Young & Hungry No More – A Look Back At Some Of The 2011 Young & Hungry Alums (2016)

We’re thrilled to announce that on Monday, October 3 we will be releasing the 2016 Young & Hungry List, comprised of the 100 best up-and-coming writers in the business, as voted on by industry professionals. This week, we’ll be highlighting a few of our favorite Young & Hungry success stories from the past four years. We’re proud to recognize the careers of these writers, who have carried their early momentum into remarkable achievements. 

Today, we proudly present the latest updates from some of the writers who made the 2011 Young & Hungry List. And don’t forget to check back on Monday for the release of the 2016 Young & Hungry List!

HERE ARE A FEW STAND-OUT HONOREES FROM THE 2011 YOUNG & HUNGRY LIST

Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari landed on the list and subsequently sold their hot spec Die in a Gunfight to The Mark Gordon Company. From there, they landed one lucrative gig after another, writing the McG-directed Magic Castle for Fox, dystopian adventure Legend for CBS Films, and the feature reboot of the 90s classic fantasy sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. They then became a part of the multi-billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe when they signed on to write a draft of Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily, and its upcoming sequel, Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Andrew Lanham landed on the list with The Jumper of Maine. He’s currently adapting Boy 21 for Catch and Release Films, while he optioned his script Just Mercy to Destin Daniel Cretten and Broad Green Pictures, with Michael B. Jordan set to star. Lanham is also working with Brie Larson and Lionsgate on The Glass Castle. His script The Kid was directed by Vincent D’Onofrio with D’Onofrio also appearing on camera opposite James Franco.

Brad Ingelsby sold his script Run All Night to Warner Bros. soon after making the list, and was then tapped by Screen Gems to pen the remake of the high-octane Indonesian martial arts thriller The Raid (rebranded in the States as The Raid: Redemption). And that’s not the only remake he’s worked on: he’s writing the Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson-produced update of Point Blank and a new spin on the legend of Robin Hood in Merry Men. His specs Claire and A Better Place are both in development with Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions.

Brian Duffield has seen a flurry of success since making the 2011 Young & Hungry List. Recently, he worked on the screenplay for Insurgent, the massively successful sequel to the international phenomenon Divergent. His gritty Western Jane Got a Gun was produced by 1821 Pictures, with Natalie Portman in the starring role. His script The Babysitter  from director McG recently wrapped, while Duffield himself will be directing his script Vivien Hasn’t Been Herself Lately. Duffield sold his thriller Underwater to Peter Chernin and 20th Century Fox and Shawn Levy is currently in development with Duffield’s spec Monster Problems.

Chris Borrelli made the list after his trio of specs Rounds, Wake and The Vatican Tapes generated quite a bit of buzz in town. He served as an executive producer and writer for The Vatican Tapes, while Wake is currently in production starring Ben Kingsley and Cameron Monaghan. He was recently tapped to adapt 100 Bullets based on the award-winning comic book series by Brian Azzarello and DC Comics. Production recently wrapped on Eloise from a script by Borrelli.

Chris Sparling and his claustrophobic thriller Buried swept the festival circuit and took top honors from the National Board of Review, and shortly thereafter he began landing gigs like his life depended on it. He then wrote the Marti Noxon-produced Rabies, Lionsgate’s Down a Dark Hall, and Warner Bros.’ Blood on Snow, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. His spec Sea of Trees, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matthew McConaughey, premiered this year. Sparling wrote and directed Mercy, a thriller headed to Netflix later this year.

Cory Goodman sold his spec Lore to Warner Bros., and it now has an impressive array of producers attached, and Dwayne Johnson in the starring role. Since then, his star has been steadily on the rise as he works on Kung Fu for Baz Lurhmann, Hood for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Underworld Blood Wars. The Last Witch Hunter, another project of Goodman’s, was released last year.

Eli Jorne, who made the list after his spec On A Steel Horse I Ride caught the industry’s eye, was an executive producer and writer on Wilfred, previously a co-executive producer on Blunt Talk, and is the creator of the this fall’s Fox sitcom Son of Zorn starring Jason Sudeikis and executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

Eric Heisserer made the list after he was entrusted with two major horror franchises in 2011, penning both the latest Final Destination as well as the prequel to John Carpenter’s iconic creature feature The Thing. He was brought on to pen Universal’s Bird Box and sold his next spec Understand to 21 Laps, before signing on to write Bloodshot for Sony. Heisserer adapted Ted Chaing’s Story of Your Life into the Amy Adams-starring Arrival, which is set to hit theaters this fall.

