News

Amy Adler ’11 has been selected for the 2024 Sundance Screenwriters’ Intensive with her script Rag Dolls and co-director Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez. Lindsey Villarreal ’13 was also selected for the Intensive and the Sundance Institute Horror Fellowship with her script Woman Hollering, while Christian Moldes ’07 (Annenberg) was selected for the January 2024 Screenwriters’ Lab with his script Quince Kings.

Amazon MGM Studios has signed an exclusive overall deal with Gary “Gaz” Alazraki ’01’s Maquina Vega. Under the deal, Alazraki is set to produce, write and direct a series for Amazon MGM Studios.

Nick Benjamin ’18 wrote, directed, and produced a short film A State Of that was selected for many film festivals, including Screamfest Horror Film Festival, and also won awards including Best Short Film Director at THE MAGIC OF CINEMA in Barcelona. Other USC alumni on the film included Marlon Galdamez ’19 (Dornsife/SCA) (Director of Photography), Calvin Chin ’18 (Editor), and Brandon Bacall ’18 (2nd AC/On-Set Photographer).

Jeffrey M. Boone ’11 (Marshall) has joined Fremantle as Vice President of Scripted Development, after over five years as Vice President of Development at Bad Wolf.

Julio Bove ’00 at Bosco Entertainment will produce Argentine director Luján Loioco’s third feature film, Queen of the Woods, alongside NonStop Studios in Spain and Loioco’s Libre Cine. Chile’s Clara Larraín of Clara Film and Brazil’s Cinefilm have also boarded the pic.

Xavier Burgin ’15, Wesley Rodriguez ’16, and Vee Saieh ’18 have been selected for Season 2 of the Starz #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive.

Tom X. Chao ’84, ’92 (Dornsife) released a new musical project, a 4-song EP entitled “Statement of Intent”.

Warner Bros has landed a deal with writer-director-producer Ryan Coogler ’11 and star Michael B. Jordan for an untitled new movie based on an original script by Coogler.

America Ferrera ’13 (Dornsife)’s directorial debut I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is in development at Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures from screenwriter Linda Yvette Chávez ’07. Producers include Poppy Hanks ’95.

Sam Canter ’15 produced Little Death, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and won the prestigious NEXT Innovator Award.

Matthew Cervi ’98 produced the film The Island Between Tides which had its world premiere at the opening night gala for Cinequest 2024, on March 7th.

Akela Cooper ’06 will adapt the short story Don’t Look by Colin Bannon for Universal, for Janelle Monae to star.

Cassius Corrigan ’14 directed The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez (2024), which released on HBO Max on January 31, 2024.

The Sundance-premiering documentary Will & Harper was acquired by Netflix. USC alumni who worked on the film include Josh Greenbaum ’08 (Director), Will Ferrell ’90 (Annenberg) (Producer), Jessica Elbaum ’99 (Producer), and Monique Zavistovski ’03 (Editor).

Carrie Finn ’23 and Sarah Hamblin ’07 were selected for the 2024 Spring Session of the Stowe Story Lab’s TV Writers Room Program with her script, Black Water.

Jessica Funches ’03 and Dahéli Hall ’02 were selected for the Starz take the lead producers fellowship.

Adam Goral ’11 was the director of photography for the short film Fish in a Barrel, written and directed by Nick DeRuve, which premiered in LA on Jan 6, 2024. Other alumni involved in the film include David Baldwin ’08 (Steadicam Operator) and David Bostrom ’11 (1st Assistant Camera).

Imagine Entertainment co-chairmen Brian Grazer ’74 and Ron Howard have entered into a multi-year co-financing and production partnership with Fifth Season and their co-CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice.

Haley Geier Hoffman ’16 was nominated for an Emmy for Writing for a Preschool Animated Program.

The USC student project Body of Mine VR won the prestigious Producers Guild of America Innovation Award. It was led by Cameron Kostopoulos ’22 (Director/Producer/Writer) and involved over 10 USC students and alumni.

Rian Johnson ’16 and Ram Bergman of T-Street Productions have made a two-picture producing deal with the Warner Bros Motion Picture Group.

The American Foundation for the Blind is set to presented Shawn Levy ’94 with the 2024 Helen Keller Achievement Award for his work on the Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See that contributed to breaking down barriers for people with disabilities. Shawn was also recognized as Director of the Year at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Harris McCabe ’15 won one of the five 2023 Nicholl Fellowships with his script, Nat Cady’s Boys.

