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SURGE Announces Selected Scripts
The SURGE Film Festival has announced the officially selected scripts, stage plays and teleplays of the 2012 Sixth Annual International SURGE Film Festival.
Austin Fest Announces Enderby Entertainment as New Screenplay Competition Sponsor
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) has announced that Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Rick Dugdale's production company Enderby Entertainment is the new judge for the sponsored award category of the 19th Annual Screenplay Competition.
BlueCat Announces Quarterfinalists
The BlueCat Screenplay Competition has announced their 2012 quarterfinalists.
MoviePoet.com Announces December 2011 Short Script Winners
Jem Rowe's Sophie's Desert has been named the winner of the December, 2011, MoviePoet Short Screenplay Contest.
The-Greenlight.com Announces Monthly Contest Results
Richard Brett has been named the winner of the December, 2011 The-Greenlight.com Screenwriting Contest for his script, Love Is Blind.
Screenplay Search Announces Contest Results
David Minaskanian's Wham, Bam, Merci Ma'am has been named the winner of the Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition.
Philadelphia ScreenplayFEST Announces Contest Winners
Robert Cahill's Lookout Lou has been name the winner of the Philadelphia ScreenplayFEST Screenwriting contest.
Five Things To Nail Down Before You Write
In a period of declining WGA employment, movies are still being made. Lots of them. In this environment, though, you need to be sure what you're going for when you start a project. Here are five things to nail down before you start your next script.
FilmMakers.com Announces Quarterfinalists
The FilmMakers.com Screenwriting Competition has announced their quarterfinalists.
Scriptapalooza Fields More Scripts Requests
Intrigue Entertainment, Foremost Films, The Bauer Company and more have requested scripts from Scriptapalooza.
Search for America's Newest Comedy Writer Announces Winner
Megan Angelo has been named the winner of the Search for America's Newest Comedy Writer for her script, O'Connell for Congress.
Fresh Voices Announces Quarterfinalists
The Fresh Voices Screenwriting Competition has announced their quarterfinalists for 2011.
Screenplay Festival Announces Semifinalists
Screenplay Festival has announced their 2011 semifinalists.
ScriptVamp Announces Latest Dream Quest Attention Grabber Results
Justin Sloan's Back by Sunrise has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the December, 2011 Dream Quest Attention Grabber Competition.
Screenplay Search Announces Semifinalists
The Screenplay Search Screenplay Contest has announced their semifinalists.
Requests from Producers Flood Scriptapalooza
Foremost Films, Katz Films, Abrams Artists and others have frequested scripts from Scriptapalooza this year.
FilmMakers.com Announces 2nd Round Qualifiers
Second round qualifiers have been announced for 2011 FilmMakers.com Screenwriting Competition.
Who Will be the Contest Judge of the Year?
Lounging around in my luscious silk pajamas, my thoughts begin to drift. Perhaps I'm just restless, but I find myself thinking about scoring. One by one, almost unbidden, sultry Contest Judges of the Month from 2011 traipse through my mind. I can't help but wonder who out of our thirteen mysterious, mesmerizing, and sometimes merciless judges - don't forget our set of scintillating twins - is worthy of the honor of Contest Judge of the Year? Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the highest scorer of all?
WriteMovies Hosts Contest Luncheon
Louise's Trattoria in Los Angeles played host to the WriteMovies winners' luncheon on December 12, 2011. Hosted by WriteMovies' Freddie DeLaVega, contest winners from France, Tennessee, New York and Los Angeles were in attendance to meet with industry experts and discuss their future and winning scripts. Also in attendance were former Universal Executive and Producer Peter Saphier, Chris Lockhart, Story Editor at WME, and Creative Executive for Mutual Film Co., Greg Rodgers.
TWP Announces May - October Contest Winners
The Writers Place (TWP) has announced the winners and honorable mentions for their May to October 2011 screenplay contest.
The-Greenlight.com Announces November Contest Winner
Rat Girl by David Santos has been named the winner of the November, 2011, The-Greenlight.com Screenwriting competition.
Micro Miniature Miniscule Minute Screenplays
by Paul Peditto
Teaching a recent course at Columbia in Micro-Budget film-making, I went shopping for books on the subject. It was surprising to find just how little had been written, not on the art of making movies on the cheap, but on WRITING them with cheap in mind. In other words, primed for a micro-budget budget and shooting schedule.
