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CineStory Announces Contest Winners

The winners of the 6th annual CineStory Screenwriting Awards were announced in Los Angeles today. They are Greg Marcks for his dark comedy, 11:14, Gary Miranda for his dramatic tale, BROTHERS, and Laura Suau for her screenplay of magical realism, THE WEATHER SOMEWHERE ELSE. In the short script category, the winner is Joseph Holmes, for his project, ROOM 855.

Chosen by an eight-member judges’ panel made up of independent producers, literary representatives and a former winner who is now a Hollywood screenwriter, the winners receive an outstanding prize package designed to hone their craft and develop their careers. The prize includes a one-year mentorship with two producers over the next year, full scholarship to the three-day CineStory Retreat, and $2,000 each.

Every once in a while, the wheels of Hollywood turn quickly. Marcks submitted his screenplay, 11:14, to only one contest, CineStory, in October 2001. After the first of this year, he secured his agent and a production deal. Principal photography begins today in Los Angeles for the $4 million-budgeted picture, with Marcks directing his work. The film stars Hilary Swank, Patrick Swayze, Rachel Leigh Cook, Colin Hanks, Barbara Hershey, Ben Foster, Henry Thomas, Clark Gregg and Shawn Hatosy. 11:14 is produced by Firm Films, financed by Mark Damon Productions, with executive producers Tripp Vinson, Hilary Swank, and Mark Damon, and producers Beau Flynn and John Morrissey.

Described as an ironic thriller, 11:14 tells the story of five suburbanites whose lives are interconnected in ways they may never know. The puzzle film unfolds backwards so that the movie ends where it began -- at the ominous 11:14.

Two years ago, Marcks won the National Student Academy Award for short narrative while a student at Florida State University. He is represented by Jenny Fritz at William Morris Agency.

Gary Miranda’s character-driven drama, BROTHERS, is loosely based on an award-winning memoir of his six years in a Jesuit seminary and tells the tale of two troubled young men who have retreated from the world into the seminary and whose friendship forces them to confront personal demons they’d hoped to escape. Although BROTHERS is Miranda’s first screenplay, he is a veteran writer, having published four volumes of poetry, one of which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He is now a Writer-in-Residence at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and son.

Laura Suau, a 2001 graduate of the film school at Ithaca College in New York, is a native of Puerto Rico. Described by one of the judges as a great visualist and storyteller, Suau has recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing and filmmaking. The setting in THE WEATHER SOMEWHERE ELSE is a decaying industrial city, where two workers dream of escape and bond together to create small acts of rebellion that set in motion a wave that overturns the entire metropolis.

Joe Holme’s short screenplay ROOM 855 is comedy/caper flick illustrating the murderous ambitions of middle management. He wins $500 and free tuition to the CineStory Retreat as well. He is considering a writing a feature-length edition of this piece, Before Joe became a short story and freelance magazine writer, he was a criminal appeals attorney in New York City. His feature screenplay B & E was a previous Cinestory finalist and a Chesterfield semifinalist. He lives with his wife and two children in Brooklyn, NY.

These four screenwriters will join the other 13 semifinalists and finalists at the CineStory Retreat in early December at Lake Arrowhead, California. The only event of its kind in the industry, the Cinestory Retreat brings together award-winning writers from across the country with nine top Los Angeles-based active producers, agents and development execs, for three days of one-on-one meetings, group sessions and serious relationship building. The small number of attendees ensures that each writer gets plenty of face time with mentors; it also ensures that mentors meet with people who are ready to move to the next level of their careers.

Retreat mentors hail from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Last year’s sponsor/mentors were Meg LeFauve - President, Egg Pictures; Barri Evins – President, Debra Hill Productions; Rebecca Baldwin, Director of Development, Sanford/Pillsbury Productions; Adam Merims – Producer/Partner Baumgarten Merims Productions; Maggie Roiphe -- Literary Agent, The Artist Agency; Julie Lynn, Producer/Partner, Mockingbird Pictures; Lisa Callamaro, Literary Agent, The Callamaro Agency; Larry McMahan, Creative Executive, Pacific Entertainment; and Atlanta Treloar, Director of Development, Andrew Lauren Productions.

During the Retreat, Marcks, Miranda and Suau will choose two of the industry people to become their mentors until August 2003. During that time, the mentors will work with them to hone their body of work to professional standards.

"There is an idea that the film industry is almost impossible to break into," said Pam Pierce, Executive Director of CineStory. "It’s all about who you know. That’s mostly true. At the retreat, we give writers and mentors the opportunity to get to know each other as people. The event is all about building relationships while strengthening your craft."

Updated: 08/29/2002

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