Film academy dedicates Nicholl Fellowships event to Yelchin

The organization that presents the Academy Awards is dedicating a performance of promising new screenplays to late actor Anton Yelchin.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that its annual Nicholl Fellowships live-read event will be presented in Yelchin’s honor.

The “Star Trek” actor performed at the first Nicholl live read in 2013. He died in June when his Jeep rolled down his driveway and crushed him. His parents have sued the vehicle’s manufacturer.

Yelchin’s “Star Trek” co-star John Cho, as well as actors Cary Elwes, Aja Naomi King and Alia Shawka are set to perform selected scenes from this year’s five winning screenplays on Nov. 3 at the film academy’s headquarters in Beverly Hills, California. The winning screenwriters were announced last month.

The Nicholl Fellowships is the academy’s annual, global screenwriting competition. Winners receive $35,000 and academy support toward the completion of a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.

Winning Nicholl scripts have also been produced and released theatrically, including 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee” and “Stockholm, Pennsylvania,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year.