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Screenwriter Interviews
MovieBytes Interview: Mike Bast
An interview with Mike Bast regarding the Pubfilms Writing Competition.
Q: Who sponsors this contest, and what is their background in the industry? When was the contest founded?A: The Pubfilms screenplay contests are sponsored by Pubfilms, an online public movie studio. The contests were founded in 2007. The Pubfilms producer team has over 30 years of experience in Major Hollywood Motion Pictures. Some of the films the team has worked on; Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, High School Musical 1 & 2, Napoleon Dynamite, In Too Deep, The Run etc.
Q: What role do you play personally in the adminstration of the contest?A: I am one of the Producers of the films, but I do not hold sway on deciding which films will win. That is all decided by the Public.
Q: Have any of the winning scripts from the contest been sold or produced?A: The first winning script will go into production in late 2008.
Q: Who judges the early rounds of the competition? What are their qualifications? Who judges the final rounds?A: The Public judges the early rounds of the competition. Whichever 150 screenplays receive the most votes are then read by the judges and they are whittled down to the final 25. The final 25 are then voted on once again by the public and whichever screenplay gets the most votes wins and the screenwriter recieves $25,000 in cash and his or her screenplay is produced into a feature length film.
Q: Do the early-round judges read the entire script, or do they stop after a certain number of pages?A: The Public will read the first 10 pages, tagline, synopsis and treatment.
Q: Are the judges looking for any specific type of script? Are scripts of a certain genre more likely to do well?A: No, any genre is welcome.
Q: What do you do promote your winning writers, and to publicize their scripts?A: They are promoted on the Pubfilms website and their screenplay is turned into a feature film with their name listed as the screenwriter.
Q: What advice can you offer to writers entering your contest?A: Enter your screenplay in early and make sure you get everyone you know to vote for you. You can also upload a video pitching your idea and that will give you an advantage over people that do not.
Posted Tuesday, September 18, 2007
