The locally shot Netflix movie “The Sleepover” won the children’s category during the 73rd annual Writers Guild of America Awards on Sunday.
Written by Sarah Rothschild, “The Sleepover,” is a family friendly action-comedy set in a small New England town. It follows two kids (Sadie Stanley and Maxwell Simkins) discovering their stay-at-home mom, Margot Finch (Malin Akerman), is a reformed thief enrolled in the witness protection program. When her unsavory past catches up with her, Mom is kidnapped and forced to pull one last job. The siblings – with their BFFs in tow – conspire to rescue her. Their high-octane adventure involves car chases, dangerous boating expeditions, breaking-and-entering and numerous twists and turns – all transpiring over the course of one night.
“The Sleepover” won the Children’s Episodic, Long Form and Specials category at Sunday’s virtual ceremony. Other nominees were “Countdown” (Nickelodeon); “Mo Willems And The Storytime All Stars Present: Don’t Let The Pigeon Do Storytime,” (HBO Max); “The Not Too Late Show with Elmo (HBO Max); “The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special,” (HBO Max) and “Speaking of Cancer” (Netflix).
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The Writers Guild of America is the union that represents more than 20,000 writers of Hollywood-made movies and TV shows. The annual awards honor the best writing in film, television, new media, news, radio, and promotional categories.
Actor Kal Penn hosted the show from his living room. Top honors went to writer-director Emerald Fennell for winning best original screenplay for “Promising Young Woman” and Sacha Baron Cohen in the best adapted screenplay category for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Best documentary screenplay went to the Jamal Khashoggi documentary “The Dissident,” written by director Bryan Fogel and Mark Monroe. Other awards included “Ted Lasso” for comedy series; “The Crown” for drama series; “The Great” for episodic comedy; and “Ozark” for episodic drama.
“The Sleepover” is full of familiar places. It was shot over seven-weeks in late summer/early fall 2019. Locations included Hanover High School, with a cameo by the school’s principal, Matthew Paquette; the Boch Center Wang Theatre, where a pivotal fight unfolds with Ackerman clad in pink-sequins and her tuxedoed co-star Joe Manganiello kicking butt in the theater’s opulent lobby; the Boston Children’s Museum; Museum of Fine Arts; a little-known underground MBTA training center; a cabin in the Hanson woods and a home in Scituate.Rothschild’s screenplay landed on the 2017 Black List, compiling the year’s best unproduced scripts. Trish Sie (“Pitch Perfect 3”) directs. Ken Marino plays Akerman’s milquetoast husband, who’s just learning of his wife’s sketchy past.
Rounding out the cast are the requisite villains played by Enuka Okuma and Harry Aspinwall, a graduate of Noble and Greenough School in Dedham and Brown University in Rhode Island.
At Hanover High School, Principal Paquette appears in an opening montage holding a serious meeting. The press notes call Paquette a “very cool dude” who “was so game that he let us put him in the movie.” A dance scene was also shot at the school – in the restroom. It features Maxwell performing “the worm” on a lavatory floor that was sterilized five times before the actor cut loose.
Netflix has kept the local film industry busy. The star-studded satire “Don’t Look Up,” which filmed in Brockton and Weymouth, wrapped filming Feb. 18. Adam Sandler’s “Hubie Halloween” shot on the North Shore in 2019 and the teen drama, “The Society,” was filmed in Scituate. The streaming giant also filmed Mark Wahlberg’s “Spenser Confidential” in Weymouth, as well as parts of season two of Spike Lee’s “She’ Gotta Have It” on Martha’s Vineyard.
The winners:
Screenplay
Original Screenplay: “Promising Young Woman,” written by Emerald Fennell
Adapted Screenplay: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern
Documentary Screenplay: “The Dissident,” written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel
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TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, AND NEWS
Drama Series: “The Crown,” written by Peter Morgan, Jonathan Wilson
Comedy Series: “Ted Lasso,” written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel
New Series: ”Ted Lasso,” written by Jane Becker, Leann Bowen, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel;
Original Long Form: “Mrs. America,” written by Tanya Barfield, Joshua Griffith, Sharon Hoffman, Boo Killebrew, Micah Schraft, April Shih, Dahvi Waller
Adapted Long Form: “The Queen’s Gambit,” written by Scott Frank, Allan Scott, Based on the novel by Walter Tevis
Original & Adapted Short Form New Media: “#FREERAYSHAWN,” written by Marc Maurino; Quibi
Animation: “Xerox of a Xerox” (BoJack Horseman), written by Nick Adams
Episodic Drama: “Fire Pink” (Ozark), written by Miki Johnson
Episodic Comedy: “The Great” (The Great), written by Tony McNamara
Comedy/Variety Talk Series: “Desus & Mero,” writers: Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Josh Gondelman, Robert Kornhauser, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Heben Nigatu, Mike Pielocik, Julia Young
Comedy/Variety Specials: “Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better 2020,” Head Writers: Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir Writers: Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, River Clegg, Aaron Cohen, Stephen T. Colbert, Nicole Conlan, Paul Dinello, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Michael Cruz Kayne, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Felipe Torres Medina, Opus Moreschi, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux, Steve Waltien; Showtime
Comedy/Variety Sketch Series: “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” writers: Jeremy Beiler, Cole Escola, Peter Grosz, Amy Sedaris
Quiz And Audience Participation: “Weakest Link,” Head Writer: Ann Slichter; Writers: Chip Dornell, Paul Greenberg, Joyce Ikemi, Stuart Krasnow, Jon Macks, Mona Mira, Scott Saltzburg, Aaron Solomon, Chris Sturgeon, Grant Taylor
Daytime Drama: “Days of Our Lives,” Head Writer: Ron Carlivati; Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, David Kreizman, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock, Elizabeth Snyder
Children’s Episodic, Long Form and Specials: “The Sleepover,” written by Sarah Rothschild
Documentary Script – Current Events: “Agents of Chaos, Part II,” written by Alex Gibney and Michael J. Palmer, HBO Documentary Films
Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events: “Opioids, Inc.” (Frontline), written by Tom Jennings, PBS
News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report: “Anger in America” (World News Tonight with David Muir); written by Dave Bloch, David Muir, Karen Mooney, David Schoetz, ABC News
News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary: “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming,” written by Dave Bloch; ABC News
Digital News: “The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd,” written by Aymann Ismail; Slate.com
RADIO/AUDIO
Radio Audio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report: “Changemakers: Leaders Who Made a Difference,” written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
Radio Audio News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary: “Against Those Thugs: Delores Tucker and Bill Bennett” (Slow Burn), written by Joel Anderson, Christopher Johnson; Slate Podcasts
PROMOTIONAL WRITING
On Air Promotion: “Get Out The Vote – Check Out Those Moves,” written by Meghana Reddy and Angad Bhalla; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
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Reach Dana Barbuto at [email protected]