Free Screenplay Contest Announces Semifinalists
The Free Screenplay Contest has announced its 2011/2012 semifinalists.
Holiday Screenplay Winners Announced
Michael Barmish's @ Santa has been named the winner of the 2011 Holiday Screenplay Competition.
An Inside Look at the PAGE Awards
The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards contest was conceived by a team of Hollywood professionals nine years ago. This handful of industry professionals, all looking for new material, banded together with the idea that bringing global talent to Hollywood's attention via a high-end genre contest would provide a niche service that both they and the studios and production companies need - namely, the development of new writing talent from around the world. At the same time, it would give screenwriters who are not "connected" in the industry an opportunity to get their work read and considered by top industry professionals who are actively looking for new material.
Interview with Zoe Simmons: An Inside Look at the PAGE Awards
Nevada Film Office Announces Contest Results
Wolfgang Muchow of Henderson, NV and co-write Seth Grossman have been named the winners of the Nevada Film Office 2011 Screenwriting Competition.
Holiday Screenplay Finalists Announced
Finalists have been announced for the 2011 HOLIDAY SCREENPLAY CONTEST.
The-Greenlight.com Announces Annual Contest Results
Naomi Lamont's The Touch has been named the winner of the 3rd Annual The-Greenlight.com Screenwriting Competition.
ScriptVamp Announces November Attention Grabber Winners
Darren Swanson's War In Heaven has been named the winner of the November, 2011 Script Vamp Dream Quest Screenwriting Competition.
StoryPros International Announces Winners
Owen Maxwell's Stone's Thunder has been named the winner of the 5th Annual StoryPros International Screenwriting Competition.
Top Three Logline Ingredients
Join me now as we travel to a screenwriting seminar in Los Angeles, where the celebrity screenwriter in charge dispenses knowledge on how to properly construct a riveting and attention getting logline. It sounds simple – you get one sentence to explain your story - and you must construct it in such a way that people want to read more. Then the Q&A portion arises and it becomes clear that writing a logline is anything but clear.
My Plausibility Problem
Part 6 of our "Survival" series for screenwriters.
Writers on the Storm Announces 2011 Contest Winners
Wright or Wrong by Glenn Sanders and Brooks Elms has been named the winner of the 2011 Writers on the Storm Screenwriting Cometition.
PAGE Award-Winning TV Pilot Optioned by Fox Studios
2011 PAGE Award winner Laurelei Ballard has been signed by PAGE Judge Sammy Montana of Anarchy Management, and Laurelei's Bronze Prize-winning TV Pilot THIS TOWN has been optioned by Fox Studios and Apostle Films. Paul Schiff and Tai Duncan are attached to the project as Executive Producers.
Scriptapalooza Announces Latest TV Winners
Scriptapalooza TV has announced their latest 1-Hour, Pilot, Sitcom, and Reality TV contest winners.
Scriptapalooza Interviews TV Competition Winners
Scriptapalooza has posted video interviews with their latest TV Contest winners, Sherman Kew (TV Pilot), John Brainard (Reality), and Lucien Knotter (Sitcom).
StoryPros International Announces Finalists
StoryPro International has announced the finalists of their 5th Annual Screenwriting Competition.
TWP Announces May - October, 2011 Finalists
The Writers Place (TWP) has announced the finalists for their May to October 2011 screenplay contest.
Cynosure Announces 2011 Contest Winners
Elizabeth Savage Sullivan's The Boy on the Cover has been named the winner of the Diversity Category of this year's Cynosure Screenwriting Competition, while Michele Giannusa's Cucina Bianca has been named the Female Category Winner.
Interview with CineStory Fellow Louis B. Rosenberg
As the 2009 grand prize winner of CineStory's annual screenwriting competition, Louis Rosenberg found himself seated at the organization's annual retreat with all of the volunteer industry professionals and mentors at once. In one large, private session, Rosenberg received numerous tips and advice about his writing and screenwriting career.
Contest Judge of the Month: Ms. December
Oh the weather outside is frightful, but Ms. December is so insightful! How better to wrap up a year of Contest Judges than with the present I know you're simply aching to unwrap…an agent to call your very own. Representation, now that's a stocking stuffer baby. The kind that makes you wanna run outside and show it off to all the other writers in the neighborhood.
