News
MovieBytes Headlines 
Flagstaff Film Festival: Arizona's Telluride?
Screenwriter Philip Sedgwick walks us through his experience at the Flagstaff Film Festival, where his screenplay Kate was named second runner-up in the screenwriting competition.
Silver Screenwriting Competition Announces Top 10 Finalists
The Silver Screenwriting Competition has announced their Top 10 finalists for 2010.
The-Greenlight.com Announces July Contest Winner
Deborah Louise Robinson's GARRADIN THE STOLEN WORLD has been named the winner of The-GreenLight.com's Monthly contest for July, 2010.
CWA Announces Feature and TV Prelim-Finalists
Creative World Awards has announced their 2010 Prelim-Finalists for Feature and TV.
MoviePoet.com Announces July Contest Results
Matias Caruso's Numbers has been named the First Place Winner of the July, 2010 MoviePoet.com short script competition.
Scriptapalooza Announces TV Contest Winners
Scriptapalooza has announced their latest TV writing contest winners.
Acclaim Announces Contest Winners
Acclaim Film and TV has announced their screenplay and TV contest winners for Spring/Summer 2010.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
by Julie Gray
Giving and receiving feedback on scripts is a daily experience for writers. How do we know if our script works without the opinion of someone else? But we've all been burned by bad feedback. Rude, insensitive, bossy, arrogant, wrong-headed, cruel even. It can set back a writer's confidence and process hugely.
Flagstaff Film Festival Announces Screenplay Awards
Faiza Ambah's A Reverence for Spiders has been named the winner of the 2010 Flagstaff Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.
CFF Announces Screenplay Contest Winners
The Colorado Film Festival has name James Tuverson's My Dirty Secrets as their 2010 Screenwriting Contest 1st Place winner.
Moondance Announces Competition Winners
Moondance has announced their writing competition awards for 2010.
Scriptapalooza Announces Grand Prize Winner
Andrew James Carter's Juice has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2010 Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition.
A Limey in LA LA Land - One Writer's Gurney, Part V
INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT OF THE STARS
I joined the large and excitable collection of people that wove in a ragged line around the lobby and corridors of our Aztec themed festival venue. This was the night we were to get our thirty seconds of fame being interviewed on the red carpet followed by a few minutes of anonymity in a conference room being filmed for web content.
Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum announces 2010 Screenwriting Experience
Entries are now being accepted. The Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum has announced a deadline of October 15, 2010 for its second annual WSF Screenwriting Experience. The Screenwriting Experience is a unique contest designed specifically to mirror the experience a writer will go through when their work has been noticed by Hollywood decision makers. Submissions will be judged using realistic approaches that Hollywood studios, producers, agents, managers, and talent practice each and every day with thousands of screenplays. The celebrity judge for this year's contest is Greg DePaul, writer of "Bride Wars" starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, and "Saving Silverman" starring Steve Zahn and Jack Black. DePaul will read the final three screenplays and pick the Grand Prize winner.
Scriptapalooza Announces Finalists
Scriptapalooza has announced their 2010 Screenwriting Contest finalists.
CSN Announces Contest Winner
T.J. Cimfel has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the Chicago Screenwriters Network Screenwriting Competition for his script, No Tell Motel.
ScriptVamp Announces July, 2010 Attention Grabber Winner
Peter Baldwin's For Sale has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the July, 2010 Script Vamp Attention Grabber Screenwriting Competition.
BlueCat Names Contest Winner
Robert Ian Simpson's Below the Waist has been named the winner from among 2,970 entries to the 2010 BlueCat Screenwriting Competition.
All Sports Film Festival Announces Contest Winners
Christopher Canole's Felix the Flyer has been name the winner of the 2010 All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.
Scriptapalooza Announces Semifinalists
Scriptapalooza has announced their 2010 Screenwriting Contest semfinalists.
My Name is 'Err': A Screenwriters Journey
Screenwriter Eric Steele walks us through the genesis of his first produced screenplay, Clonehunter, from Scriptapalooza to Zoetrope to InkTip and beyond. Check out the trailer!
Script Savvy Announces June, 2010 Contest Winners
Out of Sync by Irin Evers and John Barlowe has been named the winner of the Script Savvy Screenwriting Competition for June, 2010.
BlueCat Announces Finalists
The BlueCat Screenwriting Competition has announced their 2010 finalists.
Silver Screenwriting Contest Announces Semifinalists
The semfinalists have been selected for the 2010 Silver Screenwriting Competition.
MoviePoet.com Announces June, 2010 Contest Winner
Dan Delgado's Wheel has been named the first place winner of the June, 2010 MoviePoet.com Screenwriting Competition.
