Launch Pad Alums Ivan Tsang and Lucy Luna Selected for The 2019 HBO Access Writing Fellowship!
1The HBO Access Writing Fellowship has announced its selections for 2019, including two alums of the 2018 Launch Pad Feature Competition.
Lucy Luna and Ivan Tsang, who both reached the Top 75 of the 2018 LPFC, were among the eight writers selected for the biannual Writing Fellowship. The program, which HBO describes as providing “mentorship, guidance, and education for creative minds from diverse backgrounds,” will consist of eight months of master classes, workshops and mentorships. Previous participants in the program have gone on to be staffed on HBO’s acclaimed shows.
Luna’s script SOPHIE & VALENTINA follows a dance teacher suffering from macular degeneration who hires a Mexican transgender woman to escort her to Mexico in hopes of finding a miracle cure. The comedy/drama script was described by our readers as “an authentic and passionate story of friendship, love and loss” and pitched as Little Miss Sunshine meets A Fantastic Woman.
Repped by Sonia Gambaro at ESA, Luna is a Mexican writer and director based in Los Angeles, who has worked as a screenwriter, story consultant and translator for a variety of industry companies. Her short horror film WE’RE ALL HERE is finding success on the festival circuit and she is currently writing a script for Mexican producer Gerardo Gática.
Tsang’s Launch Pad script FINDING CUMBERBATCH is a hilarious and over-the-top ride following a Benedict Cumberbatch superfan who accidentally destroys the actor’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds and wakes up to discover his entire career has been wiped from existence. The subsequent struggle to right her wrong and make Cumberbatch a star once again was described by our readers as a comedy that “will have you rolling on the floor laughing with its harsh commentary on celebrity, fan culture and Hollywood” while maintaining “an emotional core and relatable, flawed characters.”
Tsang is a native of Toronto, Canada who received an MFA in Screen and TV Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Shorts and sketches he’s written for Wong Fu Productions, KevJumba, Jubilee Media, Jeremy Lin, ISA TV and others have been viewed over 100 million times.
The other participants in this year’s program are Darnell Brown, Melody Cooper, Danielle Iman, Elaine Loh, Eddie Mujica and Jessica Shields.
Congratulations to Lucy, Ivan and all the other talented writers selected for the fellowship!