MoviePoet.com Announces October Winners
MoviePoet.com has announced the winners of their October, 2011 short script competition:
The-Greenlight.com Announces Monthly Contest Winner
For the 3rd straight month, Natalie Hanson has been named the winner of The-Greenlight.com Monthly Screenwriting Competition, this time for her script, Her Brother's Keeper.
The-Greenlight.com Announces 2011 Annual Contest Finalists
The-GreenLight.com has announced the finalists of their 3rd annual Script Contest.
Chicago Screenwriters Network Announces 2012 Officers and Directors
The Chicago Screenwriters Network has announced their new President and Vice-President as well as their new board of directors.
Interview with Cléa Frost: An Inside Look at the CineStory Screenplay Competition
Executive Director of CineStory, Cléa Frost is a native of Australia. She attended one of its leading film schools housed at the Victorian College of the Arts. Since graduating, she has worked as a director's assistant, writer's assistant, creative executive, story analyst and script consultant, as well as a writer-for-hire for on both feature film and new media projects.
Interview with Cléa Frost: An Inside Look at the CineStory Screenplay Competition
StoryPros International Announces Quarterfinalists
Quarterfinalists have been announced for the 2011 StoryPros International Screenwriting Competition.
Atlanta Fest Announces Finalists
Fifteen finalists have been chosen from 286 submissions to the Atlanta Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. Of these finalists, three will be chosen and their respective screenwriters will participate in intensive workshop retreat during the 2012 Atlanta Film Festival to help the writer further develop and refine their script.
ScriptVamp Announces October Contest Winners
Max Wyman's The Roundup has been named the Grand Prize Winner of Script Vamp's October, 2011 Dream Quest Attention Grabber Screenwriting Contest.
One in Ten Announces Contest Winners
Dennis Shinners Barrio Boy has been named the winner of the 2011 One in Ten Screenplay Contest.
Terror Film Festival Announces Screenwriting Awards
Chris Warner's Vermin and Joe Tofuri's Lobison have been announced as the co-winners of the 2011 Terror Film Festival 1st Place Award in Screenwriting.
13 Secrets to Building a Great Character
by David Santo
Join me now as we travel to a public library in Michigan, where an angry woman types on a computer then bangs on the screen when she sees her words. She's writing her screenplay 30 minutes at a time because that's all she's allotted on the official library computer and she's really frustrated because the computer is slow. She knows I'm a writer and when she spots me, she smiles, peels off her wrap around sunglasses and pins them onto her right thigh - each tattooed calf on display below her jorts. One tattoo is Urkel. The other Jim Rome.
One in Ten Announces Finalists
The One in Ten Screenplay Competition has announced their top 10 finalists for 2011.
Writers on the Storm Announces Top 10
The Writers on the Storm Screenwriting Competition has announced their top ten finalists for 2011.
Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award Winners Announced
Students from UCLA took the top four slots in the 56th annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards.
Contest Judge of the Month: Mr. November
Allow me to introduce Mr. November. Charming. Powerful. And with a very big desk. His reputation is expanding faster than the number of screenwriting contests. Sharks dedicate a week to him. He is The Most Interesting Man in The Industry. He is, in fact, a Studio Executive.
RIIFF Announces Contest Winners
Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold from Brunswick, Maine has been named the Grand Prize Winner for this year's 2011 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition.
MoviePoet.com Announces September Contest Winners
"Cure in Sight" by JeanPierre Chapoteau has been named the 1st Place Winner of the September, 2011 MoviePoet.com Short Screenplay Competition.
FilmMakers.com Announces First Round Qualifiers
FilmMakers.com has announced their first round screenplay contest qualifiers.
The-GreenLight.com Announces Semifinalists
The-Greenlight.com has the announced the semifinalists for the 3rd annual The-GreenLight.com Script Contest.
The-Greenlight.com Announces September Contest Winner
Natalie Hanson has been named the winner of the September, 2011 The-Greenlight.com Screenwriting Competition for her script, THE CRAIGSLIST HONEYMOON.
