Nancy Nigrosh

Nancy Nigrosh is a former talent agent and literary agent at Innovative Artists, a Hollywood agency.

Education

She earned her BFA in Film, Television, and Media studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she studied screenwriting with Academy Award nominee Terry Southern ( Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider) and Golden Globe nominee Mardik Martin (New York, New York; Raging Bull). During her senior year, she was a script supervisor for the New York location shooting of Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets. She received her MFA in Film, Television and Media Studies from UCLA in the screenwriting program. Some of her dramatic mentors at UCLA included Academy Award nominee James Toback (Bugsy) and Golden Globe nominee Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver).

Career

In the 1980's, as Nancy Blaylock (as she was then known) created and built the "lit" department as a literary agent at the Gersh Agency, Nigrosh mainly represented writers for film and television and also a number of writers/directors, including Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to earn an Academy Award for directing in 2010.

In 2008 as a "parting shot" looking back on her two and half decades as a literary agent, she wrote an article called The Lone Screenwriter for Daily Variety about the film industry's practice of employing multiple screenwriters for a single film.

At Gersh, Nigrosh represented Academy Award winners such as director Gabriella Cristiani (The Last Emperor), writer/director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg (On The Waterfront), frequent Hitchcock collaborator Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest, The Sound of Music) and Barry Morrow (Rain Man). Morrow also won an Emmy for writing Bill about his personal experience as a lifelong advocate of persons with disabilities.

There were also Academy Award nominees, Reidar Jonsson (My Life As A Dog) and Richard Boyle (Salvador). She was just as active in representing television writers such as Emmy Award winning SNL writers Rosie Shuster, Deanne Stillman and Anne Beatts. Beatts and Stillman later created the hit show, Square Pegs; Emmy nominees Georgia Jeffries and Ann Donahue (China Beach). Donahue later went on to become an Emmy winner for CSI; Emmy nominees Debra Frank and Carl Sautter wrote Moonlighting epsiodes. Burt Prelutsky was awarded the Humanitas Prize for his M*A*S*H episodes.

Some of her clients’ work was groundbreaking; such as African American playwright and screenwriter Richard Wesley frequent collaborations with Sidney Poitier from the pioneering Uptown Saturday Night ‘s portrait of Harlem to Showtime’s Mandela and De Klerk. Screenwriter Natalie Cooper adapted Jane Rule’s gay love story, Desert Hearts, into the first mainstream dramatization of the coming out experience. Barry Morrow’s unforgettable portrait of mega savant Kim Peek also gave Hollywood’s first look at an autistic adult.

Nigrosh represented frequent Robert Altman collaborator, Frank Barhydt (Kansas City, Short Cuts). Kathleen Rowell adapted S. E. Hinton’s classic novel directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Outsiders. Rospo Pallenberg who frequently collaborated with John Boorman (Deliverance), wrote historical epics including Excalibur.

Not all were recognized with prestigious awards, but by the popularity of their work made in targeted impact - such as the film Beaches written by her client Mary Agnes Donoghue and Don Jakoby’s Blue Thunder. Bill Phillips frequently collaborated with John Carpenter resulting in his adaptation of the Stephen King novel, Christine. Phillips also adapted Stephen King’s Firestarter while Christopher Wood penned Bond sequels, Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me. Writer/director Al Magnoli’s collaboration with Prince resulted in Purple Rain. Action scribes David Lee Henry wrote Roadhouse and (as alias R. Lance Hill) Out For Justice, Alex Lasker wrote Firefox. Rex Weiner wrote the over-hyped fantasy, Ford Fairlaine; Don Michael Paul wrote the campy Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man. Larry B. Williams wrote the teenage wish come true, Space Camp. William Gray wrote the chilling Philadelphia Experiment and Prom Night.

Nigrosh was a champion of both Nicole Holofcener (Lovely and Amazing) and Kathryn Bigelow for many years early in their careers. She worked with novelists such as Gina Berriault whose book, The Stone Boy, was made into a film that starred Glenn Close and Robert Duvall. Denne Bart Petitclerc won a Writers Guild Award for his personal memoir of Ernest Hemingway's, Islands In The Stream. Richard Maxwell (The Equals) adapted Wade Davis’s bestselling novel, The Serpent And The Rainbow. Ken Hixon (Inventing the Abbots, Welcome to the Rileys) went from acting to writing when Nigrosh sold his “spec” script Grandview USA. Grandview had the distinction of being the first film to have it’s own rock video on MTV. Grandview’s star Patrick Swayze wrote an original song for the film, She’s Like The Wind, that became a perennial hit for many years after.

In 1993, Nigrosh retired from agenting to devote herself to her family, splitting her time between New York and New Hampshire. Then in 1998 she returned to Los Angeles with her young daughter, and was invited to join Innovative Artists’ Literary Department.

