Growing up in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district in the 70s, Scott Benton lived in a commune at the center of the Free Love Movement, thinking that the world was one big counter-culture, until his mom decided to get a PhD at Stanford. His world went suddenly from hippies and ne’er- do-wells to academics, changing his own future along the way. He has been writing and making Super-8 films since childhood and has worked in the entertainment industry since 1991. Scott never forgot his roots and is still the idealist he was as a kid, trying to build a better world, even if it’s only on the screen. He submitted a black comedy called The Elephant to the Fellowship.
Before applying to the Fellowship, Chandus Jackson lived in Allentown, Pennsylvania and held various careers, including finance manager, investment banker and army captain. He has been writing all his life but began developing screenplays in 1999. Chandus enjoys creating magic through storytelling and loves having people connect with his writing. His screenplays have garnered top finishes in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, Screenwriting Expo contest, and the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. Chandus has a BBA in Finance from Howard University, an MS in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan, all of which adds up to being a screenwriter somehow! He submitted a political thriller titled Rendered to the Fellowship.
Jennifer Lewey says it all began in second grade when her classmates enjoyed a quirky story she wrote for an assignment. Her teacher kept it for the school's library, and since then she has not put her pencil down. A native of Chicago, she graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.S. in Marketing. In January 2006 she was honored by the Nevada Film Office, Lt. Governor Hunt of Nevada, and Women in Film for her screenplays. Before Midnight, her Disney Fellowship submission, won first place in the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition in 2005, and another script of hers, Uninvited T.R.O.U.B.L.E., won second. In the competition's 18-year history, no other writer has ever won both first and second place in the same year. Jennifer loves all genres but enjoys writing comedy and romantic comedy. In her spare time she also draws and is looking forward to the great weather in California and going to Disneyland.
As a child, Milton Liu made mix tapes that he envisioned as the soundtrack for his films. He chose to follow a career in finance instead of film but stayed close to filmmaking by helping a friend produce several shorts. He began writing about three years ago, and his first script, John Hughes Ruined My Life, which he submitted to the Fellowship, won the Screenplay Award at Tribeca Film Festival in 2006. Milton enjoys writing romantic comedies but has ideas for horror, thriller, family, and action dramas because the iPod in his head is always on shuffle. A Kansas City native who grew up in Chicago, Milton says it’s going to be hard to watch the Bears play at 10 AM on Sundays, but looks forward to the relaxed attitude in California and using the pool at his new apartment.