Elise Lappin

The Academy Honors Up-and-Coming Screenwriters at Inspirational Ceremony

by Elise Lappin

On the evening of Thursday, November 7th, at the regal Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences held their twenty-eighth annual Nicholl Fellowships Screenwriting Awards.

The inspirational awards ceremony recognized six up-and-coming screenwriters from a record-breaking sea of 7,251 submissions this year.

Additionally, for the first time in Nicholl history, professional actors participated in a live reading of selected scenes from the winning scripts.

Anton Yelchin (the Star Trek films), Elle Fanning (Super 8), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter), and Oscar-nominee Taraji Henson (Hustle & Flow) brought the five winning scripts to life.

Legion (written by Frank DeJohn & David Alton Hedges) is an action-packed war film set in the dying days of the Holy Roman Empire.

Joe Banks (written by Patty Jones) is a coming-of-age tale about a young writer who learns that his father is not the esteemed-novelist he thought, but a drunk, airport-paperback novelist named Joe Banks.

Queen of Hearts (written by Stephanie Shannon) is the historical-fiction tale of author Lewis Carroll's affair with the wife of the Oxford dean and the inspiration he draws from her daughter, Alice.

Jersey City Tale (written by Alan Roth) illustrates a man's journey from, and return to, his painful childhood home.

And Sugar in My Veins (written by Barbara Stepansky) is the taboo love story of a 14-year-old violin prodigy and a lighting designer twice her age.

Each fellow received $35,000 to support them during a year of writing while they work on their next feature-length screenplay. The Nicholl Fellowship was established in 1986 by Gee and Julian Nicholl with the vision of identifying talented, undiscovered storytellers. The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is composed of thirteen industry professionals and chaired by producer Gale Ann Hurd (The Walking Dead).

"The Academy Nicholl Fellowship has a personal significance for me dating back to 1975, my junior year in college, when I was lucky enough to have the uber-talented producer, the late Julian Blaustein, to be my advisor," Hurd told the ceremony attendees.

Blaustein went on to found the Nicholl Fellowship with benefactor Gee Nicholl in 1985.

Notable Nicholl Fellows include Mike Rich (Finding Forrester), Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road), Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), Victoria Arch (Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights), Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides), Oscar-winner Susannah Grant (Erin Brokovich), and Jodi Ann Johnson (Mulan).

For more information, see www.oscars.org

*All copy and photo rights reserved by Elise Lappin.

 

 

The Beverly Hills Farmers' Market Caters to a Younger Crowd

On any given Sunday, one can find a plethora of organic and conventional fruits, veggies, eggs, flowers, soaps, and meats at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market held behind the BH Civic Center. Local musicians grace the humble stage with a wide range of musical styles and abilities. But the biggest attraction is the kids' corner fully-equipped with pony rides, petting zoo, and performance art!

A recent and exciting addition to the kids' corner has been the BeatBuds, a young percussion duo who cater their drum lessons to kids. At the market, they offer free percussion workshops to kids of all ages, stressing the importance of rhythm, sharing, and musical fun! A great place for kids (and parents!) of all ages.

Intellectually I understand

Tonight, I'm synched in with God
When I finally
Decided to get sober really
Over two years
Ago, one of my biggest
Fears was that my trippy God would now be missed

Intellectually I understand
God was with me at my worst and
He is constant
I am constantly
Experiencing God, but

Spirituality
Was my drug trip
that constant conscious contact whenever
I was with my Pi Om sisters and the Deadheads
I was with my God and he spoke loud

No doubt. But tonight, God pulled
the veil back. Not that I have ever
Doubted, but tonight God pulled
A miracle

Even though I could spend all day and every
Night kicking it with my man,
He had a
bunch of homework
Due tonight

and so I left his house to
go home and...?
I prayed earlier and that synchs
me into God's will (I
mean, I don't
think we can ever weaken those links)

But it reminds ME that my
life is not mine
God's running the show
Apparently,

facebook is aligned with the planet Venus
Because it connected me
to someone
I needed to speak with. She's

suffering because of the
Disease. And
it's been so long since I felt that fear
of death for my
self that when I heard her,
I just wanted to pull her back from the edge.

I don't want to lose her. I don't want to
lose anyone, but there's something
especially
painful about
a sister that I shared my

soul and my demons with,
who suffered in
hell with me. I want her to join us
in this fourth dimension of happiness so
I reached my hand out and she received it. And

I pray to God only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Bless her, Lord.

Day 5

"I Invite"
by Elise Nicole

I feel empowered tonight
Being true to inner Light
I deserve respect, especially from
The man I invite to beat my drum

I wasn't getting it. I
Knew I couldn't just go get high
I expressed this to him, I was
Met with excuses ("I did that 'cause...")

arguments
I was so tired of
Being tense
I closed my love

The numb wore off and then it was
only pain and an anger buzz.
No longer that aching, raging,
fire anger that left with aging

Pick up the phone and call Nichole. And
Finally reach out to her outstretched hand
she was politely appalled. She spoke
Telling me my trauma was not a joke

Compassion
God's perspective, and True
Without sin
Concepts so new

Love that not only respects
Female surrender to nasty sex
but admires woman as goddess.
That is not what I have, I thought.

expressed that to him again
honoring the goddess within
No more fear-motivated bull
The truth without fear of the outcome

"Sounds like you
don't want to continue
together,"
he guessed correct

A cordial, polite, "mature" split
and then tears of utter loss. I
could feel my heart breaking. Feel it
Breaking apart, severed, and it hurt!

A tragic Valentine's. He texted
to say I am really sorry for
the way I treated you. Expressing
the respect he has for me and realized

He was wrong
and meant it. He honored
Lamented
but did not beg

He let me go. But now I
couldn't bear to say goodbye
And then he opened his heart and shared his
truth, his trauma. Not as an excuse

It was his dark hell. "I know
what hell is," he said, "and I don't
want to keep you in yours."

Day 4

And then there was the time
When my boyfriend and I stayed up all night to fight and finally had to
Just go to sleep. It was a pretty bad fight, we're
Both passionate, sensitive, don't like it when
Our emotions get the best of us. I have to admit the ten year
Age difference makes him a bit more prim
In his manners than myself. This morning showed his shy self
And it just wasn't our
Usual love bubble. After trouble
In paradise, doesn't our

Love conquer all? I'm grateful that he was willing to pray with me
This morning and that God, as we each understand
God, softened our hearts. Craig bought me a delicious iced tea
in Santa Cruz and we rode our bicycles along the cliffs. Sunny, cool breeze finally won,
djembes, dijareedoo, a sweet doggy,
The living salt sea... Craig makes this sound like "daaaahh, man,
so rad!!" when something is too hippie for him to articulate and I guess it was!

Day 3

Big thanks to J Wave for letting me know that my
Settings were tweaked! Becoming pro at my
Computer navigation and I figured out how I
Enable my blog's comments all by myself. A small fry,
Yet ultra satisfying, victory! My next fish fry
is my grandmother's 80th birthday party
Craig's grandpa inspired, I want hers to be hearty
Needless to say, she is very excited, which warms
my heart like nothing else...