Launch Pad Alum Titus Heckel Signs With Lee Stobby Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)

〉 Heckel joins over 150 Launch Pad writers who have landed representation in just three years.

We are pleased to announce that 2016 Launch Pad Pilots Competition writer Titus Heckel has signed with manager Lee Stobby of Lee Stobby Entertainment just as his drama pilot ADRIFT was named to the Top 50 of the 2016 Launch Pad Pilots Competition.

The story is set on a planet where the only source of sunlight and heat is produced by artificial orbs controlled by corporations. After an orb is destroyed, leaving all life fighting to see another day, debates of religion, politics, and fear erupt into violence.

From its thrilling opening sequence to its complex political intrigue, our Launch Pad readers praised Adrift as creative sci-fi at its best. Balancing big topic philosophies like religion, politics, and the value of life against an original and exciting space setting, the pilot beautifully marries smart storyline and blockbuster action without skipping a beat. Ambitious both in tone and scope, this series could easily take a page from SyFy hits such as Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse in terms of visualization, and though the world and visuals are big, the settings and foundations are grounded. This is the type of series a network could build into event television, appealing not only to those who love sci-fi, but also to those who love smart television.

Heckel is an emerging writer and director from Vancouver. His first feature film, With Child, was shortlisted for Critics’ Week at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Flash Forward award at the Busan International Film Festival. Titus’ recent script, Chaos Theory, was a Quarterfinalist in the Nicholl Fellowship and won the Whistler Film Fest’s Praxis Screenwriting award in 2016. He is currently in development with Simon Barry’s company on a sci-fi television series he created called Immortal, Inc. He has several other projects in the works including another TV series, an action film with Hong Kong star Louis Koo attached, and a writer-for-hire gig on a biopic.

Stobby, who is making his 4th appearance as a Launch Pad judge in 2016, has previously signed four Launch Pad alums, including TB Recommends writer Paul McClain. Stobby also represents Isaac Adamson, whose spec script Bubbles topped the 2015 Black List and came in second on our 2015 Hit List.

Congratulations Titus! We can’t wait to see what you do next!

To see the complete list of writers who made the TOP 75 of our 2016 Launch Pad Pilot Competition click here.

The submissions for the 2016 Launch Pad Manuscript and Features Competition are open! Learn more about the Launch Pad Competition!

Josh Lyons | Managing Editor