JPCatholic Welcomes Oscar-Winning Producer Melanie Miller and Screenwriter Bill Marsilii to Film Faculty

John Paul the Great Catholic University is pleased to welcome two highly accomplished film industry professionals to its adjunct Film faculty this fall: Academy Award-winning producer Melanie Miller and screenwriter Bill Marsili, who, with his co-writer Terry Rossio, received $5M from Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer for Deja Vu in 2004 - the highest fee paid for a spec script in cinema history. Marsilii is returning, and Miller is new to our faculty. With decades of combined experience in film and television, they bring professional expertise in producing, distribution, screenwriting, and film development to JPCatholic’s hands-on Film program.

Melanie Miller

Melanie Miller brings more than 30 years of entertainment industry experience in producing, development, and innovative distribution strategies to her faculty role. Miller won Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards in March 2023 for her role as producer on Navalny - a film that revolves around the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Before co-founding Fishbowl Films, Miller served as Artistic Director of the Jackson Hole Film Festival, Vice President of Acquisitions & Marketing at Gravitas Ventures, and Executive Vice President at Samuel Goldwyn Films, where she played an important role in the evolving landscape of independent film distribution.

In 2009, Miller co-founded Fishbowl Films, with the goal of shining a spotlight on timely and compelling issues. The company's documentary work includes Sundance selections Inventing Tomorrow, Whirlybird, and Navalny. Inventing Tomorrow received a Peabody Award in 2019, while Navalny, in addition to the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and Festival Favorite at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before receiving a DuPont, Producers Guild of America Award, and BAFTA.

Miller's extensive producing credits also include the docuseries’ Trial by Media (Netflix), Equal (HBO Max), Marvel 616 (Disney+), and The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping (Netflix). Her Emmy-winning documentary Blink premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and was released theatrically by Disney before becoming available on Disney+, NatGeo, and Hulu. Her most recent films include Stealing Magic, which had four sold-out screenings at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, and The Life We Leave, which premiered in competition at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival and continues to screen internationally.

Miller is also a frequent guest speaker and mentor at organizations including the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, the American Film Market, the Produced By Conference, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Sloan Summit.

This fall, Miller will teach Media Career Strategies, helping JPCatholic students develop a personalized career strategy, navigate the entertainment industry, and market their skills. Future quarter classes will draw on her vast industry experience.

Bill Marsilii

Returning to JPCatholic's Film faculty, Bill Marsilii brings extensive experience as a professional screenwriter and filmmaker. Marsilii co-wrote Déjà Vu, the romantic time-travel thriller directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, and Jim Caviezel. The screenplay continues to hold the record for the highest-priced spec script ever sold, with Jerry Bruckheimer and Touchstone Pictures acquiring it for $5 million. The resulting film grossed more than $180 million worldwide, plus $40 million in domestic DVD sales.

Marsilii has continued to develop and sell projects with major studios and producers. He sold 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo to Walt Disney Pictures and, with Déjà Vu writing partner Terry Rossio, sold Lightspeed, a space adventure, to Bruckheimer and Disney.

He has also adapted the science-fiction comic Sebastian X for producer Gale Anne Hurd and director Martin Campbell, and sold his original project Cold to Lionsgate, with Reese Witherspoon attached to star and produce. Most recently, Marsilii and Rossio sold their sci-fi action script Time Zone to Amazon Studios, where it is currently in pre-production. Currently, he is story editor and consulting producer on the upcoming animated series Adventures in Odyssey, which is currently in production and slated to debut in 2027.

Beyond his professional screenwriting career, Marsilii has been a guest lecturer at film and screenwriting programs including UCLA, USC, NYU, and Pepperdine. He has also mentored for the Act One Screenwriting Program.

This fall, Marsilii will teach Film Criticism & the Art of Visual Storytelling, as well as Director Case Study, which will guide students through an analysis of influential directors’ filmographies.

The addition of Miller and the return of Marsilii strengthen JPCatholic’s commitment to providing students with a hands-on education shaped by diverse and broad professional experience. With backgrounds spanning producing, distribution, screenwriting, and film development, both faculty members bring valuable industry perspectives that will help students develop their craft while preparing for careers in the entertainment industry.

“Speaking for Prof. Courtney Balaker, the new Chair of our Film department, and myself, we’re thrilled to welcome Melanie to JPCatholic and to have Bill return to our Film faculty,” said President Derry Connolly. “Our students will benefit tremendously from learning directly from professionals who have worked at the highest levels of the industry, and their wealth of knowledge and experience will greatly enrich our students’ education and position them to graduate well prepared to Impact Culture for Christ.”