by John | Oct 23, 2017 | Highlights, WMC, WriteMovies News
Welcome everybody to the latest WriteMovies main contest – the Winter 2018 Screenwriting Competition!
We’re really enjoying the progress of our contests and winners, and all you writers out there, so it brings us great joy whenever a new contest starts!
After a satisfying response to the Summer Contest we decided to keep on our new special awards – the “Book with the Best Screen Potential” and “Best teleplay or Pilot” will remain a part of the Winter contest! (By the way, the Summer winners of these cool prizes will be announced this Friday. Exciting times!)
You might be familiar with our fabulous prizes: $2000 in cash for our grand prize winner, one free year of script development for our top three winners as well as guaranteed pitching to industry, and exclusive script and logline listings in InkTip’s script Directory and in their very popular magazine (sent to 1000s of producers and executives!).
Get involved with one of the few screenwriting contests that gets writers produced! And give yourself the best chance of success by checking our Writing Tips and Submissions Tips (CLICK HERE) before you submit…
UK and EU customers need to use the form on the page at THIS link (CLICK HERE) in order for us to continue to contact you after May 2018. Submitting to the form on this page may result in a subsequent loss of service for UK/EU customers.
Contest now open!
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Reasons to enter, and details…
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| There’s $2000 available in prize money, plus over $3000 in script development for the 3 winners, and bonuses and promotion through InkTip (see below!) – we promise to develop and promote the winners to the top of the international film industry. Hundreds of writers have found representation or had their scripts produced through our competitions since 1999.
Why not enter for free by buying one of our other services:
Or, complete the form below! An alternative submission method is also available further down if the form isn’t working for you, and UK/EU customers need to CLICK HERE.
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Take your Chance to be the next Academy Award winner discovered by WriteMovies founder Alex Ross. The WriteMovies International Writing Contest for screenwriters, TV Writers, Playwrights, Novelists and Short Story writers. Like 1000’s of other successful writers, you can find out if you have the right project for the studios and if you do, we will go to bat for you! Alex Ross (founder of WriteMovies), has discovered two Academy Award nominees. Will you be the third? Let us show you how to make your script fly. When it does, we will personally submit it to several top agencies, production companies and studios for you. Only 1000 entries will be accepted. Enter early and save! Out of close to three hundred “contest sites”, WriteMovies is one of only a handful that has produced movies from winning projects. THE LIST was written by WriteMovies winner Marcus Folmar and distributed by Warner Bros. Several novels have also been published and plays produced. Production companies, studios and agencies contact us all the time about our winners. The founder of the company discovered Andrew Niccol who wrote & produced THE TRUMAN SHOW (Academy Nominated) as well as Iris Yamashita, Academy Nominated for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA amongst others. We succeed when you succeed.
- Note: We no longer accept checks due to issues with fraud. Please use the Paypal options when participating. Please ensure you can send AND receive payments via PayPal.
- There are no physical items deliverable under our services – all reports will be provided by email in standard document formats.
- Refunds or cancellations must be requested within 14 days and/or before any public announcement of winning entries and/or before receipt of any completed Consulting report (which will typically be within 7-14 days). Disagreement with the opinion and suggestions of the Analyst is not accepted as valid grounds for a refund, however we are happy to receive other feedback and enquiries.
Here’s the breakdown for the entry periods and fees:
- Early Bird Entry (October 23rd – November 12th): $29
- Standard Entry (November 13th – December 3rd): $39
- Late Entry (December 4th – December 24th): $49
- Extended Late Entry limited availability (December 25th – January 14th): $59
- Flat Fee for Books: $69
The results dates will be:
- Quarter-Finalists: February 16th
- Semi-Finalists: March 2nd
- Book and Teleplay Winners: March 9th
- Final Results and Winners: March 16th
Entry terms and prizes:
- Entries must have cover sheet with contact info in order to be considered.
