Work one-on-one with an executive at mutually agreed upon times around your schedule. To start, you'll have a 15-minute strategy call with your executive to get the lay of the land for the month. Then, you’ll have email access to your executive throughout, plus four one-hour story notes sessions. Work on a single screenplay or multiple scripts plus get additional notes on your pitch, brand strategy, and career advice - work your mentorship to its fullest potential!
I love to hear a nibble of inspiration -- did you get into a fight with your girlfriend as you arrived at her parents' house for the first time? I want to know what the tone of the movie is going to be in how you deliver your pitch. Is it funny? I want to laugh! Is it suspenseful? I want to guess what's coming next. No matter what, I want to leave the pitch able to explain the big picture concept to a fellow executive or a director. The final cherry on top is getting a taste of the details that are going to make the story sing. If you can help a producer zero in on one small, delicious, detail-- a baby being nursed mid-interrogation, or a character's catchphrase--the more likely they are to keep thinking about your project.
I love grounded stories that get at something universal. Beyond characters that feel real, almost ripped from a documentary or your corner store, I love a story with true heart. I welcome the irreverent, and the earnest, and have no issue if things get heavy, as long as we're looking for the light in the dark. I am most interested in developing and producing stories that lend themselves to feature format. I like closure. That being said, I have a background in limited series development, and love to find whatever form best fits a story.
My favorite stories to develop are those making their own path to production. Be it a first feature that is shootable at a micro-budget, or an inspired premise that is well-executed. Anything that opens a viewer up to a new community -- skateboarding teens a la SKATE KITCHEN, marching band members via DRUMLINE, or the motel subculture in THE FLORIDA PROJECT. I especially love working with writer/directors and helping them see their creativity through to production.
Favorite movies include, but are not limited to: JUNO, THE BIG CHILL, THE DAYTRIPPERS, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, LITTLE WOMEN (2019), EMMA (2020), A SIMPLE FAVOR, ERIN BROKOVICH, HEARTBURN, THE LAST DUEL, DAZED AND CONFUSED, BARBARIAN, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD. What are yours?
Stories of women's heavy trauma: domestic abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping. Gratuitous violence, heavy drug use and addiction. And I am sorry to say, action movies are not my jam.
Annie Winerip spent five years as a development executive at Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, from the inception of their Amazon first-look deal. She helped shepherd and develop projects such as HBO Max’s LOVE AND DEATH/THE UNDOING, Apple’s ROAR, Hulu’s NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, and Lulu Wang’s EXPATS at Amazon. Annie has on set TV experience on BIG LITTLE LIES S2, LOVE AND DEATH and EXPATS.
Annie has experience in the full books to film process: scouting and optioning material, working with authors, and helping screenwriters through adaptation development. Annie loves breaking down structure, talking character, developing shootable projects, imbuing intention in every scene and helping collaborators find their own stories. If those stories include specificity, interesting relationships, tension, heart, and universal themes, she’s doubly happy.
In the past year, Annie has started to produce independently. She currently has a short she wrote/directed/produced in post-production and is developing a feature with a first-time filmmaker. Annie runs a small magazine called STREET PARKING and recently contract edited and wrote for FLAUNT Magazine.
Private Month Mentorship
Each month mentorship kicks off with a preliminary 15-min. call to set expectations and lay out strategy for the month. Writer will have email access to the executive plus 4x one-hour consultations with the exec. Exec will read up to 4 scripts in one month (different drafts of the same script or 4 different scripts) and conduct 4x one-hour story notes calls. Calls can also include feedback on your pitch, branding, or career strategy.
If you pay with the deposit/payment plan, your second half will be due the 2nd week of the Mentorship. If you need a different type of payment plan, email dorian@roadmapwriters.com.
**Please note feature screenplays are limited to 120 pages maximum. Please contact terra@roadmapwriters.com for pricing on a Month Mentorship on screenplays exceeding 120 pages.
What To Expect
After registering, you will receive an automatic Order Confirmation email. Then Roadmap's Director of Consultations, Terra Joy, will get your mentor looped in with you! If you do not hear from Terra or the exec within 3 days of registering, feel free to email terra@roadmapwriters.com for an update.
Before starting your Month Mentorship, please ensure you are familiar with our Code of Conduct.