Roma Murphy ’20, Obiageli Odimegwu ’19 and Andrew Reid ’17 were selected as part of The Inevitable Foundation’s Winter 2024 Elevate Collective Cohort.

C. Craig Patterson ’21 won one of the five 2023 Nicholl Fellowships with his script, Tah.

Diego Perez ’13 won an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special for Prey (Hulu). Christopher Bonis ’14 was Sound Effect Editor on the project.

Mike Saksa ’92 wrote the new book The Negotiation Edge, released on April 1, 2024.

Abby Sherlock ’23 was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2024.

Jason Shuman ’96 and Ben Queen ’96 will write Cola Wars, a feature adaptation of the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the 1980s, which Sony has bought with a $1.5 million bid.

Chad Stahelski ’90 (Annenberg) and his 87Eleven Entertainment label have signed a second production deal with Lionsgate, a multi-year first look, and will produce original action fare for the studio.

Kayla Sun ’21 won one of the five 2023 Nicholl Fellowships with her script, Boy, Girl, Fig.

Taylor Tejada ’23 won the 2023 ScreenCraft Drama Competition with his script Ostrich, and also won the J. Holtham Mentorship Prize.

Hernando Cortes Watson ’13 recently participated in the 2023 Sundance Episodic Lab and was the Special Guest Alumni for the Sundance Collab Session that took place in February 2024.

Sean Wang ’16’s feature debut, Dìdi, which won the U.S. dramatic audience award at Sundance, has been sold to Focus Features.

Michael Werwie ’03 has sold an untitled adult thriller spec to Netflix, with Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan set to produce for Aggregate Films.

New Films in Release

Asphalt City
John Ira Palmer ’17 (Producer)
Tina Wang ’11 (Marshall, Business of Cinematic Arts) (Producer)

Bosco
Amanda Konis (Co-Producer)
Shaun Hart ’10 (SDA) (Director of Photography)
Aubrey Joseph (SDA) (Cast/Executive Producer)

Bob Marley: One Love
Frank E. Flowers ’01 (Writer)

The Bricklayer
Hanna Weg ’94 (Writer)

Butterfly in the Sky
Kenny Black (Cast)
Lawrence Everson ’03 (Sound Editor)
Levar Burton (SDA) ’74 (Cast)

Cobweb
Kevin Greutert ’87 (Editor)
Anne McCarthy ’02 (Casting Director)

Cult Killer
Ness Saban (Executive Producer)
Tyler Konney ’09 (Dornsife) (Executive Producer)
Luke Taylor ’11 (Thornton) (Executive Producer)

Drift
Lauran Bromley ’80 (Executive Producer)
Salome Williams ’12 (Producer)

Drugstore June
Michael Bertonlina ’98 (Executive Producer)
Gabriel Roth ’95 (Executive Producer)

Dune: Part Two
John Harrison ’08 (Executive Producer)

Float
Kate Marchant ’17 (Dornsife) (Writer)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Jason Reitman (Writer/Producer)
Amie Karp ’06 (Executive Producer)

Ghosts, Season 3 (CBS)
Jaime Eliezer Karas ’94 (Dornsife) (Director)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Alex Garcia ’98 (Producer)

Imaginary
Jeff Wadlow ’01 (Writer/Director/Producer)
Bear McCreary ’02 (Composer)

In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Patrick O’Donoghue ’96 (Annenberg) (Line Producer)

I.S.S.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite ’99 (Dornsife) (Director)

Knox Goes Away
Gregory Poirier ’85 (Dornsife) (Writer)

Land of Bad
Ryan Winterstern ’11 (Producer)
Martin J. Barab ’67 (Marshall) (Executive Producer)
Brandon Roberts ’98 (Thornton) (Composer)

Lift
Daniel Kunka ’01 (Writer)
Matt Reeves ’88 (Producer)

Madame Web
Kerem Sanga ’10 (Writer)

Memory
Lauran Bromley ’80 (Executive Producer)
Vahan Yepremyan ’97 (Gould) (Executive Producer)

Molli and Max in the Future
Alex Winkler ’17 (Thornton) (Composer)

Orion and the Dark
Kevin Lax ’08 (Thornton) (Composer)
Robert Lydecker ’08 (Thornton) (Composer)

Players
Ryan Christians ’09 ’11 (Producer)
Ross M. Dinerstien ’05 (Producer)
Ego Nwodim ’10 (Dornsife) (Cast)

