Doug Atchison is an American

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He received the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

Nicholl Fellowship The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a fellowship program founded in 1986 to aid screenwriters. It is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. History Gee Nicholl, widow of producer Don Nicholl, worked wi ...

for the screenplay for '' Akeelah and the Bee'', which Atchison directed as a film in 2006. After winning the Nicholl Fellowship, former

ICM ICM may refer to: Organizations * Irish Church Missions * Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière, a research center * Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling, University of Warsaw * International Confederatio ...

superagent Lou Pitt guided Atchison's screenplay into production in partnership with

Lions Gate Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

and

2929 Entertainment 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment devel ...

. '' Akeelah and the Bee'' went on to become a critical and modest commercial success for which Atchison won the 2007

Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Writing in a Feature Film/TV Movie. In 2006, Atchison entered into a three-picture deal with

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prio ...

. It was reported in 2012 that Atchison is attached to direct a movie about the hockey player

Derek Sanderson Derek Michael Sanderson (born June 16, 1946), nicknamed "Turk", is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and two-time Stanley Cup champion who helped transform the culture of the professional athlete in the 1970s era. The two-time S ...

. Atchison wrote the screenplay for the 2018 feature film '' Brian Banks'' for which he won the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

in the Independent Feature Film Category and for which Atchison was nominated for the 2020

for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Film). Atchison graduated from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

's School of Cinema-Television.

Filmography

*''Ellen's Father'' (short) (1990) - director, writer *'' The Pornographer'' (1999) - director, writer *'' Akeelah and the Bee'' (2006) - director, writer *'' Spinning into Butter'' (2007) - writer *'' Brian Banks'' (2018) - writer

References

External links

* American male screenwriters American film directors USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Living people 1966 births {{US-film-bio-stub