2024-2027 mentors

The entire Golden Script Competition experience has been wonderful from the start, and the opportunity to have a one-on-one with Mark Fergus was nothing short of inspirational. Mark had read my feature-length screenplay, COMMUNITY SHED, and came to the conversation with very specific questions and extremely thoughtful feedback. He was gracious and attentive and it felt more like talking with an old colleague rather than the Oscar-nominated screenwriter that he is. It's clear he is a big champion of screenwriters and for that I have enormous gratitude. My hat is off to Mark and the entire hard working team at the Golden Script Competition. Thank you all for providing such a fantastic opportunity!

As a writer, I’m usually not at a loss for words, but I must say my meeting with Jessica Sharzer left me speechless with gratitude. Not only was she generous with her insights on my pilot script, but she also provided a strategic approach to the next steps I should take regarding finding representation, identifying the right contacts, and selecting the best companies to shop my pilot to. Her mentorship has been exactly what I needed at this stage in my career. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to meet someone so well-versed in this business, and I left our meeting feeling more empowered than ever. This opportunity, provided by The Golden Script Competition, has been a game-changer for me, and Jessica's mentorship has given me a clear direction moving forward.

Meeting Mark Fergus was such a brilliant experience! He had great feedback for me about my feature NO GHOSTS TONIGHT and shared some great notes about cluing readers into the relationships between characters and their secrets. That'll definitely be helpful for this script - but it's also one of those things I'll be able to use in other scripts too. I'm considering an adaptation and he shared a wealth of experience about adaptations and had great practical suggestions for next steps. The whole conversation was really encouraging, energising - and fascinating. I can't thank Mark enough - and I'm really thankful to the Golden Script Competition too for the opportunity!

Meeting with Jessica was so, so helpful. She was incredibly generous with her time and insight. While I continue to love this script, she gave me a lot of really helpful notes AND a road map to address them in a way that honored the story I'm trying to tell. I left feeling even more proud of what my script accomplished and inspired to make it better. Not only that, but she took the time to answer all the burning questions I had about the industry in general, giving me invaluable advice on how to navigate the next steps of my career. I feel very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to talk with someone so well-practiced in her craft and so well-versed in the ins-and-outs of this often confusing industry.

Winning the Golden Script Competition for my feature script was a huge boost of confidence. Meeting with John J McLaughlin, co-writer of one of my favourite films, was incredibly exciting, and John was so supportive and kind. The circulation of my script to production companies is a really exciting prospect, and I can't recommend the competition enough. Their communication is great, feedback is insightful, awards are meaningful. I've already gotten so much from this and I will always be grateful to the Golden Script team for believing in my writing, giving me a platform, and connecting me with such an amazing mentor.

Going into my meeting with Bobby Moresco, I had no expectations; that is to say, I literally did not know what to expect. Then, during the hour we talked, my entire philosophy and approach on screenwriting was completely upended and changed—and all for the better. Keep in mind, I have a B.A. in screenwriting, so I kind of felt like I knew what I was doing when writing a script. But Bobby’s insight and advice gave me a new perspective on how I should be writing with a simple phrase: write into the problem. While Hadleyville is a good script, Bobby pointed out areas where I created potential conflict, but didn’t deliver on it, because I wrote around the problem. His direct, frank approach about making characters face their conflicts directly and decisively has already made Hadleyville an even better script. And I should add that his direct and frank approach was a revelation.

Paul Haggis, a master of story and structure, went through the script page by page with me, as well as discussing the overall shape, goals and direction the script is headed in. This was invaluable, as he had a great balance of letting me know the stuff he loved as well as what he thought could be improved upon. He hashed out with me some brainstorming ideas of how to rework a few specific issues, and seemed truly invested in the story and wanting to give it its due. In short, it was incredibly encouraging and heartening to see a path forward at the end of the session.