Scriptapalooza Interviews TV Contest Winner
Nick Vigorito, Jr.
1st place winner
Pilot category
How did you come up with your story idea?
I tried to come up with a somewhat unique setting - and unique back-story as to how the main character found herself the owner of a talent agency - figuring 'Show Biz' types would be good fodder for a sitcom.
How long did it take you to write it?
Less than a week - but hopefully it doesn't show!
Is this your first script that you have written?
No. It's the second sitcom 'pilot' I've written, as well as a few 'specs' for sitcoms, several screenplays, and over a dozen stage plays.
Have you entered other screenwriting competitions?
A few others.
If so, have you been successful?
Quarterfinalist in one, Top 250 (out of over 7000 entries) in the First Project Greenlight.
Why did you enter Scriptapalooza?
Name recognition. Also, it had a sitcom category and my work is primarily comedy. And finally, maybe it's a way to help get my foot in the door!
Advice to other screenwriters?
If writing is your true passion, then never quit. Develop a thick skin and try to separate yourself from the 'outcome'. That is, if you send a script out to a contest, an agent, a production company, etc. - divorce yourself from the outcome. If they love it, great. If they don't, move on, write another, keep sending out scripts, but don't hinge your 'career' on one submission. Write because it's what you do - not solely for the outcome.
How did you feel when you saw your name as one of the winners?
Thrilled. A real shot in the arm and validation for my talent. And then I thought, 'Hey, maybe my 'day job' of being a disgruntled postman are over!
If you could write for any TV show, which one would it be?
The King of Queens.
Updated: 03/09/2006
Additional Contest Info: Scriptapalooza TV Writing Competition
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!BORDERLINE JUSTICE
Rita Fuentes, a fiery, attractive Latina social worker introduces Martin Wilkins, a law-and-order judge, to the violent, politically charged world of power, money, illegals, and life for the drug mules--like Demetria Plascentia, and his foolish new son-in-law, Antonio Borja--he condemns daily in his courtroom.
Palo Alto Bang & Burn
When idealistic professor Will Reynolds joins a clandestine government program researching remote viewing, his faith in science and reality unravels as he discovers truths that feel ripped from science fiction.
TIME OUT
A husband has willfully taken a time out from his marriage for fourteen years, is suddenly thrust back into it to save the life of an ailing son he never knew he had.
Lab Rats
An anonymous organization uses an ***AI Bot*** to moderate a Focus Group on the topic of ***Fake***.
She Curses Like a Sailor
A thought-provoking view of women and cursing is entertained at this art opening in New York.
Lady Diogenes of the Shadow
Three retired ladies candidly discuss their bizarre neighbor over morning coffee.
Perfect Beau
A Brainiac Plain Jane clones her ideal boyfriend out of her girlfriends' boyfriends' DNA for her university's senior class science project.
Cold Pepper
A law-abiding, church-going court stenographer becomes a one-woman vigilante 'offing' violent domestic abusers (and other pathetic souls) after their third offense.
Psychotic USA
A dramedy. A razor-sharp satiric view of the laughable state of modern psychiatric treatment as seen through the lens of four patients in an asylum.
Psycho-Hearts
A world-class heart transplant surgeon is an absolute magician at finding compatible hearts for wealthy clients.
