Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Eric Roth Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images; Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s independent studio Artists Equity has launched the fourth round of its Writers’ Room program, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal.
Affleck (Good Will Hunting, The Town), Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel) and Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Dune) will lead the program and provide the writers with regular feedback. All three are Oscar winners for screenwriting. Over 12 weeks, eight writers will be split across two rooms to develop original screenplays for Artists Equity’s slate. The writers can pitch ideas across a range of genres, with rooms then launched around selected concepts.
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“With each round, the Writers’ Room continues to prove itself as an incredibly effective development model, solidifying it as a defining part of our creative process,” said Amy Baer, president of film and television at Artists Equity, in a statement. “We’re thrilled to welcome this next group of writers into the fold, and even more excited about where their ideas will take us.”
The fourth round of Artists Equity’s Writers’ Room will feature eight writers: Annabelle Gurwitch (The End of My Life Is Killing Me); Stephen Vitale (Killer Pump); Gary Lundy (A Happening of Monumental Proportions); Michelle Alexander (Blow Out); Van Jensen (Godfall); Karen Croner (Admission); Meko Winbush (Gray Matter); and Shane Kennedy (It’s Not You, It’s Me).
The new round builds on three previous iterations, which have resulted in several active film packages within Artists Equity’s slate. Among them is Sirocco, an erotic thriller written by two-time Emmy winner Gideon Raff. Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) is attached to direct, with Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh serving as an executive producer.
Movies emerging from the Artists Equity Writers’ Room will join the studio’s film slate. The studio’s next feature is the crime thriller Animals, which is set for release on Netflix. Affleck directed the film, which was written by Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray and Affleck. Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Gillian Anderson and Affleck also star.
Another upcoming film from the banner is Free Byrd, written, directed and produced by Greg Kwedar (Train Dreams, Sing Sing). Dwayne Johnson stars as Billy Byrd.
Artists Equity’s most recent film, The Rip, starring Affleck and Damon, bowed in January and drew 41.6 million views over its first three days on Netflix. The 1,200-person team behind the film also received additional compensation after Artists Equity paid a performance bonus to the cast and crew.
The bonus stemmed from a unique deal the production banner negotiated with Netflix that gave the cast and crew additional compensation if the film met certain viewership thresholds. Usually, the streamer pays an upfront fee rather than offering viewership incentive bonuses.
Launched in 2022 with financing from Gerry Cardinale and his RedBird Capital Partners, Artists Equity’s films also include The Accountant 2, The Instigators, Small Things Like These, Unstoppable and Air.
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