- Grand Prize: $2,000 in cash and guaranteed representation. 1 Full year of script mentoring for the winners, including development notes on all re-writes of winning scripts. Worth $3,200
- Up to $1 million in option monies from the A-List producers we work with. If an established studio/production company with theatrical credits wishes to option the script, we will fly the winner to Los Angeles and pay (up to $4,000) for their accommodation. We will pitch the top three projects to relevant production companies (such as Neal Moritz Productions, Bruckheimer Films, Scott Rudin Prods.) and studios (Paramount, Warner Bros, Universal, etc.). You keep ALL the option/sales money up to $1m. The Grand Prize winner is also pitched to several literary agencies and management companies as well as non-US companies to increase the chances of a sale. We will pitch your script to companies such as CAA, ICM, William Morris Endeavor, ACME, The Gage Group, etc. The names of the top three winners and their projects are mentioned in press releases and on the web.
- The second-place winner will receive our free Platinum consulting package.
- The third-place winner will receive our free Gold consulting package. Intensive pitch coaching to help you get immediate attention and stand out as a pro amongst the hordes of wannabes.
- InkTip: Where producers go for scripts and writers.
Winners will receive an InkTip Script Listing and have their logline featured in InkTip Magazine so they can promote themselves and their scripts to InkTip’s entire network of producers, managers, and agents. InkTip Magazine is sent to over 15,000 producers and representatives.
Companies who are InkTip members include: ABC, Anonymous Content, APA, CBS Films, HBO Films, ICM, Paradigm, Paramount Pictures, Hallmark Channel, FX, Universal, WME, Echo Lake, Zero Gravity, Bad Robot, 20th Century Fox, and many more.
Producers have made more than 315 films from scripts and writers found through InkTip.s sent to over 15,000 producers and representatives.
- Note: We no longer accept checks due to issues with fraud. Please use the Paypal options when participating.
- There are no physical items deliverable under our services – all reports will be provided by email in standard document formats.
- Refunds or cancellations must be requested within 14 days and/or before any public announcement of winning entries and/or before receipt of any completed Consulting report (which will typically be within 7-14 days). Disagreement with the opinion and suggestions of the Analyst is not accepted as valid grounds for a refund, however we are happy to receive other feedback and enquiries.
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Alternative Submission Method…
If you need another way of submitting, use these options:
Make your purchase here (depending on the submission date, further payment may be needed):
To simply enter the main Contest (PayPal & cards accepted): [nicepaypallite name=”WriteMovies Summer 2017 Competition – Initial Payment Button (may require further payment depending upon submission date)” amount=”29.00″]
Then:
TO EMAIL YOUR SUBMISSION TO US:
What to select, copy and paste (all of the below, until the end of the box!):
Please find attached my submission to WRITEMOVIES. I have made payment via the PayPal options provided on the WriteMovies website on: (DATE OF PAYMENT)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(Simply type or paste your answers (in brief) at the end of these questions…)
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- How did you hear about us?:
- *First Name:
- *Last Name:
- *Email address:
- Twitter handle (so we can give you a shout-out if you’re successful!):
- Contact phone number:
- *Mailing address (needed, to help us prove that we are not engaged in a fraudulent or money-laundering activities – we will not send you any direct mail unless you win a contest and consent to receiving items by post):
- Please tell us a little about your writing background:
- *Title of Project:
- *Number of Pages:
- *Entry Type (choose one and delete the others): Screenplay / Pilot / Spec / Book / Play / Short Story
- Additional Authors:
- Brief Synopsis:
- Would you like to receive the WriteMovies newsletter? Yes/No:
- Additional Comments:
By sending this email, I agree:
1. To the accuracy of the information provided.
2. That the material submitted is my sole and original work and that I own all rights to it.
3. To my holding WriteMovies and all those involved in it, harmless from and defends them against all claims demands, losses, costs, damages, judgments, liabilities and expenses (including attorney’s fees) arising out of or in connection with any and all claims of third parties, whether or not groundless, based on any stories submitted to the competition or on any screenplay developed out of such stories.
