Thomas Duncan-Watt Explained

Thomas Duncan-Watt
Birth Place:Sydney, Australia
Nationality:Australian
Occupation:Screenwriter, playwright
Years Active:2012−present
Known For:Dennis & Gnasher
Pirate Express
Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding-Dong
Beat Bugs
Alien TV
Space Nova
Home and Away
Awards:Australian Screenwriters Guild Award
John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science Fiction Writing

Thomas Duncan-Watt is an Australian screenwriter and playwright.[1] He has won three AWGIE Awards[2] [3] [4] for his screenplays from five nominations.[5] [6] [7] His work on UK series Dennis & Gnasher earned the series its first BAFTA nomination.[8] [9] [10] In 2017, he was one of the mentors at the Arts/Screen Hackathon, along with Sarah Houbolt and others, which was organized by Australia Council for the Arts.[11] In 2021, he won the John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science Fiction Writing for his work on the series Space Nova.[12] In 2022 his original series The Eerie Chapters of Chhaya was announced as the winner of the Kindred co-production initiative between the ABC and CBC networks.[13]

Career

TV writing

Duncan-Watt began his career as a writer on Australian comedy series Good News Week.[14] His series credits include Dennis & Gnasher, Pirate Express, Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding-Dong,[15] Beat Bugs, Alien TV. In 2018, Duncan-Watt was brought on as one of the writers on sci-fi action series Space Nova,[16] for which he also wrote the pilot.[17] The series was subsequently nominated for two AWGIE Awards, with Duncan-Watt winning the award for his episode Ghost Station. In 2019, Duncan-Watt, and collaborator, Suren Perera won Best in Show[18] [19] at the Asian Animation Summit in Seoul for their 'original concept', Escape from Pirate Asylum.[20] [21] Duncan-Watt and Perera were also the first international winners of the Ottawa Animation Festival’s ‘Pitch THIS’ competition, for their original series, Owl & Cloud.[22] [23] [24]

Plays

Duncan-Watt is the co-creator of two comedy plays, Thank You For Being a Friend[25] [26] and That Golden Girls Show: A Puppet Parody,[27] [28] both of which use Muppets-style puppets to parody the 1980s television series The Golden Girls.[29] Thank You For Being a Friend toured Canada, where it won ‘Best Independent Theatre Production’ at the Broadway World Awards.[30] That Golden Girls Show: A Puppet Parody debuted in 2016 Off-Broadway. The show commenced a US tour in 2019.[31] [32]

Thank You For Being a Friend lawsuit

In 2016, Duncan-Watt, with the producers of the show Thank You For Being a Friend, Neil Gooding and Matthew Henderson, sued long-term collaborator Jonathan Rockefeller and his companies in New York state court over his puppet parody "That Golden Girls Show!"; alleged breaches of the license agreement, fraud, tortious interference with contract, defamation, other claims.[33] The complaint by Duncan-Watt and his producers claimed that Rockefeller "stole the show"; deprived them of royalties; and harassed them.[34] The suit was only partially dismissed in 2018 with presiding Judge Justice Andrea Masley allowing several complaints against Rockefeller to proceed.[33]

In a separate case in Australia filed in 2017, Rockefeller and his company sued Duncan-Watt for defamation. In 2020, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed Rockefeller's defamation claims.[35] [36] In his ruling, Justice Thomas Thawley concluded that the Gooding's post was not defamatory because it was "substantially true" that Rockefeller had stolen the show from Duncan-Watt.[35] [37] [38]

