Artists Equity is unveiling its Writers’ Room program, an in-house development initiative focused on cultivating original screenplays.
The program invites writers to pitch film ideas across a range of genres, with rooms launched around selected ideas. The scripts are then incubated with the goal and expectation of becoming viable packages in Artists Equity’s slate, complete with concrete attachments and financing strategy. As part of the program, Academy Award-winning writers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “Dune”) deliver regular feedback to the participating writers.
“The backbone of this company is collaboration with great artists, and that’s what this program is all about,” said Affleck and Damon, the Artist Equity’s CEO and Chief Content Officer, respectively. “Artists Equity is committed to the often-overlooked process of homegrown development, and cultivating the bold, original ideas that sustain a thriving film business. We want to give writers real support and a real pathway to success. This isn’t about writing scripts for scripts’ sake. We want to bring great films to life.”
The Writers’ Room program has had two successful pilot rounds — the room takes place twice a year, with submissions coming through agents — yielding a total of four scripts currently in packaging and four in progress. The newly commenced third round features eight writers across two rooms.
The participants, representing a mix of established and emerging voices, are Jason Stone (“The Altruists,” “The Hardy Boys”); Gabriel Sherman (“The Apprentice,” The “Loudest Voice”); E.T. Feigenbaum (“Blink Twice,” “High Fidelity”); Flint Wainness (“Linda and Monica,” “Super in Love”); Jono Matt (upcoming “Foster The Snowman”); Sam Mazany (“Tires”); Agatha Helena Nowicki (“Kingdom Come,” “Gorilla and the Bird”); and Steven Robillard (“Summer Qamp,” upcoming “The Up & Up”).
“The Writers’ Room represents fundamentally what is so special about Ben and Matt’s vision for Artists Equity,” said Amy Baer, Artists Equity’s president of film and television. “This program offers writers a better script development dynamic, without the endless notes and shifting goalposts that have become all too familiar. The pilot program has been beyond promising, bearing enough fruit to make this an integral part and official cornerstone of our creative agenda.”
Writers are paid WGA scale during the program and go on to participate in Artists Equity’s talent-first business model. Films emerging from the program will join the studio’s portfolio.
Artists Equity has a multi-year film deal with Sony Pictures for theatrical and recently launched a creative partnership with Netflix. Founded in 2022 by Affleck, Damon and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital, the company has produced successful scripted projects including “The Accountant 2,” “The Instigators,” “Unstoppable” and “Air,” as well as a slate of documentaries, plus advertising campaigns for Dunkin’ (including four consecutive Super Bowl ads) and Stella Artois. The company’s most recent film was the Netflix chart-topper “The Rip,” starring Affleck, Damon, Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor. Next up is the thriller “Animals,” directed by Affleck, who stars alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson and Yeun.
[Pictured: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon; Eric Roth]