Soo Hugh is bringing Min Jin Lee’s work to the screen with her television adaptation of “Pachinko,” set to premiere in March. Now there’s word that Hugh will help other Asian Pacific stories come to life. She, alongside UCP, has established the Thousand Miles Project, an incubator designed to “develop creators who want to tell stories about the Asian Pacific diaspora,” The Hollywood Reporter confirms. Hugh signed an overall agreement with UCP last year to announce the initiative. Ria Tobaccowala (writer/director) is the program’s leader.
“I would love to see people apply to this program who were like me, who had no idea how to even take that first step,” said Hugh, who was in marketing and advertising before making the switch to TV. “We’ve created a program that is information-focused to expose people who don’t have that front-row seat yet to how the industry works. If we can just teach that first step from all these other people who have done it, they can figure out what path they want to take.”
Thousand Miles will host a two-day virtual workshop for up 20 participants on June 11th and June 18th. Through panels and lectures, writers, managers, agents, and other industry professionals will discuss the basics of TV writing. The workshop will conclude with participants submitting series concepts. Three of these concepts will be chosen for a 24-week paid pilot script development lab. Hugh and her staff will provide guidance and general meetings with producers.
“The goal is three shows made,” Hugh explained, emphasizing the importance of compensating the lab participants. “We wanted to choose a few projects we really believe in and give those writers a platform to say, ‘I am a paid writer.’ The key is to treat all three projects like legitimate studio projects.”
Hugh’s TV writing and producing credits include “The Terror,” “See,” and “Under the Dome.” “Pachinko,” on which she serves as showrunner, debuts March 25 on Apple TV+. Also among the projects on her slate are writing the new “Flight of the Navigators” for Disney and producing an Amazon pic penned by Lynn Nottage.
Applications for the Thousand Miles Project can be submitted February 1-March 31.Learn more.
Source: Women And Hollywood
