Contest Comments

You must login to post a comment.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!

Contest News

Virginia Film Office Announces Contest Winners

RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Film Office announced the three winners of the eleventh Governor's Screenwriting Competition. They are Mary L. Anderson from Midlothian, Lisa J. Beck from Richmond and Margaret Lawrence from Culpeper, who is the first two-time winner in the history of the competition.

The Governor’s Screenwriting Competition was created to celebrate the accomplishments of Virginia writers, as well as to promote the future of filmmaking in Virginia. It provides screenwriters with a forum for their work and an opportunity to present their scripts to decision-makers in the film industry. Each writer submits a full length screenplay or television script to be evaluated by a panel of Virginia judges. Finalists from the first round of judging are then sent on to a second panel comprised of active professionals in the film or television industry. Gayle Morgan Vail, President and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, said, “We are proud to honor Virginia’s talented writers and to provide them with an opportunity to have their work read and evaluated by professionals in the industry. In addition, we are grateful for Governor Gilmore’s enthusiastic support of all aspects of filmmaking in Virginia.”

Mary Anderson’s winning entry is entitled “Blue Moon.” She has a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in special education from UVA, and works as a special education high school teacher. She is a published author of fiction and non-fiction articles and is a past vice-president of “Virginia Romance Writers.” Lisa Beck is a native of Chesterfield County and is a graduate of the University of Richmond. She works as a paralegal and is a member of the Virginia Screenwriters Forum. Her screenplay is entitled “Under Suspicion.” Margaret Lawrence was born on a farm on the Manassas Battlefield and studied fine arts and literature, graduating from Mary Washington College. She now lives in Culpeper where she teaches English and drama and writes plays, short stories, poetry and screenplays as well as a column on theatre for a local newspaper. Her winning script is entitled “The Darkroom.”

Ninety-five screenplays were submitted to the competition and twelve finalists were selected to go to the second round of judging. In addition to the winners, the finalists were: Wayde B Byard of Winchester, R.P. Greeb of Winchester, Neil Harvey of Blacksburg, Robert L. Pomerantz of Charlottesville, Gail Robertson of Mechanicsville, John S. Wells of Round Hill and Robin S. Williams of Petersburg.

The Governor’s Screenwriting Competition is held annually and is open to Virginia residents. The majority of the script must take place in Virginia or at locations which could reasonably be found in Virginia. For further information on the competition contact the Film Office at (800) 854-6233, or visit the Film Office website at www.film.virginia.org.

WINNERS

BLUE MOON
Ms. Mary L. Anderson
Midlothian


Kayla Monet, a popular national television personality, lands the interview of a lifetime -- an exclusive with agoraphobic milliionaire Myron Holcombe. When she arrives at his remote home in the backwoods of the Blue Ridge Mountains, she finds herself stonewalled by his security guard and his personal attendant. Persistent and patient, Kayla begins to unravel Holcombe's family secrets involving greed, a satanic cult and multiple murders. Entangled in a living nightmare where she unwillingly plays a starring role, she discovers that good doesn't always prevail over evil.

UNDER SUSPICION
Ms. Lisa J. Beck
Richmond


A team of Navy SEALs is sent to destroy Iraq's nearly completed nuclear weapons. During the mission, the SEALs discover they have been set up. The surviving members must work with a questionable ally to uncover a truth that may get them all killed.

DARKROOM
Ms. Margaret Lawrence
Culpeper


A young photographer begins seeing a ghost image in her photo study of Southern Victorian cemetries. Research into the family plot inhabited by the ghost leads her to believe that she is reincarnated from the same family, and that she had been murdered by the person now reincarnated in her present boyfriend. Love, jealousy, and desire for possessions reach beyond the grave to entangle three people in a never- ending cycle.

FINALISTS

SPOTTS
Mr. Wayde Byard
Winchester


For everyone who is first there is someone who should have been. Twenty-five years before Jackie Robinson, the New York Giants tried to make Spottswood Poles the first African American big leaguer. Son of a slave, war hero, Poles fought prejudice and pain to attain his dream. Though that dream fell short, it put him into contact with Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and John McGraw -- men who shaped 20th century baseball on the field and beyond. Through the love of his faithful wife, Emma, Poles built a life beyond the dreams of many men and ultimately found a way to validate his struggle.

DRAGON FLU
Ms. R.P. Greeb
Winchester


A Navy commander's family seeks a cure for the mother's dragon flu in Shenandoah National Park.

FUNK 49
Mr. Neil Harvey
Blacksburg


This sounds exactly like another one of those stories: five over-educated, underemployed college graduates spend one last summer together before they go their separate ways. (Yawn) This story, however, has high explosives, dog attacks, a winning lottery ticket, strange feet, a monster truck, feverish romance, illegal substances, a creepy clown, a dissatisfaction of the soul, a basement full of bats and lots and lots of Super Hot Chili.



JEFFERSON'S TREASURE
Mr. Robert L. Pomerantz
Charlottesville


Two high-tech immigrants and their friends search for the legendary Beale Treasure in Virginia. In the early 1820's, T. Jefferson Beale and his friends discovered tons of gold and silver and left coded letters about where they buried it. Constanz, the computer whiz, decodes the location and he and Sergie come to America to strike it rich. Charlottesville is the setting as the young friends race to beat another treasure hunter hot on the trail, only to discover their future together is more valuable than buried gold.

ORION'S SWORD
Ms. Gail Robertson
Mechanicsville


A Richmond police detective who is feeling his age, runs across an old Viet Nam buddy during a drug investigation. They join forces to track down the Rogue, an elusive drug lord who may have ties to a horrific incident in Viet Nam. The showdown culminates with an eerie repeat of the history that flushes out the terrible ghosts of war and casts a somber look into the minds of the those who were there.

MATT AND BEN'S AFRICAN ADVENTURE
Mr. John S. Wells
Round Hill


Ben LeBlanc and Matt Michaelson, two young "wannabe" filmmakers drifting through life, are presented with a somewhat shady proposal to shoot a movie in Africa. After a bizzare accident, they are forced to accept the often humorous, frequently outrageous, always difficult challenges of shooting a film about Africa entirely in Loudoun County, Virginia. Ultimately, the experience provides them with love and personal growth.

IMAGINARY LIVES
Ms. Robin S. Williams
Petersburg


This is a complicated drama about a family of three. Ten-year-old Kayla Joshua narrates the story of her mother's mental breakdown that has an effect on Kayla and her older sister. It is a story about the mysterious relationship between mothers and daughters and the depth of the human soul.

Updated: 01/04/2002

Submit Report Card

You must login to read or submit report cards.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!