ISA Staff Picks: January 2025

These screenplays and their writers were selected by ISA staff members as standouts in their genres and formats for the month of January, 2025. They are being submitted to agents, managers, producers and production companies actively looking for writers to rep or projects to produce. 

Staff Picks:

ELIZABETH KLEIN HAS NO FRIENDS by Emily Wahlund (Comedy, Feature)

Logline: When a woman is excluded from her best friend’s wedding party, she sets out to prove that she has other friends -- only to realize just how hard it is to both make friends and sustain them in her 30s.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Shayna Weber

Comments: ELIZABETH KLEIN HAS NO FRIENDS follows one woman's hilarious quest to rebuild her social circle in her thirties. Through Elizabeth's misadventures, the script captures the bittersweet reality of how friendships change with age. It's funny, honest, and refreshingly real about the struggle to maintain old relationships while fumbling through the awkward process of making new ones.

ISA Connection: Emily was invited onto the ISA Development Slate and selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards: 
Table Read My Screenplay - Grand Prize Winner

__________________________

CHRISTMAS WITH THE WEISSES by Alex Rubin (Feature)

Logline: CHRISTMAS WITH THE WEISSES is a holiday comedy in which the soon-to-be-thirty-year-old Shoshana flees her floundering life in New York City to spend a traditional Christmas… with her Jewish family. Her dreams of Chinese take-out around the Hanukkah bush are dashed when her father springs a new girlfriend on his adult children, upending their plans.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Molly Kasch

Comments: Finally, a movie that gets to the heart of what Jews on Christmas are feeling - we want to have some fun too! This is based on Alex’s personal experiences, and the authenticity shines through. This script masterfully weaves in religious traditions and rituals for both Jews and Christians that make it very relatable and provide great laughs. The characters and dialogue are a ton of fun, and the family dynamic is spot on. This script is very marketable in a holiday movie genre that is currently void of much religious diversity.

ISA Connection: Alex was invited onto the ISA Development Slate and selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards:
Emerging Screenwriters Family and Holiday Competition - Finalist
WIF/Black List Writing Labs
Stowe Story Labs

__________________________

BIG STICK by Linda MacPherson Davidson (Television, Thriller)

Logline: A disgraced Boston cop moves back to her California surf town and begins investigating a series of deaths linked to a former pro surfer who has been hypnotizing local students.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Felicity Wren

Comments: BIG STICK stood out to us in multiple ways. We've never read a surf noir procedural with a female protagonist, which feels like a fresh (and necessary) twist on the SoCal beach bum subgenre of mystery. There were so many enviable snippets of prose and dialogue. And it had such a great sense of place -- from the "surf ranch," to this small community that worships celebrity at all costs. Plenty is left hanging by the end of the episode, which sets up the season to come in a way that felt tantalizing (as opposed to frustrating). It also has megawatt mother/daughter roles alongside a diverse cast. All of these are components that indicate skill and, most importantly, voice.

ISA Connection: Linda was invited onto the ISA Development Slate after her Genre Win for Table Read My Screenplay. She was then selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards:
Austin Film Festival - 2nd Rounder
Table Read My Screenplay - Genre Winner
Page International - Finalist

__________________________

ALEX SAYS HE'S SORRY by Zachary Paul Brown (Feature)

Logline: After the world is abruptly saved from a life-ending comet, Alex must scour the city to find his boyfriend before he perishes with a doomsday cult that never got the memo.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Stephanie Schellerup

Comments: This script’s darkly fun premise effectively captures the post-COVID atmosphere without directly engaging with the realities of the pandemic, making it relatable, but not too topical. The comedic elements are consistently strong, and there are moments of genuine profundity woven into the irreverent humor. Overall, the tone and the brother-sister dynamic evoke the charm and humor of an extended episode of THE OTHER TWO, making this an exceedingly amusing existential romp.

ISA Connection: Zachary was a Story Farm Fellowship Finalist in 2024.

Awards:
Story Farm Fellowship - Finalist

__________________________

FINDING DISTANCE by Jodi Levitan (Drama, Young Adult, Sports, Feature)

Logline: As if adolescence wasn’t hard enough, one handed fifteen-year-old Alex McKenna struggles with school, with her relationship with her father and with her place in the social mix -until she finds the sport of competitive fencing.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Craig James

Comments: Even though this script has recently been optioned with an expected production in 2025, I couldn't resist adding it to this month's Staff Picks. It's always been one of my favorites since we helped produce the sizzle back in 2018. Check it out. AND, a HUGE CONGRATS Jodi on your drive and determination! I can't wait to see the feature on the big screen. :)

One cannot help but admire a writer who pours their heart into their work. Jodi’s feature screenplay, FINDING DISTANCE, is a testament to her dedication. It tells the compelling story of a young girl striving to overcome her disability, bullying, and the trials of being raised by a single parent, all while trying to discover herself and form genuine friendships. The emotional depth of this narrative tugs at the heartstrings and showcases the talent of a truly gifted writer.

ISA Connection: Jodi was discovered through the Emerging Screenwriters Shoot Your Sizzle Screenplay Competition as the Grand Prize Winner. She was then invited onto the ISA Development Slate and selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards: 
Emerging Screenwriters Shoot Your Sizzle - Grand Prize Winner
American Zoetrope – Top 10%
Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition – 2nd Rounder

Interested in reading any of these projects?
Please email Felicity@NetworkISA.org.

To request the screenplay via the ISA platform, you must be an ISA-vetted Industry Pro. Please apply here in your profile.

To be considered for our monthly ISA Staff Picks, please complete your profiles, add your projects, post your success stories, apply to writing gigs, fellowships, contests and the ISA Diversity Initiative. You don't need to apply to all resources, you just need to be proactive as we are actively scanning the entire ISA platform for our next month's picks.