Doug Atchison is an American motion picture director and screenwriter.

He received
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship for Akeelah and the Bee in
2000.[1]
After winning the Nicholl Fellowship, former ICM superagent Lou Pitt guided Doug's
screenplay into production in partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment, 2929 Entertainment,
and Starbucks Productions. Akeelah and the Bee went on to become a critical and modest
commercial success, which launched Atchison's career. In 2006, Atchison entered into a threepicture deal with The Weinstein Company.
Doug Atchison is a writer and director, known for Akeelah and the Bee (2006), The
Pornographer (1999) and The Last Caravan.
Received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) Nicholl Fellowship (an
international competition open to new screenwriters) for Akeelah and the Bee (2006) in 2000. In
2000, there were 4,250 entries.
Doug Atchison first had the idea of making a film about spelling bees after watching the Scripps
National Spelling Bee of 1994 and noticing that most of the contestants had "privileged
backgrounds".[28] Atchison also considered spelling bees to contain "all the drama and tension
and entertainment value of a sporting event", and felt that this could be made into a film.[29]
[30]
From this, he got the idea to write a script following the story of a child who had talent for
spelling bee but was from a low-income neighborhood so did not "have access to the resources
or coaching to pursue it as these other kids had."[11][28] He had the desire of making a "Rocky-like
story" and although made it a "dramatic" plot, he declared it is "essentially a sports movie".[11]
Atchison started his screenplay in 1999, when he wrote a five-page treatment in about a month.
[28][29]
In addition to the fact he was working on other projects, Atchison said he waited years
before starting to write because he "thought someone else would do it first." This did not happen,
so he began to write by himself.[30] Few changes were made in the process of transitioning from
the original draft to the final product. One change was that at first, Akeelah's mother had a
smaller role and Akeelah's father was alive. Also, Larabee had been an older man (72 years old),
and a few characters were cut. However, Atchison has summarized that "the steps she goes
through, the friends she's got, those were always the same."[29]