Evan Daugherty made the list when his spec Shrapnel caught the town’s attention, but really burst on the scene with Snow White And The Huntsman. A couple months later, he was recruited to write the big screen adaptation of the YA novel Divergent, which grossed nearly three hundred million at the international box office. And that’s chump change compared to the earnings of his other major release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Next, he’ll make his feature directorial debut with Ink and Bone, working off the script he rewrote from 2012 Young & Hungry writer Zak Olkewicz, and has worked on G.I. Joe 3 and the next installment of Tomb Raider. Daugherty is an executive producer on the Hulu series Myst based on the classic game.

Gary Spinelli, who made the list with his Last Dying Breath, has American Made – formerly known as Mena – due out in 2017, executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and starring Tom Cruise and Domhnall Gleeson.

Graham Roland, who was making waves as a staff writer on Fringe and Lost when he landed on the 2011 Young & Hungry List, went on to write for Almost Human and The Returned. He’s also an executive producer on the television series Jack Ryan, based on the classic Tom Clancy character. His script Mile 22 will hit screens with Mark Wahlberg and Ronda Rousey next year.

J.C. Chandor made it onto the list when his script Margin Call became one of the most talked about in Hollywood. Margin Call became an Oscar-nominated film starring Kevin Spacey and Penn Badgley. He has gone on to make All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year, and worked on the script for Peter Berg’s upcoming Deepwater Horizon. Chandor is set to direct The Liar’s Ball for A24.

J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay didn’t wait long to break out. Around the time they were recognized by the list in 2011, they were hired by Paramount and 21 Laps to write the big screen adaptation of The Deadliest Warrior, inspired by Spike’s unscripted series of the same name. Later that year, they were tapped to write Bad Robot’s adaptation of the graphic novel Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel. They most recently worked on the script for Temple Hill’s Goliath and are currently tackling adapting the comic Hellfire for Fox and Bryan Singer.

Jay Basu, who made the list with Merlin, wrote Fast Girls starring Lily James. He also wrote The Dinosaur Project which Sid Bennett is directing. Merlin is set up at Working Title Films. He’s working on Dante’s Inferno at Electronic Arts, a feature adaptation of their bestselling video game of the same name.

Jeremiah Friedman, who made the list with Family Getaway, was subsequently hired to write The Karate Kid 2 and is adapting The Bodyguard for Lin Pictures. He also has Alpha Squad Seven set up at Dreamworks starring Dwayne Johnson. Friedman is working on the script for Secretaries Day for director Will Gluck.

Max Landis has been a busy boy since he made the list with his soon-to-be-classic superhero tale Chronicle. He’s been attached to a slew of projects, including the Ron Howard-directed Amnesty, Columbia and Mosaic-produced Houdini, and Mr. Right, starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell. He wrote, directed and produced Me Him Her with Big Beach Films. Last year saw the release of the Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart-starring American Ultra and Victor Frankenstein. This year, Landis scored a massive payday from Netflix for his script Bright, which will star Will Smith and be directed by David Ayer.

Nathan Parker, screenwriter of the 2009 sci-fi hit Moon, continued his hot streak with the action thriller Blitz and the short Remember Alice Bell? Parker’s futuristic love story Equals, directed by Drake Doremus and starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult, was released last year. Parker worked on the script for the horror remake Our House which recently wrapped.

Oren Uziel sold his spec The Kitchen Sink to Sony the year he made the list, and the project has since attracted an impressive array of talent, including Joan Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, Denis Leary, and Patton Oswalt. Uziel was also part of the team that penned 22 Jump Street. He next turned his attention toward two more beloved franchises in Mortal Kombat and Men in Black 4. Uziel recently wrapped on Shimmer Lake, from script he wrote, and worked on the rewrite of J.J. Abrams’ God Particle.

T.S. Nowlin sold his second spec Wild Guns just prior to making the list. He would next sell his pitch for Agent 13 to Universal, and would then be counted among the writers on The Maze Runner. His great work on the first adaptation won him the job to adapt its sequels The Scorch Trials (which premiered last year) and The Death Cure, due out in 2017. Nowlin worked on the most recent draft of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim: Maelstrom.

These are just a few of the remarkable success stories from the 2011 Young & Hungry List writers. We’re consistently amazed by the stunning showcase of talent that makes up our list year after year. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the 2012 Young & Hungry List writers–where they’ve been and where they are now. And be sure to check back next Monday for the reveal of the 2016 Young & Hungry List!