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

Scriptapalooza Interviews 1st Place Winner Rawle Brown

1st Place Winner - Rawle Brown, "Limping Jokers"

Scriptapalooa: How did you come up with your story idea?

A: Actually, I was in a screenwriting class that required us to write an actual screenplay. The moderator advised us to write about something personal to us. No way, Jose. I didn't know these people. I wasn't telling them my secrets. So I picked a topic that was as far away from my personal life as possible.

Scriptapalooa: How long did it take you to write it?

A: I finished the first draft sometime in 1998. It took about three months to complete. Since then I've been rewriting it. So I would guess this is about the tenth draft of Limping Jokers. I've written other scripts, also. About five or six completed. I'm always rewriting them.

Scriptapalooa: Is this your first script that you have written? A: If I remember correctly, it was the second complete script that I've written. I've done my share of starting scripts only to run out of story. But I've always been interested in telling stories. I think it's in my genes. Growing up, my uncles would come over to visit. Two rum and cokes later they would start telling stories and entertain you for the rest of the evening. They were highly embellished concoctions of events. I found it fascinating. Even my friends today would tell you that I always have a story to tell. Chances are they would also tell you that I embellish the events even more for every rendition.

Scriptapalooa: Have you entered other screenwriting competitions?

A: I enter about four or five competitions annually. Usually the big name ones. Actually, I don't keep close track. When I received the emails from Mark regarding quarter and semi final winners, I assumed they were courtesy emails sent to those who didn't make the cut, so I deleted the emails without reading them. So it came as a shock when I got the congratulatory email for making the finals. Maybe it was for the best. I'm a worrier, so this way I had less time to worry.

Scriptapalooa: If so, have you been successful?

A: I've never gotten past the first cut of any kind of competition. This is the first success I've had as a screenwriter. Well, not really. Every time I complete a script, I consider it a major success. But this is the first time anyone who I haven't bought free drinks for liked my writing.

Scriptapalooa: Why did you enter Scriptapalooza?

A: The competition seemed credible. There are so many out there, you don't want to waste your time. I also asked around, and got positive feedback from people who were acquainted with it.

Mark is a real professional. And that's all you really ask for from the promoter's of these competitions. To be treated like a human being. I can see that Scriptapalooza will continue to be a major force for breaking in new writers because Mark will continue to attract them.

Scriptapalooa: Advice to other screenwriters?

A: Keep writing. As painful as it is to write. Many times over the years, I've decided to stop writing. However, I keep coming back to it. I guess it's a calling. A difficult one, because there are more pleasant things to do with your life than sit in front of a computer composing a scene. But if you've got the storytelling bug, it percolates in your head until you have no choice but to try to put it on paper.

I tend to like to put myself on the spot. I'm a CPA and a Wharton MBA, so when I tell people I'm a screenplay writer they don't take me seriously. Now I'm on the spot where I have to prove to them that I'm capable of this. These were the first people to get an email link to the Scriptapalooza webpage announcing my winning.

Scriptapalooa: How did you feel when you saw your name as one of the winners?

A: I was shocked. I thought my friends were playing a joke on me, taking control of my computer.

I will continue to seek every opportunity to learn the craft of writing. My ultimate goal is to become a master at it. I also want to become more disciplined, so I can be productive even when I'm not in a creative mood. There are so many ways to tell a story, and I want to have all the ammunition available to exploit these methods.

Updated: 09/09/2005

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!