UCLA screenwriter Kelly Fullerton wins Sidney Sheldon Award

Kelly Fullerton, a graduate screenwriting student at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, has been named the recipient of this year's Sidney Sheldon Scholarship Award for Screenwriting.

 

The award was presented on June 6 by Robert Rosen, dean of the school, at UCLA's James Bridges Theater during an event featuring student film screenings from the UCLA Festival of New Creative Work.

 

Fullerton was recognized for "Always a Bridesmaid," a romantic comedy about a girl who is tired of standing in the shadow of her married friends and decides to throw herself the wedding of a lifetime — sans groom.

 

"I'm so grateful to the Sheldon family for this wonderful honor. Mr. Sheldon was an incredible storyteller," Fullerton said. "From stage to screen, scripts to novels, his writing was as diverse as his mediums. I'm so proud to be associated with his work and his legacy."

 

"Sidney Sheldon's success in the worlds of theater, film and television parallels our unique program integrating those three artistic disciplines," Rosen said. "We are deeply grateful for his generous gift establishing this award and to his family for maintaining it."

 

With the intention of encouraging young writers, the late Sidney Sheldon established the annual Sidney Sheldon Scholarship Award for Screenwriting and Playwriting Fund in 2004. In 2006, he donated his literary papers, one of the most coveted archives of the 20th century, to the UCLA Arts Library Special Collections. The size of that donation, which included the manuscripts for six Broadway plays, 25 film screenplays, more than 200 television scripts, 18 novels and a memoir, reflected the enormous scope of Sheldon's career.

 

As a screenwriter, Sheldon won an Oscar for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer." He also wrote the screenplays for "Easter Parade" and "Annie Get Your Gun." He won a Tony for the musical "Redhead" and created the television series "The Patty Duke Show," "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Hart to Hart." He sold more than 300 million copies of his novels and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the most translated author in the world."

 

Fullerton, a first-year M.F.A. screenwriter, earned her bachelor's degree in theater arts, with a dual emphasis in acting and directing, from the University of California, San Diego. A native of Southern California, she currently works for the Orange County Performing Arts Center and worked previously at the South Coast Repertory and the La Jolla Playhouse.

 

In addition to "Always a Bridesmaid," Fullerton has written the romantic comedies "29" and "Quality Start." As part of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's recently established showrunner concentration, she's created two television pilots, "Bliss" and "Maudlin." Her stage plays include "The Wick Effect" and "Parachutes."

 

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, consistently ranked among the nation's leading institutions, is unique in the world, bringing together the arts of theater, film and television in one academic institution. UCLA's reputation as an outstanding training ground for the theater, film and television professions and for critical scholarship is based on its long tradition of fostering creative growth, encouraging experimentation and ensuring artistic freedom. Many of the most respected names in the entertainment and communication arts and the world of scholarship are UCLA alumni.