Jonathan Lynn to Direct AFF Award Winning Screenplay Jasper Milliken For Experience Media Studios
During the opening remarks of the 2011 Austin Film Festival (AFF) it was announced that veteran director Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny, The Whole Nine Yards) has signed on to helm Jasper Milliken, a quirky story written by Julie Howe that won the Best Comedy Screenplay Award in the 2010 AFF Screenplay Competition.
Austin Fest Announces 2011 Screenplay and Teleplay Winners
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) has announced its 2011 Screenplay and Teleplay Competition winners. A record number of over 5,800 submissions were received this year.
The Fallacy of Resolution
Do you need resolution in your script?
Fresh Voices Helps Option 2010 Competition Finalist Already Gone By Bill Balas
With the Final Deadline of the 2011 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition just days away, Fresh Voices have announced that as a direct result of his placement in the 2010 Competition, screenwriter Bill Balas has optioned his screenplay Already Gone to producers Peter Katz and Don Le.
Los Angeles Screenplay Contest Announces Semifinalists
Semifinalists have been selected for the 2011 Los Angeles Screenplay Festival.
Nicholl Fellows Announced for 2011
Seven writers have been selected as winners for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
PAGE Announces 2011 Award Winners
The Winners of the 8th annual PAGE International Screenwriting Awards competition have now been announced, and the Judges have awarded this year's $25,000 Grand Prize to Pat White of Sammamish, Washington, for her edgy teen thriller ESCAPE.
Horror Screenplay Contest Announces Results
Gregory Blair's The Sisterhood has been named the winner of the 2011 Horror Screenplay Contest.
Interview with Mark Andrushko: An Inside Look at the Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition
Originally from Chicago, Mark packed his bags up 20 years ago and headed to Hollywood to become the next Brad Pitt, but the acting didn't work out, but staying in the Hollywood machine did. Along with co-founder, Genevieve Cibor, also a Chicago native, they changed the way screenwriting competitions were ran. Listing the actual names and companies of their contacts on Scriptapalooza's website instead of the mysterious "industry professionals" created a wave through the world of screenwriting competitions. Others soon followed suit but Scriptapalooza was ahead of the pack by truly caring for the writers interest.
Interview with Mark Andrushko: An Inside Look at the Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition
CWA Announces Contest Results
Top honors go to the Grand Prize Winner, Michael McCoy of Santa Rosa, CA for UNDER THE RISING SUN; Comedy Winner, Ted Gurich of Marina del Rey, CA for MARIACHIS IN MAZATLAN; Horror/Thriller/Fantasy Winner, Joey Cassel of Sandusky, OH for DEAD MOON FALLS; Drama Winner, Eric Carlson of Williamsburg, VA and co-writer, A.J. Hill of Nederland, CO for UNDER PRESSURE; and Action-Adventure Winner, Craig Cambria of Atlanta, GA for CANARIES.
Horror Screenplay Contest Announces Finalists
Finalists have been announced for the 2011 Horror Screenplay Contest.
ScriptVamp Announces September, 2011 Dream Quest Attention Grabber Results
Valerie Marcucci's The Human Element has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the September, 2011 Dream Quest Attention Grabber Screenwriting Contest.
Slamdance Announces Contest Winners
Jug Face, the horror and thriller entry written by Chad Kinkle, has won the 2011 Slamdance Writing Competition Grand Prize from over 2,300 submissions.
Austin Fest Announces 2011 Finalists
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) has announced its 2011 Screenplay and Teleplay Competition Finalists. The Finalists were chosen from a field of more than 5,800 entries.
Scriptapalooza Interviews 2nd and 3rd Place Finishers
Scriptapalooza has posted video interviews with their 2011 contest 2nd and 3rd place winners Mike Jones and Ted Adams.
The-Greenlight.com Announces August Contest Winner
Natalie Hanson has been chosen as the winner of the August, 2011 The-GreenLight.com Monthly Screenplay Contest for her script, The Truth We Choose.
Top 3 Tips from Contest Winner Steve Kopera
Join me now as we travel to a living room in suburban Detroit where a strip club scene is on TV. It appears in a popular police drama and is intended to keep the viewer interested while the actors dump the plotline into the episode. Now I am, and have been for years, officially, on record in favor of scantily clad beauties. But when this scene appears, I mute the TV and openly mock the situation, making sounds that correspond to the various body parts on display, because I'm so bored with this clichéd idea of disguising exposition with strippers.
