Success Story: TJ Lynch
TJ Lynch fell in love with filmmaking at an early age and graduated with a degree in Film & Television Production from Montana State University. Upon graduation Lynch was the recipient of an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences "Student Emmy" for his thesis film. The Television Academy also selected Lynch to participate in a highly coveted film-editing internship at Warner Bros. Television.
In 1998 Lynch was the recipient of the Scriptwriters Network's Carl Sautter Memorial Scriptwriting Award for his script, The Beginning of Wisdom.
Lynch credited the competition with giving him a big leg up in the industry. "One of the biggest breaks of my career happened when The Beginning of Wisdom was declared the winner."
"Suddenly two agencies were vying to sign me." Lynch added, "One of the perks of entering the Carl Sautter was that the judges did anonymous coverage of the entered scripts. In fact, I got some very good feedback which helped me improve the script even further."
In 1999 the new-and-improved script garnered a second award when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences awarded Lynch a Nicholl Fellowship for The Beginning of Wisdom. The Nicholl is arguably the world's most prestigious scriptwriting competition. Each year five Fellowships are awarded out of thousands of entries from all over the globe. They are required to complete one feature-length screenplay during their Fellowship year.
The Nicholl Fellowship has been a springboard for several of the industry's most successful screenwriters. Notable Nicholl Fellows include Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, Charlotte's Web), Mike Rich (Finding Forrester, The Rookie), Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One, Hollow Man), Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, The Ring), Doug Atchison (Akeelah and the Bee) and Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging).
To fulfill his Fellowship obligation, Lynch wrote the screenplay that would become A Plumm Summer. The script is based on an actual incident that took place in his hometown of Billings, Montana, in which the puppet/mascot of the locally produced kiddies' show was kidnapped and held for ransom. A Plumm Summer stars Henry Winkler, William Baldwin, Brenda Strong, Lisa Guerrero, Peter Scolari, Rick Overton, with narration by Jeff Daniels. The film was produced independently by Fairplay Pictures, and should appear on the big screen in late summer 2007.
Montana has proven to be a wellspring of material for Lynch's writing. Its landscapes, its people and their stories are the inspiration for many of his screenplays. Lynch is a citizen of both the United States and Canada. At the moment he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Maggie, and their dog, Copper. But Montana will always be his home.