Screenplay Search Announces Winners and Finalists
Lawrence Garcia's The Dome has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2010 Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition.
The-GreenLight.com Announces June Contest Winner
James Pickering's Dead Howling has been named the winner of the The-GreenLight.com's Monthly screenwriting contest for June, 2010.
CineStory Announces Grand Prize Winner
April Rouveyrol has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2010 CineStory Screenwriting Competition for her script, American Child.
Script Pipeline Announces Grand Prize Winners
The four Grand Prize Winners of the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition have been announced.
Flagstaff Fest Announces Top 5
The Flagstaff Film Festival has announced their top five screenplay selections. Winners will be announced will at the Festival awards ceremony on August 15, 2010.
AAA Announces Feature and TV Semifinalists
Creative Screenwriting Magazine has announced their 2010 AAA semifinalists.
CSN Announces Semifinalists
The Chicago Screenwriters Network has the announced the semifinalists of their 2nd Annual Screenwriting Competition.
Divebomber Radio Announces Contest Winner
Patricia Fox's Anatomy of a Town has been named the winner of the 2010 Divebomber Radio Screenwriting Competition.
Scriptapalooza Announces Quarterfinalists
Scriptapalooza has announced their quarterfinalists for 2010.
A few tips for contest entrants (and not just my contest)
by Cameron Counts, Founder of the Writing Initiative
AVOID TYPOS: sounds pretty simple, eh? Proof-read then have someone ELSE proof-read
too. But it never fails, close to 75% of the scripts I get have silly typos. Plus, watch out for
things that spellcheck won't catch. There, their, they're. Were, where, we're. Then, than.
Your, you're.
StoryBoard TV Announces Contest Winner
Storyboard TV, an online community of scriptwriters, television producers, and TV enthusiasts, has announced the $5,000 winner of its inaugural competition for best pilot for a television drama: The Reservoir, by Eddy Vallante and Dylan Allen.
Page Announces Quarterfinalists
Page has announced their contest quarterfinalists for 2010.
BlueCat Announces Semifinalists
The BlueCat Screenwriting Competition has announced their semifinalists for 2010.
The Keys to Query Letters that Work
By Daniel Manus
The query letter is often a writer's first impression - an all-too-important introduction of one's writing ability and personality to an executive or representative. And much like when trying to get a first date, the point of a query letter is to entice whomever is reading it, to want more.
AceFest Announces 2010 Great American Screenplay Contest Results
Janyce Lapore's 10 Minutes From Paradise has been named the winner of the 2010 Great American Screenplay Contest.
CineStory Announces Contest Finalists
CineStory has announced their 2010 Contest Finalists.
WriteMovies.com Announces Contest Winners
Andreas Resch's FRUCHT DER ERKENNTNIS has been named the winner of the 24th WriteMovies.com Screenwriting Competition.
ScriptVamp Announces June, 2010 Dream Quest Attention Grabber Results
Brett Fowler's Corpus has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the June 2010 Dream Quest: Attention Grabber Competition.
Writers Place Announces Contest Winners
The Writers Place has announced the winners of their November 2009 - April 2010 screenplay contest.
Silver Competition Announces Top 50
The Silver Screenwriting Competition has announced their top 50 scripts from among more than 1,000 entries. The 20 semi-finalists will be announced on August 1st.
The-GreenLight.com Announces May Contest Winner
Steven Arvanites' Beaner Jumping has been named the winner of the May, 2010 The-GreenLight.com Monthly Screenwriting Competition.
Script Pipeline Announces Contest Finalists
Script Pipeline has announced their contest finalists: top 20 for screenwriting, top 10 for TV. The Grand Prize winners will be announced on July 25th at their awards party at Writers Boot Camp in Santa Monica.
Script Savvy Announces May Contest Results
Script Savvy has announced the winners from among 169 entries to their May, 2010 Screenwriting Competition.
MoviePoet Announces May Winners
MoviePoet.com has announced the winners of their May 2010 short script competition.
American Screenwriting Competition Announces 2010 Quarterfinalists
Flat Shoe Entertainment and Hollywood Scriptwriter Magazine have announced the quarterfinalists for 2010 American Screenwriting Competition, representing the top 5% of scripts entered.
Screeenplay Search Announces Semifinalists
Semifinalists have been announced for the Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition in each of seven categories (January - June 2010 round). Finalists and winners will be announced on July 31, 2010.
CSN Announces 2010 Quarterfinalists
The Chicago Sreenwriters Network has announced their 2010 quarterfinalists.