Awards and accolades

!Year!Award!By!For!Nomination/Won
2014British Academy Film AwardsThe British Academy of Film and Television ArtsDennis & Gnasher
2015AWGIE AwardsAustralian Writers' GuildPirate Express
2017AWGIE Award for Best ScreenplayAustralian Writers' GuildWinston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding-Dong
2017AWGIE Award for Best Screenplay, C- ClassificationAustralian Writers' GuildThe Deep
2018British Academy Film AwardsThe British Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe Deep
2019AWGIE Award for Best Screenplay, AnimationAustralian Writers' GuildBeat Bugs
2020AWGIE Award for Best Screenplay, AnimationAustralian Writers' GuildSpace Nova
2021John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science Fiction WritingAustralian Writers' GuildSpace Nova (s1, e11, "Ghost Station")[39]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thomas Duncan-Watt - The Screen Guide. 2021-06-12. Screen Australia.
  2. Web site: 2020-12-08. AWGIE wins for 'Hearts and Bones', 'Penguin Bloom', 'The Hunting', 'Total Control'. 2021-06-12. IF Magazine. en-AU.
  3. Web site: Groves. Don. 2019-07-12. Nominees for the 52nd annual AWGIE Awards announced. 2021-06-12. IF Magazine. en-AU.
  4. Web site: Maddox. Garry. 2017-08-25. Hacksaw Ridge and Lion win but Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife dominates Awgies. 2021-06-12. The Sydney Morning Herald. en.
  5. Web site: Mustangs FC, Beat Bugs Writers Win 2019 AWGIE Awards. 2021-06-12. The Australian Children's Television Foundation. en.
  6. Web site: Little J and Big Cuz, Mustangs FC, Space Nova Writers Receive AWGIE Awards. 2021-06-12. The Australian Children's Television Foundation. en.
  7. Web site: 2019 AWGIE Children's Nominees Announced. 2021-06-12. The Australian Children's Television Foundation. en.
  8. Web site: Aussie Duo Wins 2016 Pitch This! Competition with 'Owl and Cloud'. 2021-06-12. Animation World Network. en.
  9. Web site: 2018-10-22. Beano: Reinventing the iconic British brand. 2021-06-12. www.bafta.org. en.
  10. Web site: Thomas Duncan-Watt - ABOUT. 2021-06-12. www.thomasduncanwatt.com.
  11. Web site: Arts/Screen Hackathon Australia Council. 2021-06-12. www.australiacouncil.gov.au.
  12. Web site: Slatter . Sean . 2022-05-16 . Thomas Duncan-Watt wins 2021 John Hinde Award for 'Space Nova' . 2023-07-30 . IF Magazine . en-AU.
  13. Web site: Slatter . Sean . 2022-11-15 . ABC and Canada's CBC renew agreement, announce Kindred projects . 2023-07-30 . IF Magazine . en-AU.
  14. Web site: NSW Write Night: TV Comedy Panel. 2021-06-12. Australian Writers' Guild.
  15. Web site: Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong (2016) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia. 2021-06-12. www.screenaustralia.gov.au.
  16. Web site: Space Nova (2021) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia. 2021-06-12. www.screenaustralia.gov.au.
  17. Web site: Space Nova's Journey to Screen. 2021-06-12. ACTF Blog. en-US.
  18. Web site: ESCAPE FROM PIRATE ASYLUM. Co Creators Suren Perera and Thomas Duncan-Watt for Pop Family Entertainment.A Image. 2021-06-12. FilmInk. en-AU.
  19. Web site: Escape From Pirate Asylum named Best In Show at 2019 Asian Animation Summit CLPR. 2021-06-12. clpr.com.au.
  20. Web site: ESCAPE FROM PIRATE ASYLUM NAMED BEST IN SHOW AT ASIAN ANIMATION SUMMIT 2019. 2021-06-12. FilmInk. en-AU.
  21. Web site: Knox. David. Aussies recognised at Asian Animation Summit TV Tonight. 2021-06-12. Tvtonight. en-AU.
  22. Web site: Aussie Duo Wins 2016 Pitch This! Competition with 'Owl and Cloud'. 2021-06-12. Animation World Network. en.
  23. Web site: "Owl and Cloud" wins "Pitch This!" at OIAF 2016. 2021-06-12. en-GB.
  24. Web site: OIAF opens submissions for Pitch THIS! competition. 2021-06-12.
  25. News: Webster. Andy. 2014-01-23. The Golden Girls, in a Shade of Pink. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-12. 0362-4331.
  26. Web site: Thank You for being a Friend The American Sitcom: Half an Hour Well Spent. 2021-06-12. sites.psu.edu.
  27. Web site: Sex and the Senior Citizens. 2021-06-12. www.northernexpress.com.
  28. Web site: Makin. Bob. Avenel PAC presents puppet parody of 'Golden Girls' TV show. 2021-06-12. MyCentralJersey.com. en-US.
  29. Web site: That Golden Girls Show! a puppet parody. 2021-06-12. uispac.com. en.
  30. Web site: Henry. Alan. Winners Announced For The 2017 BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards; COME FROM AWAY Wins Best Musical!. 2021-06-07. BroadwayWorld.com. en.
  31. Web site: StackPath. 2021-06-12. www.citybeat.com.
  32. Web site: Runnells. Charles. 'The Golden Girls' are back — as puppets! Parody recreates TV sitcom in Bonita Springs. 2021-06-12. The News-Press. en-US.
  33. Web site: Duncan-Watt v. Rockefeller, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 30678. 2021-06-26. Casetext.com.
  34. News: Barone. Joshua. Chow. Andrew R.. 2016-10-23. Lawsuit Filed Over 'Golden Girls' Puppet Parody. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-26. 0362-4331.
  35. Web site: JWR Productions Australia Pty Ltd v Duncan-Watt (No 2) [2020] FCA 236]. 2021-06-26. www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au.
  36. Web site: Rocking the boat – Rockefeller sues co-creators of Broadway puppet show. 2021-06-26. www.allens.com.au. en-au.
  37. Michaela Whitbourn, Court throws out defamation fight over Golden Girls parody puppet show, Sydney Morning Herald (March 8, 2020).
  38. Stephen Brook & Samantha Hutchinson, AFL goes to great lengths to calm Olympic-size ruckus, The Age (July 23, 2021).
  39. Web site: Knox . David . Space Nova wins 2021 John Hinde Award for Excellence . TV Tonight . 17 May 2022 . 23 December 2023.

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