Prey
Lucas Jarach ’98 (Producer)

Problemista
Sara Shaw (Editor)

Red Right Hand
Ryan Winterstern ’11 (Executive Producer)

Road House
Doug Liman (Director)

Role Play
George Heller ‘02 (Executive Producer)
Rachel Clara Henochesberg ’14 (Annenberg) (Co-Producer)

Scrambled
Gillian Bohrer ’03 (Producer)

Shirley
Regina King (Cast/Producer)

Sleeping Dogs
Ryan Winterstern ’11 (Executive Producer)

Sometimes I Think About Dying
Lauren Beveridge ’17 (Annenberg) (Producer)

Spaceman
John Axelrad ’90 (Editor)

Suncoast
Anna Schwartz ’17 (Co-Producer)
Sarah Shaw (Editor)

Sunrise
Ryan Winterstern ’11 (Executive Producer)

The American Society of Magical Negroes
Julia Lebedev ’06 (Producer)

The Neon Highway
Cindy Parisotto ’91 (Editor)

The Tiger's Apprentice
Christopher L. Yost ’02 (Writer)

The Underdoggs
Jonathan Glickman (Producer)

Upgraded
Carlson Young (Dornsife) (Director)
Justin Matthews (Dornsife) (Writer)

New Series in Release

The 2023 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (FXX)
Matthew M. Gossin ’93 (Editor)
Bob Bain ’80 (Gould) (Executive Producer)

The 29th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (The CW)
David Freedman ’10 (Producer)
Matthew M. Gossin ’93 (Editor)
Bob Bain ’80 (Gould) (Executive Producer)

3 Body Problem (Netflix)
Rian Johnson ’96 (Executive Producer)
Madhuri Shekar ’09 ’14 (Annenberg/SDA) (Writer)
Rosalind Chao ’79 (Annenberg) (Cast)

The 55th NAACP Image Awards (CBS/BET)
Antares Vargas ’14 (Marshall) (Segment Producer)

The 66th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Eric Cook ’15 (Co-Executive Producer)
Gloria Lamb (Art Director)

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards (Fox)
Brittany Brazil ’18 (Annenberg) (Co-Executive Producer)

9-1-1, Season 7 (ABC)
Nicole Barraza Keim ’16 (Writer/Story Editor)
Joaquin Sedillo ’89 (Co-Producer)

Abbott Elementary, Season 3 (ABC)
Ava Coleman ’15 (Executive Story Editor/Writer)

Alert: Missing Persons, Season 2 (Fox)
Carla Kettner ’83 (Writer/Executive Producer)
Brandon Sonnier ’04 (Executive Producer)

Alice & Jack (PBS)
Lorenzo De Maio ’01 (Executive Producer)

America: The Land We Live In (PBS)
Devon Chivvis ‘02 (Director/Writer/Executive Producer)

American Rust: Broken Justice (Prime Video)
Michael Lehmann ’85 (Director)
Nick Nantell ’03 (Executive Producer)
Jean Kyoung Frazier ’16 (Dornsife) (Writer)

Apples Never Fall (Peacock)
Aaron Fullerton ’07 (Writer)
Marco Beltrami (Thornton)(Composer)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
Gabriel Llanas ’08 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Hunter Ries ’13 (Writer)
Lindsey Liberatore ’00 (Annenberg) (Executive Producer)

The Bachelor, Season 28 (ABC)
Bennett S. Graebner ’98 (Executive Producer)
Marlise Malkames ’92 (Editor)

The Baxters (Prime Video)
Karen Corneille ’13 (Writer)
Yuka Shirasuna ’04 (Editor)

Bobby Lam ’05 (Director of Photography)
Ted McGinley (Price) (Cast)

BMF (Starz)
Garen Thomas ’15 (Writer)

Bob Hearts Abishola, Season 5 (CBS)
Bayo Akinfemi ’16 (Director)
Robbie Countryman ’88 (Director)
Aaron Izek ’15 (Writer)

The Brothers Sun (Netflix)
Justin Chien ’18 (SDA) (Cast)

The Conners, Season 6 (ABC)
Robbie Countryman ’88 (SCA/Annenberg) (Director)
Anne H. Ahrens ’82 (Set Decorator)
Nicole Abellera ’00 (Dornsife) (Casting Director)

Choir (Disney+)
Ross M. Dinerstein ’05 (Executive Producer)
Brian Grazer ’74 (Executive Producer)
Ron Howard (Executive Producer)
Jongnic Bontemps ’12 (Composer)