4. That I recognize that WriteMovies and those involved in the competition to which this submitted entry pertains, may have access to, and/or, may have created, or have commissioned, through some other independent source, or may have otherwise acquired, literary materials and concepts, similar to the material submitted hereunder, in theme, idea, plot, format, or in any other respect. I agree that I will not under such circumstances, be entitled to any compensation, nor consideration of any kind, through the use by WriteMovies of any material so acquired. The ownership of any literary work submitted shall remain vested in the author, until otherwise assigned by contract.
5. That should I be one of the winners, I grant WriteMovies the exclusive right to submit my material to as many studios, production companies and agencies as seen fit, for a period of ninety days. I also grant WriteMovies the right to use my name, as well as the title and synopsis of my submitted material, in all publicity and promotional activities related to the competition. I also grant WriteMovies the right to contact me to provide me with contest updates.
6. That the burden of obtaining copyright or otherwise protecting any proprietary interests in the material rests entirely with me.
Thanks very much!
by John | Oct 20, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC
Summer 2017 Screenwriting Competition: Major international screenwriting contest…
**Final Results date: November 3rd.**
Hey, it’s been a tough one once again, but after judging the quality and viability of all our Quarter-Finalists, we’ve got it down to just 25 Semi-Finalists who go through to our final. Much respect to everyone who’s made it – and for those who haven’t, you made our decisions really tough!
Are you on of the top 25 writers from our Summer? Find out below…
A lot of the scripts that have missed out on our Semi-Finals and Quarter-Finals showed great potential, but got out-competed at this stage in their development. If you’ve not made it this time, use that as a cue to come back stronger and with any problems or doubts in your script solved. Use the upcoming Winter 2018 Screenwriting contest (opening Monday) to come back stronger. Don’t forget our studio-quality script mentoring services. Find out why your script placed where it did in the Summer contest, use the feedback and analysis to improve your project for the Winter Contest – which, by the way, you’ll enter free with any mentoring service!
How about some new inspiration? Well just take a look around our site for all the latest news, buzz, and insight from the industry. What genre is strong at the box-office right now? What makes a top screenwriter? Use our new content to make your work relevant and stronger than ever!
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SEMI-FINALISTS |
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| IF YOU WALK AWAY, Scott A. Aiman |
TWO BUCKS FOR BUFFALO BILL, Nick Arvay |
FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY, Tony Basso and Ron Basso |
THE DAWN OF EVE, James Bingham |
LAKE, Ian Bonser |
| INSURRECTION, Simon Bowler |
A BOY NAMED JUNE, Steven Bryson |
THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS, Dengxian Cao
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BLACK JACK, Stephen Charles Curran |
| CIRCUS BOY, Stephen Charles Curran |
THE MUSIC BOX, Stephen Charles Curran |
INDUSTRY OF LOVE, Koen de Jongh |
COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
SEA FEVER, Richard Guimond |
| WHISPERING WINDS (Novel), Richard Guimond |
BLACK DIAMOND, Karen Marie Howland |
NAPOLEON, Kevin Karp |
CHARMER, David Kurtz |
SPOONFED, Scott LaFortune |
| MY SPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
STRANGE CREATURES, Michael Neyland |
MOCK ORANGE, Joseph Ramsay |
FINAL STATUS, Timothy Jay Smith |
QUEEN OF HEARTS, Ethan Westgate |
by John | Oct 16, 2017 | Highlights, Monthly Contest Winners, Our Winners, Updates, WMCm, WriteMovies News
Latest Free Writing Contest Winner – Our September Featured Script of the Month is SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS by Dengxian Cao.
We chose Cao’s script from a host of September submissions for its unique and interesting concept – which is what this free contest is all about!
For winning the Featured Script of the Month, Cao now receives free Judging Feedback and publicity on our website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page. Cao will also get the chance for a free resubmission of his script to our current main screenwriting contest! A great set of prizes for a free writing contest!
