AMPAS picks 7 scribes for Nicholl fellowships

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected seven scribes for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, which comes along with a $30,000 prize.Listed alphabetically, they are: -- Chris Bessounian and Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, "Guns and Saris" -- Dion Cook, Altus, Okla., "Cutter" -- John MacInnes, Los Angeles, "Outside the Wire" -- Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., "Unicorn" -- Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., "The Tiger's Child"Winners, selected from a record 6,730 scripts submitted, will be presented with the first installments of the fellowship money at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 3. They receive the fellowships with the understanding that they'll complete a feature-length screenplay during the year.Past winners include Jason Micallef ("Butter"), Ehren Kruger ("Transformers: Dark of the Moon") and Andrew W. Marlowe, who created and executive produces ABC's "Castle." Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com