Chrissy & Dave Dine Out (Freeform)
Tracy Stevens ’11 (Executive Producer)

Churchy (BET+)
Richard A. Washington ’12 (Marshall) (Co-Producer/Writer)

The Cleaning Lady (Fox)
Denise Hahn ’07 (Writer/Co-Executive Producer)

Clone High, Season 2 (Max)
Matthew Kerr ’20 (Writer)
Jeff Ingold ’94 (Marshall) (Executive Producer)

CSI: Vegas (CBS)
Alex Berry ’19 (Associate Producer)
Barrie Wise ’00 (Editor)
Craig S. O’Neill (Writer)

Deal or No Deal Island (NBC)
Matt Kunitz ’90 (Showrunner/Executive Producer)
D.J. Nurre ’01 (Producer/Executive Producer)
Michael Elko Weaver ’04 (Story Producer)
Jared Hernandez ’13 (Host Producer)
Darryl Fox ’01 (Editor)

Death and Other Details (Hulu)
Zachary Clark ’16 (Producer)
Ryan Maldonado ’06 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Sondra Watanabe ’89 (Viterbi) (Editor)

The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+)
Brian Grazer ’74 (Executive Producer)
Ron Howard (Executive Producer)

Echo (Disney+, Hulu)
Kevin Feige ’99 (Executive Producer)
Brad Winderbaum ’05 (Executive Producer)
Mato Standing Soldier ’20 (Composer)

Elsbeth (CBS)
Ron Underwood ’74 (Director)
Erica Shelton ’98 (Writer)
Zoe Marshall ’15 (Supervising Producer)
Liz Glotzer ’85 (Executive Producer)
John Aronson ’87 ’89 (Director of Photography)

The Equalizer, Season 2 (CBS)
Andrew W. Marlowe ’92 (Showrunner/Producer/Writer)
Vanessa Herron ’22 (Writer)

Family Guy, Season 22 (Fox)
Patrick Meighan ’99 (Writer, Producer)
Polina Diaz ’14 (Producer)

FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Season 3 (CBS)
Roxanne Paredes ’16 (Writer)
Stephanie Willis ’09 (Editor)

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX on Hulu)
Max Winkler ’06 (Director)
Jason McCormick ’01 (Director of Photography)
Franklin Peterson ’07 (Editor)
Julia Newman ’20 (Thornton) (Composer)
Thomas Newman (Thornton) (Composer)

Finding Your Roots, Season 10 (PBS)
CeCe Moore ’91 (SDA) (Genealogist)

Full Swing (Netflix)
Marcella Serrano ’05 (Editor)

Game Changer, Season 6 (Dropout)
Sam Geer ’09 (Editor)

Genius: MLK/X (Nat Geo)
Channing Godfrey Peoples ’11 (Director/Co-Executive Producer)
Brian Grazer ’74 (Executive Producer)
Ron Howard (Executive Producer)

The Girls on the Bus (Max)
Erin Wolf ’11 (Editor)
Kyra Sedgwick ’85 (SDA) (Director)

The Good Doctor (ABC)
Adam Scott Weissman ‘10 (Writer, Producer)
Garrett Lerner ‘95 (Writer, Producer)

Good Trouble, Season 5 (Freeform)
Randy Weiss ’01 (Co-Producer)
Destinee Cordiero ’15 (Annenberg) (Associate Producer)

Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Shonda Rhimes ’94 (Creator/Executive Producer)
Jess Righthand ’17 (Producer)
Byron Shah ’98 (Director of Photography)
Madison Margeaux ’21 (Writers’ Assistant)

Grimsburg (Fox)
Miles Woods ’18 (Dornsife) (Writer/Executive Story Editor)

Griselda (Netflix)
Ingrid Escajeda ’02 (Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer)
Doug Miro ’97 (Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer)
Eric Newman ’96 (Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer)
Gina Lucita Monreal ’08 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Kelly Stuyvesant ’08 (Editor)
Carlos Rafael Rivera ’04 ’10 (Thornton) (Composer)

Halo, Season 2 (Paramount+)
Vince Dixon ’20 (Associate Producer)

Hightown, Season 2 (Starz)
Rebecca Perry Cutter ’05 (Creator/Director/Executive Producer)
Sophia Lopez ’18 (Writer)

Homicide: New York (Netflix)
Nicole West ’03 (Dornsife) (Editor)