A Limey in LA LA Land - One Writers Gurney - Part IV
INT. HOTEL - BREAKFAST BAR - MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE
Over a burrito themed breakfast we compared notes on the many short films we'd sat through whilst waiting for our "producer" to show. Some had made an impression, others had merely reminded us of the uncomfortable seats. One in particular had knocked us out...HECTOR CORP, made by a Dreamworks employee who'd obviously had far more computing power to play with than us mere mortals. It transpired the film had taken around four years to make, and had needed a major re-shoot when they discovered that most of the principal footage was unusable due to a camera fault!
TSA Announces Contest Results
The Tennessee Screenwriting Association has announced Elvis Wilson's Driving Top Down as the first place winner of their 2010 screenwriting competition.
How to get the MOST out of your Screenwriting Convention experience
by Cameron Counts
Well, the majority of us are going crazy making plans to attend one of the numerous Screenwriting or Pitch conventions...working overtime to afford it, polishing pitches and scripts, etc. Conventions are EXPENSIVE but well worth the cost IF you plan ahead and come prepared.
CineStory Announces 2010 Semifinalists
CineStory has announced the Semifinalists for their 2010 Screenwriting Awards.
Blue Announces Quarterfinalists
The BlueCat Screenwriting Competition has announced their quarterfinalists for 2010.
ScriptVamp Announces Attention Grabber
John Wood's Clan of the Crow has been naned the winner of ScriptVamp's May 2010 Dream Quest: Attention Grabber Competition.
Waterfront Film Fest Announces Contest Winner
Chris Dancy's The Undertaker's Son has been named the winner of the 2010 Waterfront Screenplay Competition.
Filmmakers.com Announces Contest Winners
Red White & Badass has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the Filmmakers.com International Screenwriting Contest.
Blazing Quill Announces 2010 Contest Winners
T. Steed's Wings of Stone has been named the winner of the 2010 Blazing Quill Screenwriting Competition.
Table Read My Screenplay Announces Contest Winners
Stepher Hoover's Buried South of Galations has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the Table Read My Screenplay Screenwriting Competition.
Writers Wanted: MovieBytes.com
MovieBytes.com is looking for articles about the craft and business of screenwriting, with a particular emphasis on screenwriting competitions.
StoryPros Announces Contest Winners
The Do List by Melisa Ford has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 3rd Annual StoryPros Awards Screenplay Contest.
TWP Announces Latest Finalists
The Writers Place (TWP) has announced the finalists for their November 2009 through April 2010 screenplay contest.
Extreme Screenplay Announces Contest Finalists
The Extreme Screenplay Contest has announced their TV and Feature Script Finalists.
Script Savvy Announces April Contest Results
Michael Murphy's Hunting Blind has been named the winner from among 157 entries to the April, 2010 Script Savvy Screenwriting Competition.
Red InkWorks Announces Spring 2010 Competition Finalists
Red Inkworks has announced the top 3 finalists of their Spring, 2010 Screenwriting Competition.
MoviePoet.com Announces Feature Finalists
MoviePoet.com has named the finalists of their feature-length screenplay competition.
UK Writer Wins CSSC Best Screenplay Prize
Neil Graham has been named the winner of the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition (CSSC) for his short film script Something Pointless. The screenplay tells the touching story of a young boy who learns to smile through witnessing the pointless acts of a strange dying old man and his random use of egg shells.
The-GreenLight.com Announces April Contest Winner
Dana Garrity's Change-Up has been named the winner of the April, 2010 The-GreenLight.com screenwriting competition.
StoryPros Announces Finalists
Finalists have been announced for the 3rd Annual StoryPros Awards Screenplay Contest.
StoryPros Announces Semifinalists
Semifinalists have been announced for the 3rd Annual StoryPros Awards Screenplay Contest.
A Limey in LA LA Land - One Writers Gurney - Part III
by Michael Donald
The problem with mobile phones, is that as far as I know you cannot have a universal number, after all what would be the point of that when there is a kings ransom to be obtained in roaming charges.
StoryPros Announces Quarterfinalists
Quarterfinalists have been announced for the 3rd Annual Story Pros Awards Competition.
Spirit Quest Announces Contest Winners
Robert Gately's South of Main St. has been named the feature-length screenplay winner of the 2010 Spirit Quest Screenwriting Contest.
HollywoodIQ: Adam Moore, Preparing for an Omnimedia Market
In part one of this interview, writer Adam Moore discussed how he broke into the entertainment industry and what it means to be a writer working in an omnimedia landscape. If you haven't read it already, check out "Adam Moore: Writing in an Omnimedia Landscape (Part 1 of 2)." Here in part two, Moore discusses what a writer needs to know to be prepared for the omnimedia market.
