Writers of some of the year’s top movies mingled with journalists and industry figures at the Writers Guild of America, West's Behind The Screen winter reception last week in Hollywood.
Held at Beauty & Essex, a stylish restaurant in the heart of Hollywood, Behind The Screen saw a variety of screenwriters show up to discuss movies and help awards season get underway.
Oscar®-winning screenwriter Josh Singer (Spotlight) was in attendance. He talked about his latest film, First Man, which is sure to be front and center come next year's Academy Awards® ceremony, despite its perceived lack of box office impact.
Also present was Aquaman co-writer Will Beall, a former LAPD detective who moved into screenwriting (his credits include 2013 film Gangster Squad). Beall subsequently worked on the hit series Castle, where he met his wife, Elizabeth Beall (née Davis). She is also a screenwriter, currently working on the new hit show The Rookie.
Andy Weiss, co-writer of the Weider brothers biopic Bigger (currently in theaters), spoke fondly of collaborating with co-writer and director George Gallo, with whom he also worked on the 2009 internet porn true story, Middle Men. Gallo is the legendary screenwriter behind such iconic films as Midnight Run and Bad Boys.
Both credited writers of the upcoming horror film Escape Room (in theaters January 4) were also in attendance; Bragi Schut (Threshold) wrote early drafts and Maria Melnik (American Gods) came on board to complete the project.
Also present were Maryam Keshavarz, co-writer (and director) of the Susan Sarandon drama Viper Club; Ethan Gross, co-writer of the upcoming Brad Pitt/Tommy Lee Jones space drama Ad Astra; and Ashleigh Powell, writer of the currently-in-theaters Disney fantasy The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, among others.
Staff representing event sponsor Final Draft were also on hand to provide the attending writers with the latest version of their industry-leading screenwriting software, Final Draft 11.