The Write Stuff

Jessica Sharzer has developed feature films for Universal, HBO, MTV, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Sony, Lionsgate, Netflix, and Paramount. Her produced features include Nerve (2015) and A Simple Favor (2018). She is currently writing the sequel Another Simple Favor for director Paul Feig at Amazon. Recent projects include original sex comedy London Calling for Universal, an adaptation of Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief or Paramount and a remake of the 1983 cult classic The Hunger for Warner Brothers. In television, Ms. Sharzer has developed drama pilots for CBS, FOX, MTV, Apple, and ABC networks. Recent projects include political thriller The Embassy for Starz and true crime series Over My Dead Body for Warner Brothers. She was a Co-Executive Producer on Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu) and American Horror Story (FX). As a director, Ms. Sharzer made her feature debut with Speak (2004) which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for Writers Guild and Directors Guild awards. Ms. Sharzer holds Masters Degrees from NYU and UC Berkeley. She is an adjunct professor of screenwriting and script analysis at USC.

Laurie Collyer is a writer/director living in Brooklyn, NY. Early in her career, she received fellowships from both the Sundance Institute and the Cinefondation of the Cannes Film Festival. Collyer‘s debut feature, documentary Nuyorican Dream, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was later broadcast on HBO. She wrote and directed Sherrybaby which earned a Golden Globe nomination for actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and Sunlight Jr. featuring Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon. Her most recent film, Furlough starring Tessa Thompson and Melissa Leo, was written by Barry Strugatz (Married to the Mob). She has also directed multiple episodes of television including miniseries The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe for Lifetime, Billions for Showtime, Law and Order SVU for NBC, and multiple segments for the The Me You Can’t See for Radical Media and Apple+ TV. Collyer‘s other writing credits include Story of a Girl for Lifetime TV, Cowgirl Ranch for LD Entertainment, and Bootstrapper for Archer Grey Entertainment.

Mora Stephens’ latest feature film, Zipper, which she co-wrote and directed, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for theatrical distribution by Alchemy. The film was produced by Darren Aronofsky, Mark Heyman, and Scott Franklin through Protozoa Pictures, and stars Patrick Wilson, Lena Headey, Richard Dreyfuss, Ray Winstone, Dianna Agron, John Cho, Penelope Mitchell, Alexandra Breckenridge, and Christopher McDonald. Mora’s debut feature film, Conventioneers, won the Independent Spirit Awards’ John Cassavetes Award for Best Low-Budget Feature, and was named by Indiewire as One of 20 Best American Political Films. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and had its international premiere in Korea at the Pusan International Film Festival, and was released theatrically by Cinema Libre Studio. Mora is an alumna of NYU’s Graduate Film Program and Princeton University Public and International Affairs. She collaborated on an original screenplay for director Rodrigo Garcia and has taught screenwriting at the Graduate Film Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Mora is a co-founder of Hyphenate Films which has produced six independent features. Currently as a writer-director, Mora has an upcoming female-driven action-thriller with Millenium and is developing a limited series with Protozoa Pictures.

Jamie Burton-Oare is an award-winning Writer/Director/Actor whose feature film directorial debut, Doing the LA Thing premiered at the American Black Film Festival, was nominated for the Best Director-First Feature Award at the Pan African Film Festival, and winner of the HBO Best Feature Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival (MVAAFF.) Jamie’s short film The Bully garnered the Best Short Film Award at the Boca Black Film Festival, was nominated for the Producer’s Award at the MVAAFF. Jamie’s film, Soulful Steps: A Soul Line Dance Journey with J&J, her first feature-length documentary premiered at the 16th Annual MVAAFF. Jamie’s most recent script African/American, co-written with Skye Dennis, is slated to be produced by Oscar winner Ruth Carter. As an actor, Jamie has starred and appeared in many independent films, including notable television and theater roles, such as Amour Infininty, CSI:NY, The Eleventh Hour, C’Mon Man, Shooter (HBO), RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), and most recently Quiet As Kept. Jamie has a BBA in Marketing from Howard University, completed film school at Los Angeles City College, and earned an MFA in Screenwriting, from Cal State University-Northridge. Her films are produced through her production company Jomaja Films, and she is a native to Flint, Michigan, which provides the foundation for much of her work.