Contest Judge of the Month: Mr. October
Didn't see it coming, but I must confess, Mr. October stole my heart. I love a man who lets me know exactly what feels good. Just like you, he's after the big score. I'll bet you fall for Mr. O too. Director, producer, actor - he's seen plenty of action.
Writers Store Announces Industry Insider Finalists
The Writer Store has announced their top 10 Industry Insider Contest Finalists.
Survival Strategies:
Six Quick Tips To Not Lose The Reader On Page One
Five pages.
That's what you get. You spend six months on that spec screenplay and the reader at the agency-manager-prodco-contest is giving five lousy pages before he makes a judgement.
It's an outrage! Blame it on Attention-Deficit-Disorder, the Twitterverse, the 24/7 news cycle...but guess what?
A good reader can recognize a poorly written script within five pages or less. Sometimes it can be seen on Page 1.
Big Break Announces Top 10 Finalists
The top-10 finalists for the 2011 Final Draft, Inc. Big Break Contest have been announced.
Big Bear Lake Announces Screenplay Winners
After a four-day event that brought Hollywood to the mountains for over 100 film screenings, the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival (BBLIFF) has announced the winners of its 2011 competition.
Great Gay Screenplay Contest Announces Finalists
"We started with more than 100, and now are down to five," says PFP Executive Director David Zak. "We have had a tremendous outpouring of exciting and fresh new writing submitted." And thus five new screenplays with LGBT themes or characters have been named finalists in the 2011 Great Gay Screenplay Contest sponsored by Pride Films and Plays.
Act One Announces 2011 Script Competition Finalists
Act One has announced their 2011 Screenplay Competition finalists.
Cynosure Announces Quarterfinalists
Cynosure has announced their quarterfinalists for 2011.
Pride Films and Plays Announces Women's Work Contest Winners
Pride Films and Plays has announced the two winners of 2011 Women's Work Contest. The Sapphics on Stage winner was Patient HM by Vanda from New York, and the Sapphics On Screen winner for Best New Screenplay was Girls Out Loud by Pat Branch from Los Angeles. The announcement was made at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at Center on Halsted at the completion of the Women's Work Weekend.
PAGE Announces Contest Finalists
The Judges of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards have now selected the Top Ten Finalists in each of the contest's ten genre categories. Over 4,400 scripts were entered in the contest this year, submitted by writers from all across the United States and over 60 foreign countries. This year's Winners will be announced on October 15th.
Nick Announces Semifinalists
The Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship Program has announced their 2011 semifinalists.
Writers on the Storm Announces Quarterfinalists
Writers on the Storm has announced their 2011 quarterfinalists.
ScriptVamp Announces Dream Quest Short Screenplay Winners
ScriptVamp has announced the results of their 2011 Dream Quest Short Screenplay Contest.
Interview with Jim G. Sarantinos:
An Inside Look at The High Concept Screenplay Competition
Jim G. Sarantinos began writing poetry and limericks at age eight and finally graduated to TV and features. He began coordinating the High Concept Screenplay Competition in 2009. Last year he became the director of the Hollywood Outreach Program for the Scriptwriters Network, which provides extensive script analysis and development notes for feature scripts. Promising scripts are recommended to over 50 agents, managers and producers, as are the winners of the High Concept Screenplay Competition.
CWA Announces Contest Winners
Michael McCoy's Under the Rising Sun has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the Creative World Awards Screenwriting Competition.
ScriptVamp Announces August Dream Quest: Attention Grabber Results
Fred Perry's The Tank has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the August, 2011 Dream Quest: Attention Grabber Competition.
Three Lines or Less Competition Announces August Results
Fred Perry was named the winner of the August, 2011 Three Lines or Less Logline contest for his entry, Crossings.
Scriptapalooza 1st Place Winner Published as a Novel
The Trial of Alex Lord, Grand Prize Winner of the 2002 Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition, has been adapted into a novel.
Scriptapalooza Interviews First Place Winner John Woodard
Scriptapalooza has posted a video interview with John Woodard, whose script The Floating of Hayes was named their 2011 First Place Winner.