Justice, USA (Max)
Katie Pyne ’15 (Story Producer)
Randy Ferrell ’03 (Annenberg) (Showrunner/Executive Producer)
Drew Tappon ’95 (Annenberg) (Network Executive)

La Brea, Season 3 (NBC)
Harry B. Miller III ’81 (SDA) (Co-Producer/Editor)

Love Is Blind, Season 6 (Netflix)
Ewa Mularczyk ’06 (Co-Executive Producer)
Sara Mardam-Bey ’14 (Senior Story Producer)

The Masked Singer (Fox)
Ryan Sommer ‘09 (Producer)

Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Steven Spielberg (Executive Producer)

The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys (USA/Peacock)
Brandon Beck ’04 (Marshall) (Executive Producer)

Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Season 4 (PBS)
Jin Ishimoto ’97 (Executive Producer)

Monsieur Spade (AMC/AMC+/Acorn TV)
Carlos Rafael Rivera ’04 ’10 (Thornton) (Composer)

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
Hiro Murai ’06 (Director)

NCIS, Season 21 (CBS)
Steven D. Binder ’93 (Executive Producer/Writer)
Marco Schnabel ’93 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Yasemin Yilmaz ’16 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Chad Gomez Creasey ’03 (Co-Executive Producer/Writer)
Avery C. Drewe ’84 (Co-Executive Producer)

NCIS: Hawai’i, Season 3 (CBS)
Matt Bosack ’13 (Creator/Executive Producer/Writer)
LeVar Burton (Director)
Raphael Corkhill ’11 (SDA) (Cast)

The Neighborhood, Season 6 (CBS)
Aaron Kaplan ’90 (Executive Producer)
Amy Skjonsby-Winslow ’92 (Production Designer)

The New Look (Apple TV+)
Ethan Wellin ’12 (Co-Producer)

Night Court, Season 2 (NBC)
Lon Zimmet (Executive Producer)
Lindsey Shockley ’07 (Co-Executive Producer)

Not Dead Yet, Season 2 (ABC)
Mattie Bayne ’19 (Writer)
Josh Greenberg ’00 (Writer)
Kevin Ramlal ’17 (Writer)
Michael McDonald (Marshall) (Director)

Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
Claire Scanlon ’96 (Director)

Parish (AMC/AMC+)
Ryan Maldonado ’06 (Writer) (Executive Producer)
J. David Shanks ’14 (Consulting Producer)
Todd Dos Reis ’87 (Director of Photography)
Cori Uchida ’03 (SDA) (Co-Executive Producer)

The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (Lifetime)
Leane Vandeman ’89 (Annenberg) (Executive Producer)

Puppy Bowl XX (Animal Planet/Max/Discovery+)
Jennifer Ellerbrock ‘12 (Annenberg) (Production Manager)

Resident Alien, Season 3 (Syfy/USA)
Noah Sorota (Thornton) (Composer)
Nicole Abellera ’00 (Dornsife) (Casting Director)

RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 16 (MTV)
Jon Schneider ’96 (Camera Operator)

Shogun (FX/Hulu)
Maria Gonzales ’18 (Editor)

So Help Me Todd, Season 2 (CBS)
Elizabeth Klaviter ’00 (Showrunner/Writer/Executive Producer)
Lisa Parsons ’02 (Writer/Co-Executive Producer)
Jaime Eliezer Karas ’94 (Dornsife) (Director)

Station 19 (ABC)
Shonda Rhimes ’94 (Creator)
Zavier Sinnett ’18 (Co-Producer)

S.W.A.T., Season 7 (CBS)
Neal Moritz ’85 (Executive Producer)
Aaron Rahsaan Thomas ’02 (Creator/Writer)

TED (Peacock)
Patrick Meighan ’99 (Consulting Producer)
Joy Fehily ’95 (Dornsife) (Co-Executive Producer)

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (Netflix)
Jay Visit ’08 (Director of Photography)
Sean Jarrett ’14 (Editor)

Tokyo Vice (Max)
Adam Stein ’05 (Writer)

Tracker (CBS)
Amanda Mortlock ’09 (Marshall/BCA) (Writer)
David Radcliff ’05 (Dornsife) (Writer)

The Trust: A Game of Greed (Netflix)
Hillary Smotherman ’02 (SDA) (Casting Director)

The Truth About Jim (Max)
Skye Borgman ’04 (Director/Executive Producer)
Brian Grazer ’74 (Executive Producer)
Ron Howard (Executive Producer)