At Innovative, She signed a then unknown Australian screenwriter, Stuart Beattie. Beattie had written Joey, a family film about a young boy who saves a baby kangaroo. Nigrosh recognized an ability to create a compelling hero. She asked Beattie to write two “spec” scripts. The first one, Lords of The Sea, was a smart portrait of the world of contemporary, high seas piracy. The script did not sell, but attracted many fans. Nigrosh brought Beattie to the attention of Disney where a development project important to the studio’s then Chairman, Dick Cook, was languishing. Cook had risen through the studio’s ranks having started as a Disneyland park host a on the ride, Pirates of The Caribbean. Nigrosh reminded Brigham Taylor, the Disney executive charged with finding a writer to adapt Pirates, about Beattie, whose spec about present day piracy, he had admired. Beattie was hired to write a new version of the project. Dick Cook liked what he read and enlisted Jerry Bruckheimer to produce. Bruckheimer promptly enlisted Gore Verbinski to direct and attracted Johnny Depp’s interest in anticipation for when the film would be ready to shoot. Later Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for his iconic performance as Jack Sparrow. The other spec script was [[Collateral_(film)|Collateral]], a few years later successfully acquired by DreamWorks. The film was directed by Michael Mann and starred Tom Cruise. Jamie Foxx, who also starred, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In the ‘80’s Nigrosh had admired playwright William Mastrosimone’s work, Extremities. Now a client, Mastrosimone’s play, Bang Bang You’re Dead was produced as a Showtime event and won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Next Spielberg hired Mastrosimine to write TNT’s miniseries Into The West, earning him Emmy nomination. Academy Ward nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) and George Cosmatos (Rambo, Tombstone) became clients.

She had also long been an admirer of playwright Ernest Thompson, who won an Academy Award for On Golden Pond, and became his agent. Thompson directed the Emmy nominated Out of Time for Showtime and a live production for CBS of On Golden Pond that starred Julie Andrews and Robert Preston.

Mark Rydell, who directed both On Golden Pond and Beaches, also became Nigrosh’s client. Frequent Paul Mazursky collaborator Leon Capetanos (Fletch, Down and Out in Beverly Hills) had also been on Nigrosh’s wish list, and signed on with her.

Another “spec” sale became novelist/screenwriter (Turner and Hooch) Mark Spragg’s adaptation of his book, ''An Unfinished Life. The film was directed by Lasse Halstrom and starred Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez. She also represented the book Legally Blonde’s author, Amanda Brown and Chinese novelist Geling Yan Walker, whose book, The 13 Women of Nanjing, was directed in 2011 by Yimou Zhang. Filmmaker Susanna Styron adapted a short story of her father, William Styron, Shadrach. Australian author Luke Davies adaptation of his novel Candy was directed by acclaimed theater director Neil Armfield and starred Heath Ledger and Abby Cornish. She also represented Australian writer, Robert Caswell, who had written Cry In The Dark for which Meryl Streep had been nominated for Best Actress. Caswell won a WGA award for writing HBO’s acclaimed Something The Lord Made. Novelist Sabina Murray won a Spirit Award for writing The Beautiful Country produced by her mentor, Terry Malik. Nigrosh worked closely with sci fi novelist Whitley Streiber (Communion, Wolfen, The Hunger). Prolific Argentine writer Martin Salinas (''Gaby) wrote the Mexican film Nicotina that starred Diego Luna.

Michael D.Weiss became busy writing sequels for I Know What You Did Again Last Summer, The Butterfly Effect2, and Hostel 3.Writer Tricia Brock (Twin Peaks, Family Law) made the transition from to become a director with her first feature Killer Diller. She had first shot the film as a short that starred Colin Hanks and James Franco. Writer Joy Lusco Kecken (The Wire) followed suite by directing The Wire. Frequent Farrelly Brothers script collaborator Mike Cerrone (Me, Myself and Irene) directed his spoof script Homie Spumoni. Comedy maven David H. Steinberg American Pie 2, Slackers) adapted Puss In Boots for Dreamworks. Lee Ross and Pamela Cuming wrote, Downloading Nancy, premiering at Sundance and earning Maria Bello a Spirit Award nomination.

At Innovative Nigrosh became more and more involved in supporting and charting the careers of talent clients who were evolving into producing and directing. John Cameron Mitchell starred, wrote and directed Hedwig and The Angry Inch, winning a Golden Globe, Sundance Festival and Outfest directing awards. Next John Cameron Mitchell wrote and directed Shortbus, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Julie Delpy wrote Before Sunrise for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and WGA Award. Delpy also wrote, directed and starred in The Countess with William Hurt. Van Peebles had previously, directed New Jack City, then re-imagined his father, filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles', groundbreaking film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baddass Song" as Badass. Joan Chen directed the Spirit Award nominated Xiu_Xiu: The Sent Down Girl then the MGM tearjerker, Autumn in New York. Emmy winner Chad Lowe (Life Goes On) began directing television episodes (Law &Order: SVU). Sean Astin (Rudy, Lord of the Rings) formed a production company, as did Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) and Sammo Hung (Martial Law). She also represented Elizabeth Peña (Jacob’s Ladder, Off The Map).

Filmmaker and fellow Tisch alumnus Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals) became Nigrosh’s client. She recognized Eyre as a storyteller of characters that take place outside the reservation and started with Chris directing Friday Night Lights and Law and Order episodes; then in 2011 Eyre directed the independent film she had championed for him, A Year in Mooring.

Commitment to Education

In 2008, Nigrosh, deeply concerned by the need for reform in US education and based on her own personal experiences with her daughter’s challenging straits with the public school system, was determined to go back to graduate school and become qualified to teach. Her aim was to motivate high school students – particularly girl students - to stay in school and find the path to all forms of higher education. In 2011 she completed Antioch University’s Teaching Credential Program and earned her second Master’s degree with a Master of Arts in Education from Antioch University.

Over the years, she has been asked to guest lecture Screenwriting and Creative Producing undergraduate and graduate classes at Chapman University ‘s Dodge college of Film and Media Arts, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, and the Dartmouth College’s Department of Film and Media Arts. She also serves as a judge for UCLA’s Master’s Screenwriting program’s annual writing competition.

Personal Life

Nancy Nigrosh is married to Bruce Lewitt, director of Social Services for a nonprofit.

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References

External links

• Nancy Nigrosh at the Internet Movie Database
• Cheat Sheet - The Daily Beast

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