Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski Set To Receive Austin Film Festival’s Bill Wittliff Award For Screenwriting

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the famed writers, directors and producers who have thus far shard two Emmys, two PGA Awards, two WGA Awards, a USC Scripter Award and a Golden Globe, will add another prize to their mantels, having been tapped to receive the Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival.

First introduced in 1995 as a means of honoring leading storytellers in film, television and new media, the award takes its name from the two-time Emmy nominee and WGA Award winner known for his work on films like Legends of the Fall and series like Lonesome Dove. Past recipients include Buck Henry, Lawrence Kasdan, Frank Pierson, Nancy Meyers, Tony Gilroy and Scott Frank.

Best known for their mastery of the left-of-center biopic, Alexander and Karaszewski have together scripted such films as Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, Big Eyes and Dolemite Is My Name, also developing, scripting and exec producing the much-discussed award winner The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

The pair who met as freshman-year roommates at USC’s School of Cinema, selling their first screenplay a week after graduation, are also known for writing the hit Stephen King adaptation 1408 starring John Cusack, producing the Bob Crane biopic Auto Focus, and writing and directing the crime comedy Screwed. They have additionally written a number of family films — among them, Problem Child and its sequel, Agent Cody Banks and Goosebumps. 

The 30th edition of the Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference will take place this fall, from October 26 – November 2. Badges and passes can be purchased at this link.