Here’s the logline to this very interesting script…
When terrorists use a Mind Transfer Device to control the bodies of US officials, including the president, a Secret Service agent must battle against his seemingly own people to prevent a nuclear war.
Check out a short biography on Cao, too!
Cao Dengxian: Born in Shandong Province of China, Dengxian Cao has works including several film screenplays and a collection of stories.
Seemingly Harmonious Awards: 2014 Hollywood International Screenplay Contest science fiction finalist; Third in 2015 India International Film Festival; 2016 The 14th Annual FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards PLATINUM PRIZE WINNER. Another American Writers Festival, the creative world, and any other semifinals.
Props to our Honorable Mentions, too!
- DIAMOND BAR by Andrew Crane and Jay Pickett
- THE HEALER by Ken Floyd
- And PATHS by Anthony Vieira!
Enter our Featured Script of the Month Contest with any contest entry (such as our upcoming Winter Contest, which opens next Monday) or by purchasing any one of our top, studio-quality mentoring services.
by WriteMovies | Oct 7, 2017 | Highlights, Ian Kennedy, Movie Reviews and TV Reviews, Writing Insights
Our Ian Kennedy on why it’s a fitting follow-up, why you should watch it in IMAX 3D, why it’s like the original in some unintended ways too, and why some audience reaction will suffer as a result…
I’ve got a long history with BLADE RUNNER. I saw it as a teenager in the 90s, again at University where I also attended lectures about it and wrote an essay about it, and I was also tasked with writing Example Development Notes for it during my time training up to join WriteMovies (which I’ll publish for you to read here – a good example of how our Development Notes look to take even the best scripts to the next level! Here’s another example about BLADE RUNNER from a more recent trainee). So you can imagine how excited I was to interview BLADE RUNNER 2049’s VFX Consultant Post Production, Habib Zargarpour, in the run-up to the sequel’s release. While we wait on official approval to publish that, I’ve now had the chance to catch the movie itself, and I wasn’t disappointed – though I think some people will be.
Habib recommended I catch the film in IMAX 3D, for reasons he explains in the interview. And boy was he right. That technology has been truly nailed now, and paired to a uniquely visualized movie like this, it really looked and felt like all the actors and scenes were happening right before my eyes. The 3D is subtle and natural, not artificial and showy, and became an important part of the experience. It’s hard to exaggerate what a naturally immersive experience the IMAX 3D made it. The visuals were stunning throughout – a great job from everyone involved, of which there were hundreds across the globe!
The original explores what it is to be human, and raises the unnerving prospect that replicants may actually be more human than us in some ways. BLADE RUNNER 2049 takes that further – almost the whole story is told from replicants’ points of view, and it takes their world to important new places and times, showing us why perhaps it’s their side we should have been on all along – something the original only hints at. The most interesting character in the new film, though, is actually Joi, the AI who acts as wife to Ryan Gosling’s low-key ‘Blade Runner’ cop – bewitchingly fascinating and uncanny throughout, and easy to fall in love with.
I noticed an interesting parallel to the original – just like for BLADE RUNNER, the trailers sold it as more of an action movie, where the movie actually gave us much more of a slow-burn mood movie (more subtle thoughtful than action-packed, like director Denis Villeneuve also gave us in ARRIVAL – read my Insights into that film here) – and that gap in expectations may result in exactly the kind of mixed audience reactions the original got at first! So far the critics’ reactions I’ve seen are good, and I think it’ll definitely find its place, but in the main, this is definitely NOT an action movie, and long passages focus much more on the vacant emotional life of Ryan Gosling’s inexpressive cop than on plot development – in fact the eerie sound design is often used to make up for the lack of plot development. Some audiences – probably ones who hadn’t seen the original – may even find the storytelling slow and unengaging, especially in the first half. In other hands this story would have made a much sharper two-hour movie, not the 2hrs43mins we’ve been given here, but for me it’s great to see genuinely thought-provoking and subtle films getting their chance at last – I wrote a series of Insights articles about that earlier this year comparing ARRIVAL, MOONLIGHT and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA.
