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Nicholl Shake-Up, Rogen Directs Scorsese, and Lost World's Supreme CGI

Author

Ryan Koo
March 31, 2025

Nicholl Shake-Up, Rogen Directs Scorsese, and Lost World's Supreme CGI

Hey Filmmakers,

It’s March 31st, which means we’ve officially entered that weird spring stretch where everything feels like it’s in limbo. However, it’s the perfect time to shake off that winter procrastination and take advantage of those summer ambitions.

This week’s main feature takes aim at the Nicholl Fellowship, whose submission policy changes might have a large and lasting effect on aspiring screenwriters. Also in the lineup—Seth Rogen nervously directs Scorsese (yes, really), The Lost World’s 30-year-old CGI still blows modern CGI out of the water, the importance (and meaning behind) long-takes in The Studio, and are “Stay In LA” filmmaking initiatives working?

Scroll down, settle in, and enjoy!

🖌️ Screenwriting

Nicholl Fellowship CREDIT: Nicholl Fellowship

So, the Nicholl Fellowship—the holy grail of screenwriting contests—just made a move that has gotten screenwriters nervous. Instead of accepting open submissions directly, Nicholl will now work solely with select universities, screenwriting labs, and filmmaker programs worldwide. These partners will pre-screen scripts and nominate the strongest ones for the fellowship. Essentially, Nicholl is outsourcing its first round reads to those in its new partner program.

What does this mean for you? Read on to find out.

🗞️ Quick Reads for Screenwriting

• Read and Download All the 'Final Destination' Screenplays - Dive into the scripts of 'Final Destination' to see how suspense and inevitability shape unforgettable horror.

• The Burden of Packaging and Development Has Fallen Solely on Writers And Hollywood is Worse For It - Uncover the pressures filmmakers face when their creative vision becomes overshadowed by industry packaging.

✂️ Editing

Turns out, 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park still dunks on modern CGI-heavy blockbusters. And this isn’t about nostalgia. A VFX breakdown shows how Spielberg’s team actually made dinosaurs feel real by mixing practical effects with CGI instead of letting a computer paint the whole screen like a cartoon.

Dive in to see why a 30-year-old T-Rex still looks better than half the stuff streaming today.

🗞️ Quick Reads for Editing

• Innie, Outie, and Everything In Between: 'Severance' Editor Explains It All - Discover the editing secrets behind the eerie and captivating rhythm of Apple's 'Severance'.

🎬 Directing

'The Studio' CREDIT: Apple TV+

Imagine directing Martin Scorsese—and doing so for a show about Hollywood. That's the insane reality behind the scenes of The Studio, Apple’s new Hollywood satire that somehow manages to be both sharp and ridiculous (on purpose).

Rogen spills on the bizarre pressure of giving notes to a living legend, hiding backup cameras just in case, and freaking out while pretending to play it cool. It’s awkward, hilarious, and weirdly touching—in the way only Seth Rogen panicking about Scorsese could be.

🗞️ Quick Reads for Directing

• How SXSW Doc 'La 42' Captured the Authenticity of Art in Community - Explore how the documentary 'LA 42' beautifully portrayed genuine artistic community connections.

📽️ Cinematogrpahy

Shooting an entire episode as a oner? Bold. Doing it to prove your cinematic qualifications to make a show about Hollywood? Ballsy. That’s exactly what Seth Rogen and crew are pulling off in The Studio. Armed with a single lens and zero chill, they’ve crafted a show that’s as much about chaos behind the camera as it is in front of it. Think Altman vibes with a panic attack edge. The 21mm lens? Basically the new co-star.

🎙️ Podcast

Is production really coming back to Hollywood—or are international incentives just too good? This episode of the No Film School podcast digs into the state of production in LA as filmmakers chase tax breaks in Canada, Texas, or… wherever the incentives are shiny. Plus, a killer roundtable with Sundance cinematographers who share how they actually land gigs, what it’s like to shoot under pressure (or during actual wars), and why low-budget chaos might just be the best creative training ground out there. If you want to hear what real working DPs actually deal with, this one’s worth a listen.

📚 Recommended Reads:

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