Every Member of Margot Robbie and Christina Hodson’s All-Women Screenwriting Lab Has Sold a Feature Film

An inaugural screenwriting lab co-founded by Margot Robbie, designed to help women writers break into the action and franchise film market, has seen a stunning 100% sales return on six original pitches.

Each of the six women writers in the room marked their first major sale following the workshop, all in the action or genre arena and all with commitments for distribution. It’s not only a win for representation in a male-dominated space, it’s a victory for feature film sales at a time when coronavirus has plunged the theatrical market into chaos.

The program is titled The Lucky Exports Pitch Program, and was created by Christina Hodson and Morgan Howell of Hodson Exports and Robbie, Josey McNamara, and Tom Ackerley of LuckyChap Entertainment. The six writers include Sue Chung, Charmaine DeGraté, Eileen Jones, Faith Liu, Dagny Looper, and Maria Sten. .

The writers room was a monthlong process that kicked off in November 2019. Starting in most cases with no more than a logline or title, the writers worked together with guidance from their patrons and guest speakers to help break story and develop pitches for their original action ideas.

Almost all projects were sold in a week-long roadshow to major buyers across the industry. Hodson Exports and LuckyChap Entertainment are attached to produce each project.

Sue Chung (The Red Line, The Brave, Marvel’s Agent Carter): SANCTUARY has been acquired for distribution by Universal. The feature is a gritty action thriller with an immigration story at the center. Chung is represented by Aaron Kaplan and Lindsay Perraud / Kaplan Perrone.

Charmaine DeGraté (House of the Dragon, Daisy Jones & The Six, The 100): PROTÉGÉ is a lethal spy games ensemble thriller, which is in negotiations with Thunder Road. DeGraté is represented by Josh Goldenberg / Kaplan Perrone.

Eileen Jones (Prodigal Son, Lethal Weapon): HIGHWAYMAN is in development as a feature at New Line. The film is a high-octane western at the height of the California Gold Rush. Jones is represented by David Boxerbaum / Verve.

Faith Liu (Writer’s Assistant on Warrior): GRINDERS is a teen slasher centered around a group of bio-hacking college kids. The feature is in development and has been acquired for distribution by Sony with development by Blumhouse. Liu is represented by Nicky Mohebbi / Verve.

Dagny Looper (See, Brave New World, Strange Angel): HIJACKED is in development as a feature at Warner Bros. The film is an action rom-com about a cruise ship wedding gone wrong. Looper is represented by Amar Hansen / Anonymous and Michael Chung / Verve.

Maria Sten (Big Sky): LEGACY is now being developed as a television series. LEGACY is a high- concept heist drama set in the criminal underbelly of New Orleans. Sten is represented by Grandview.

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