrets about his past.
Comps: THE FISHER KING meets THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Industry recognition: Third Place, PANO Marilyn Horowitz Screenwriting Award (2023)
Originally from the east coast of Canada and having spent years in the concrete jungles of Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, Gillian is now nestled in an idyllic New Jersey suburb. With a love for what makes us each unique as well as our commonalities, Gillian writes with empathy and humor in comedy, drama, and action. Gillian is delighted to be on the writing team of STORYLAB, an SVOD kids show produced by Orange.
Available for representation
THAT BITCH
a feature by Elizabeth Ditty
When three burned-out coworkers are kidnapped by their toxic boss, they must troubleshoot their way to escape before she feeds them to her demon-possessed corgi.
Comps: OFFICE SPACE meets THE EXORCIST
Having grown up on Disney and DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Elizabeth Ditty fell for rule-bending escapism and fairytale love stories early on. Now, she writes stories across genres about earnest characters struggling through coming-of-middle-age crises and finding romance along the way. Elizabeth is based in Kansas City, where she’s raising two rule-bending children of her own.
Representation: Seth Nagel
TIPPY TOP HOUSE
a pilot by Ana Lydia Ochoa-Monaco
A recently dumped YouTuber is forced to turn her Hollywood Hills home into an influencer house to prove to the world that a girl can “have it all.”
Comps: CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, LOOT, PLATONIC
Ana Lydia is an award-winning hybrid storyteller, exhibited photographer, ex PR-specialist, and furbaby mama who lives and works in Los Angeles. She tells raw dramatic stories about people that are in the process of becoming who they are—set in a visual style that is best described as Sofia Coppola’s and Wes Anderson’s baby with Latina sensibilities—while straddling divergent cultures that challenge and satisfy audiences with political and social subtext.
Available for representation
TRIDENT
a feature by David Wales
In 1992, a thrash punk innocent falls hard for a coworker on a seafood processing vessel in the wild Bering Sea only to have her disappear, sending him on a drug-fueled search for answers amidst a heavy workload, dangerous outcasts, and his own descent into madness.
Comps: THE PERFECT STORM meets THE LOBSTER
David focuses on gritty thrillers set in unique and authentic worlds which he ramps up to operatic heights. He lives in the high desert of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his partner of 35 years and an adorably destructive kitten.
Available for representation
TRIGGERED
a pilot by Nanea Taylor
A female vigilante’s plan for revenge goes awry when a Russian syndicate puts a price on her head after she saves a group of teens from a sex-trafficking ring.
Comps: REVENGE meets THE PUNISHER
Nanea Taylor is a true artist with a passion for storytelling. Throughout her career, she has fearlessly tackled new challenges and taken on various projects that have enhanced and advanced her writing. With a focus on strong female leads and diverse casts, Nanea’s work stands out for its authenticity and relatability. She has optioned one of her projects and had a short graphic novel developed.
Available for representation
THE UNLIKELIEST OF HEROES
a feature by Paul Zeidman
On the run from a tyrannical wizard, a novice witch from a magical dimension ends up stranded without her powers in the least magical place of all: New Jersey.
Comps: THE WIZARD OF OZ meets THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES
Industry recognition: Third Place, StoryPros - Family/Teen/Animation (2023); Second Round, Austin Film Festival (2023)
Paul Zeidman is a screenwriter who loves to create tales of fun popcorn adventure that take the audience on a rollercoaster thrill ride they can’t wait to get in line for once it’s over. Paul’s day job is doing traffic reports on the radio—and no, he doesn’t fly the helicopter.
Available for representation
VAMPICONDA!
a feature by Brett Nicholson
When a tropical storm maroons a group of strangers at a Cajun country research lab run by a mad Hungarian scientist, they must join forces to fight a giant bloodsucking mutant snake.
Comps: TREMORS meets ANACONDA
Industry recognition: Quarterfinalist, Nicholl Fellowship; Quarterfinalist, Austin Film Festival
Brett grew up a ‘70s kid on a 100-acre farm in Texas, spending his days running wild through forests and cornfields, and his nights falling in love with movies from Harryhausen, Leone, and Spielberg. Add a long stretch as a rowdy Aggie at Texas A&M, smear on a double major in History and English, mix in two decades as a stay-at-home dad, four goofy kids, and 25 seasons of coaching youth sports, and you get one writer with a unique POV and a lot of “colorful” experiences from which to draw inspiration.
Available for representation
WARRIOR GIRL
a feature by Laurie Whitaker
After a horrific accident leaves her injured and orphaned, a young Olympic-bound gymnast is sent to live with her reclusive grandfather on a Native American reservation where she just might learn to heal more than her broken bones.
Comps: THE KARATE KID meets DANCES WITH WOLVES
Industry recognition: Top 50, Nicholl Fellowship; Gold Winner, PAGE; Top 3, Final Draft Big Break; 9 on The Black List
A former Equity musical theater actress, Laurie Whitaker turned to restoring old houses after having four musical children who grew up gutting houses and singing show tunes. With a passion for beautiful stories and characters that make you laugh, cry, and care, she now writes from Palm Springs while drinking mimosas under the palm trees.
Available for representation
THE WORK
a pilot by Adelita Lopez & Amanda Lopez
An Ivy League “princess,” a former foster care kid, and the crabbiest social worker ever form an unlikely team, all fighting to do some real good from within the demanding, but rewarding, world of “The System.”
Comps: If 911: LONE STAR made a call to ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Industry recognition: Grand Prize Winner, Table Read My Screenplay (2022); ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch (2023); Finalist, ISA TV Pilot Pitch Challenge (2022-23)
Co-creators and sisters, Adelita and Amanda Lopez grew up on the dusty community theater stages of Odessa, TX. Adelita (Lita) is a working actor based in L.A. and was recently named one of Women In Film’s Creative Producer Fellows. Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Dance/Movement Therapist currently serving as Director of Therapy for a non-profit care and family support services organization. In their free time, they are both passionate about playing poker and shooting pool.
Cheryl Jackson, Jackson Entertainment Management
One Final Script
BLOOD MOON
a feature by Brad M. Johnson
As the sun sets on the American Old West, a young priest and a grizzled bounty hunter must work together to save a small frontier town under siege by vampires.
Comps: UNFORGIVEN and DRACULA with a dash of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Industry Recognition: 8 on The Black List; Shortlisted for The Black/MGM Studios Feature Partnership (2022); Semifinalist, Creative Screenwriting Feature Competition (2022); The Dead List (2023)
The founder of The Grey List, Brad M. Johnson is a writer and filmmaker based in the Pacific Northwest who tells grounded drama and high-concept genre stories about broken, isolated people who find redemption by facing their demons head-on (either figuratively or literally). His work has been recognized by Final Draft, The Black List, the Walt Disney Company, and MGM Pictures, among others. Brad’s first directorial effort, CHAT, is currently winning awards on the festival circuit, and his next film, DEEP FAKE, is shooting next year.
Available for representation
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