Samy Burch is an American

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. ...

. She is known for writing ''

May December ''May December'' is a 2023 American dark comedy film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. Loosely inspired by Mary Kay Letourneau, it stars Natalie Portman as an actress who trav ...

'' (2023), which was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Awards, Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Be ...

Early life and education

Burch was raised in West Los Angeles and attended the

Archer School for Girls The Archer School for Girls is an independent, college preparatory girls' school, grades 6–12, located in West Los Angeles, California, United States. Archer currently enrolls 490 students from 79 different zip codes and 141 feeder schools. His ...

. She was exposed to the film industry at an early age through her parents; her mother worked in film casting while her father worked in film development. Her sister is singer

Molly Burch Molly Burch (born October 23, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Based in Austin, Texas, her music often reflects themes of heartbreak and loss. She is the lead vocalist and writer. Burch studied jazz vocal performance at UNC Asheville and ...

. In 2009, Burch graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a bachelor's degree in Dramatic Writing.

Career

Early in her career, Burch worked in casting, writing audition materials for actors. She also wrote and directed a series of short films with her now-husband, Alex Mechanik. Burch completed the screenplay for ''

'', her first feature film, in 2019. The script was inspired by recollections of the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft * ''Ta ...

culture of her youth, particularly the case of Mary Kay Letourneau. Director Todd Haynes first read the script in 2020 and the completed film premiered on May 20, 2023, at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Burch wrote the screenplay for the Warner Bros. family comedy movie '' Coyote vs. Acme'', based on a 1990 Ian Frazier humor piece that first appeared in '' The New Yorker''. It was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in November 2023, who reversed its decision a week later after public backlash, but in February 2024, was expected to be deleted and claimed as a tax write-off. On March 10, 2024, Burch told IndieWire at the 2024 Academy Awards that the film may still be released and conversations are still ongoing.

Personal life

In 2023, Burch married Alex Mechanik, with whom she developed the story for ''May December''. The pair met while studying film at NYU and currently reside in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , title = Awards for Samy Burch , list = {{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay {{Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay {{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay {{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay American screenwriters Tisch School of the Arts alumni Filmmakers from California People from Los Angeles American casting directors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people