Richie Siegel: Last News

The Inevitable Foundation has launched the Elevate Collective, a multi-tiered program created to support the careers of mid- and upper-level disabled screenwriters.

The Inevitable Foundation has revealed the winners of its Starz #TakeTheLead Elevate Collective Grants and the Winter 2024 Elevate Cohort, both of which support disabled TV writers to level up their careers.

Launched in 2021, the Inevitable Foundation is a non-profit that invests in disabled writers and filmmakers so they can achieve artistic and financial freedom and use film and television to destigmatize disability and mental health globally. The organization announced the selection of Jenn Lloyd, Marc Muszynski, and Sheridan O’Donnell as its 2023 Accelerate Fellows. 

Paul Plunkett The entertainment industry can be brutal and punishing even during the best of times, let alone amid disruptive WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But it’s even tougher for those with disabilities.While there have been highly publicized donations to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation from superstars such as Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey and other A-listers to help their fellow union members through this challenging time, philanthropic organizations such as the Inevitable Foundation, launched in 2021, have stepped up while keeping their focus on their mission, helping writers with disabilities. “The higher up you get up in the industry, the less representation there is offscreen,” says Richie Siegel, the organization’s co-founder and president, noting that America’s largest minority group, the disabled, is the least visible.

Inevitable Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disabled screenwriters reach their full commercial and creative potential, has selected its Spring 2023 Elevate Collective Award winners.

WME is teaming with Inevitable Foundation, the non-profit helping disabled screenwriters to reach their full commercial and creative potential, on a new initiative to empower them.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor The Inevitable Foundation, an organization which helps disabled screenwriters reach their full commercial and creative potential, has released an open letter to the entertainment industry asking producers to hire disabled creatives for their film and television projects. Written by the organization’s co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska, the letter is signed by creatives including Marlee Matlin, “CODA” director Sian Heder, “A Quiet Place” star Millicent Simonds and “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Krista Vernoff. In the letter, the foundation is offering several solutions to the issue of disabled screenwriters often not getting jobs writing about disabled characters but rather being hired as low-paid diversity consultants.

Sasha Urban editorInevitable Foundation, a non-profit for mid-career disabled screenwriters, announced that its fellows for the spring of 2022 will be Sam Dunnewold and Anton Ray. Each of them will receive a $40,000 grant and 12 months of individualized mentorship, workshops and networking opportunities with major players in the entertainment industry.The two of them will join fall 2021 fellows Shaina Ghuraya, Greg Machlin and Aoife Baker, as well as spring 2021 fellows Shani Am Moore and Kalen Feeney.“We are thrilled to welcome Sam and Anton into the program.

Naman Ramachandran Hollywood’s continuing efforts to embrace diversity and inclusion has received a significant boost with the launch of the Inevitable Foundation, whose mission is to fund and mentor the next generation of disabled screenwriters.The outfit is founded by Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska, both with personal connections to physical and developmental disabilities.