So, this is a great movie, but maybe not in all the ways you’d expect. But with its haunting themes and stunning visuals, you might enjoy it even more second time around. Can’t wait to tell you the inside story from Habib!
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
by John | Aug 25, 2017 | Elite Consulting, Highlights, Pitching, WriteMovies News, Writing Insights
Our new Elite Consultant, multi-produced screenwriter Bobby Lee Darby, shares his pitching tips on how you should approach pitching to Hollywood, how to plan for it, and how to ace it! (more…)
by John | Aug 4, 2017 | Highlights, Results, WMC, WriteMovies News
Meet our Spring 2017 Screenwriting Contest Grand Prize Winner: CHOKE JOB by David Dell Johnson! Check out David’s short bio and logline for the script.
A strong commercial appeal, an enticing story, and compelling characters. Many elements to David’s script, CHOKE JOB, stood out to us. One of our judges even said “I couldn’t stop reading it! It was so captivating.” Below you can read a synopsis for this “captivating” script.
Here’s what David wins…
- David receives the Grand Prize of $1000.
- David has also started his one-year of free script development with us.We’re looking forward to seeing the development of his script.
- Once David and his script is ready, we’ll move into the process of pitching his script to the industry! Guaranteed! Beginning with…
- David’s script will also be listed in InkTip’s directory and the script’s logline being featured in their magazine.
Here is a short bio on David:
David Dell Johnson is a retired Air Force officer and screenwriter from Alexandria, Virginia. Besides winning the WriteMovies Spring 2017 Screenwriting Competition his screenplay “Choke Job” took 3rd Place/Special Mention honors in the 2017 International Screenwriters Association (ISA) Screenplay Competition. His screenplay “Undertakings” was a finalist in the 2016 Roadmap Writers/Route One Entertainment Screenplay Competition. His screenplay “Dead Man’s Money” took first place honors in the Thriller category of the 2015 Fade In Awards Screenplay Competition.
And here is David’s short introduction to the script:
A slick defense attorney with a penchant for getting guilty clients acquitted has his life methodically destroyed by a mysterious stranger and must embark on a desperate race to clear his name of murder.
Congratulations to David on being named our Grand Prize winner!
You could be our next winner and success story with our current main international contest, the Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest – enter HERE.
by John | Jul 31, 2017 | Elite Consulting, Highlights, Script Mentoring offers, Updates
Two New Elite Script Consultants Revealed – action, horror and thriller specialists!
We are happy to announce two new signings to the WriteMovies team. Hollywood co-writers Bobby Lee Darby and Nathan Brookes have come onboard as our newest Elite script Consultants, joining the likes of producer Tom Craig (RAINMAN, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE).
- Bobby and Nathan have collaboratively written several Hollywood produced films such as…
- ELIMINATORS (2016), action film directed by James Nunn. “A former US Federal Agent must abandon the witness protection program and come out of hiding when his London home is invaded in error due to a wrong address. When the event ends with multiple homicides, the news triggers those hunting him to send Europe’s most dangerous assassin to kill him. Now on the run with his daughter’s life in jeopardy, a determined father must get her to safety before the people he’s been hiding from track him down.” (IMDb)
- SEE NO EVIL 2 (2014), a horror film directed by Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska. “An undertaker’s birthday party is interrupted when Jacob Goodnight rises from the dead and proceeds to terrorize her and her friends.” (IMDb)
- 12 ROUNDS 3: LOCKDOWN (2015), an action crime thriller directed by Stephen Reynolds. “Upon returning to work after recovering from an injury, a police officer discovers and attempts to turn in incriminating evidence of illegal activities against his fellow cops.” (IMDb)
- Bobby and Nathan often work together (as they did on these three films), so they could be a great option for you if you’re collaborating with someone!
We’re really enjoying the progress of our contests and winners, and all you writers out there, so it brings us great joy whenever a new contest starts!