CineStory Announces Quarterfinalists
CineStory has announced their 2010 quarterfinalists.
PAGE Award-winning Screenwriter Wins Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award
2008 PAGE Award winner Lisa Cole recently received a Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award for Rock Doc of the Year for her VH1 documentary DO IT FOR THE BAND. Lisa currently has a new feature in development with her husband, Mark Monroe, who won this year's Academy Award for his documentary THE COVE.
Contest of Contest Winners Announces Results
James Walker's Shrouded in Darkness has been named the winner of this year's Contest of Contest Winners.
Adventures in Screenwriting: The Golden Rule
A good title is like porn: You know it when you see it. A good title will spur a response in people---hopefully, a positive one. A bad title can stink up the room like a baby's diaper. Remember HOT TO TROT, anyone? That wasn't just a bad movie; it was also a bad title. I'm probably one of the few people in America who saw it, along with my kids, because we got free tickets. The kids were so bored they threw popcorn at the screen. So yes, Gertrude, I suppose a case could be made that a bad title portends a dog of a movie.
Spirit Quest Announces 2010 Finalists
The Spirit Quest Film Festival has announced their 2010 screenplay competition finalists and semi-finalists.
Screenplay Festival Announces 2009 Results
The Screenplay Festival Screenwriting Competition has announced their 2009 final results.
Script Savvy Announces March, 2010 Contest Results
Script Savvy has named James Bromberg's Textbook Love as the winner of their March, 2010 Screenwriting Competition.
MoviePoet.com Announces March Contest Results
Brian Wind's In the Garage has been named the winner of the March, 2010 MoviePoet.com Short Script Competition.
The-GreenLight.com Announces March Contest Winner
The-GreenLight.com has named David Minaskanian as the winner of their March, 2010 Screenwriting Contest for his script, The Bearer of Bad News.
Philadelphia Screenplay Festival Announces Contest Winners
The Philadelphia Screenplay Fesival has announced Jacqueline Stahl's Near Death Tango as the winner of their screenwriting competition.
Canadian Short Screenplay Competition Names Top 13 Screenplays of 2009
David Cormican, founder of the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition, has announced the top thirteen finalist selections for the 2009 CSSC.
A Limey in LA LA Land - One Writers Gurney - Part II
by Michael Donald
EXT. LAX AIRPORT - CAR HIRE DEPOT - NIGHT
Being a typical anal writer I'd hired a Satnav with a US map chip to take over with me. An actor friend of mine had assured me he went everywhere by bike and metro. But after studying the vast and complicated map of bus and train routes I decided it was too steep a learning curve.
HollywoodIQ: Adam Moore, Writing in an Omnimedia Landscape
When they're testing a new story idea, Adam Moore and writing partner Kevin Abrams first ask how many forms of media can the idea take? Can it become a movie, a TV program (live-action or animated), a video game and/or a comic book? They're looking for ideas that fit at least three forms.
Table Read My Screenplay Announces First Round Contests
Table Read My Screenplay has announced their first round finalists.
CSSC Announces Quarterfinalists
The Canadian Short Screenplay Competition has announced their 2009 quarterfinalists.
ScriptVamp Announces Attention Grabber Winner
ScriptVamp has announced James Schannep's Infected as the winner of the March, 2010 Dream Quest Attention Grabber competition.
Interview with Alex Ross of WriteMovies.com
An interview with manager, producer and webmaster Alex Ross of WriteMovies.com.
A Limey in LA LA Land - One Writers Gurney
by Michael Donald
INT. AIRPORT - DAY
As I stood in the slow moving queue inching towards the fast check in desk, I pondered on the chain of events that started me on my journey across the Atlantic to the enchanted Kingdom of Hollywood.
All Access Competition Announces Quarterfinalists
SellAScript.com has announced the quarterfinalists for the 2009 All Access Screenwriting Competition.
Coverage vs. Script Consulting
by Drew Yanno
On numerous occasions, I've been asked if there is any difference between "coverage" and a "script consult" and, if so, what that might be. As someone who does a fair amount of consulting (and no coverage), I can tell you that there is most definitely a distinction.
MoviePoet.com Announces February Contest Winners
Matisas Caruso's ACE OF SPADES has been named the winner of the Feburary, 2010 MoviePoet.com short script competition.
Script Savvy Announces February Contest Winners
Marc Calderwood's WILD HEART has been named the winner of the Script Savvy February, 2010 Screenwriting Competition.
The-GreenLight.com Announces February Contest Winner
Kim Reit's DRIVING EINSTEIN has been named the winner of the February, 2010 The-GreenLight.com screenwriting competition.
