Winter 2018 Screenwriting Contest – Quarter Finalists

Winter 2018 Screenwriting Contest – Quarter Finalists

We are delighted to announce the Quarter-Finalists for our Winter 2018 Screenwriting Contest.

 

Since that Bonus Extension in January, we have had a lot of interesting and high-quality scripts to get through – but it’s been another great judging period!

Congratulations to the 51 Winter 2018 Quarter-Finalists! All of them had some special spark that caught our eye and we’re looking forward to giving them new eyes as we consider our Semi-Finalists and winners…

Those who didn’t make it this time were an equally fascinating set of submissions too, and showed a lot of promising qualities. We hope that you will stay in touch with us: we’re currently confirming details for our next contest and will keep you informed.

If you want to know why your script didn’t make it, or where to take it next? Has a revised edition of your script come out short yet again? We recommend that you consider getting a mentoring service or consultancy, too. That way you can find out what we currently feel is holding your script back. And as a sweet bonus, you’ll get free entry into our next main contest!

See the full list of Quarter-Finalists below…

Congratulate the Quarter-Finalists on our Facebook page and our Twitter feed.

Quarter-Finalists
STRANDED, Christopher Andre STEVE DEUCE, Justin Andreas BUSHIDO BASEBALL, Charles R. Astone
MEGABALL$, Marc Baron THE DAWN OF EVE, James Bingham TO DIE IN TAJOUTE, Virginia Bola
INSURRECTION, Simon Bowler THE OUTSKIRTS OF PARADISE, Montgomery Burt WHEN THE WHITE DOVE SPEAKS, Al Case
ADIONA, Ian Causer DEAD MAN’S HEAD, Ronald Ecker ICE CREAM DON’T MELT IN ENGLEWOOD, Richard Ehrenreich
VALENTYNE, Dashiell Finley ENDANGERED SPECIES, Mark Flood THE OATH, Axel Gerand
SHAKESPEARE OF AVON, James Hanson MAGIC MAN, Norma Hickox BLACK SHEEP, John Hunter
WHEN WE FALL BEHIND, Dan Hutchinson BOMMY!, Boim Hwang A SECOND CHANCE, Manny Jimenez Sr.
MATANZAS, Piotr Kaszuba NEW REALITY, Carolyn Kras CHARMER, David Kurtz
TALK THERAPY, Thomas Moore THE LOCKSMITH, Jeffrey Morales PROJECT ΩMEGA, P. James Norris
BAD DOG, Phil Olsen TREE HOUSE, Chris Ossman FINDING ATLANTIS, Katherine Panzella
AMERICAN REBEL, Sydney Parran THE CRAWL UP, Gabriell DeBear Paye GATEKEEPERS TO THE STARS, Thelma Pickett
A SHADOW IN SPACE, Bryan Reilly 2020AD, Mike Rogers SAVIOR, Jerome Sanders
STAR BLUE SOLDIER, Donahue Silvia THE FOURTH COURIER, Timothy Jay Smith THE FIRSTBORN, William Smith
TIMBER, Patricia Stevens, Marian Mathews Clark CUL DE SAC, Charles Stock SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, Charles Stock
SLAVE SHIP, Tyler True THE VENUS SYNDROME, Lynee Vincentnathan LAST PRINCE OF WALES, Ethan Westgate
COLD FOOTED, Tanya M. Wheeler THE REALM, Tanya M. Wheeler ISOLATION, Brian Whiteman
LEGACY OF THE GODS, Tim Wong DISRUPTED, Meredith Wood AMERICAN MYTHS OF BLACK & WHITE, Aaron Yarber
Former winning writer is writer-director of a new feature film!

Former winning writer is writer-director of a new feature film!

The Third Placed Winning writer to our Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest, Evan Cooper, is making waves in the industry with his upcoming film THE WILL O WISP.

Evan, who came third with his script BALLERINA GIRL, is both directing and writing the psychological horror-thriller that has been described as SIGNS meets MISERY. Actor Chrissy Metz (THIS IS US, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAKSHOW) is attached to the film to play a nurse with a chequered past… Evan tells us he hopes to head home to Canada for the shoot which would be great for him.

While it’s been exciting times for Evan, we’ve been deferring our usual free year of script development for BALLERINA GIRL, which he can resume with us anytime in the future. We’re keen to see that script progress as we believe it’s got strong potential too, and any success for THE WILL O THE WISP can only help that.

Click here for a reminder about Evan’s script BALLERINA GIRL and a little bit on the man himself…

You can check out Evan’s IMDB page here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3442948/?ref_=nmnw_hd

Check out the headlines Evan’s project is making here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/is-us-star-chrissy-metz-joins-horror-movie-will-o-wisp-1053916

How we’re pitching our winners…

How we’re pitching our winners…

How we’re pitching our screenwriting contest winners to the industry…

Since our relaunch in February 2016, we’ve gained a wonderful, varied slate of award-winning scripts and writers, many of which have now completed their year of free script development as we prepare them and their writers for the pitching process. As our campaign to pitch them gathers momentum, I thought now would be a great time to show you what we’ve been doing for our winners and the great responses we’ve been getting. We can’t reveal the confidential details of course, but there’s plenty we can show you as this gains pace. (more…)

Our Wall of Fame: 2017’s Featured Script of the Month winners!

Our Wall of Fame: 2017’s Featured Script of the Month winners!

Our Wall of Fame 2017: We have more winners than ever to celebrate from 2017 than ever! With 18 winners in total, we’ve seen an increase in quality from 2016, and we’re looking for that trend to continue…

Today, we’re honoring our Featured Script of the Month winners in this very special infographic (click on it to see it in all its might!) More to be revealed shortly…

Learn all about each of our Featured Script of the Month winners and their loglines:

  • GAMERS by Travis Lemke – “A man child who has lost love finds new love, but then has to kill that love after he and his Dungeon and Dragons buddies fall into possession of a magic book and summon a mysterious “protector” from hell. Shenanigans and hi-jinks abound in this contemporary comedy.” Read more
  • MARIGOLD by Lisa J. Cristoforo – “When a woman realizes her dreams are a window into her past lives connecting her to a famous actor and an 18th century Irish house servant, she embarks on a clandestine adventure to Ireland to discover the truth behind the connection.” Read more here
  • THE CHERRY ROOM by Christine Stevens DeLorenzo – “THE CHERRY ROOM (Inspired by true events.) – An undercover cop, a writer, and the owner of New York City’s most famous gentleman’s club discover a sophisticated baby-making network that supplies elite pedophiles and satanic cults with prepubescent children.” Check out more here
  • IDLE OF MAN by Joseph Campbell – “IDLE OF MAN follows the life of a depressed psychiatrist who is all of a sudden abducted by aliens and returns seeking a new perspective on life.” Read more
  • LAST RIDE OF METRO 313 by Michael Neyland – “Passengers on a commuter bus become stranded during a storm and must work together to survive strange and unnatural creatures.” Learn more
  • QUEEN OF HEARTS by Ethan Westgate – “In a world where everyone is united by a global thought-network, a small minority of people are unable to access this network. Molly Dark must lead others of her kind in a race to survive as the Network turns violently against those Unconnected.” Read more here
  • SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS by Dengxian Cao – “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.” Learn more
  • DEAD POSSUM by Jared Wayne Raun – “A boy discovers he is dead, but resists leaving his body so he can save his living girlfriend from a gang of zombie bikers, despite protestations from his spirit guide.” Read more
  • DEAD MAN’S HAND by Ronald L. Ecker – “When the hypnotist dies during a past life regression, it leaves a present-day schoolteacher and an Old West gunfighter trapped in each other’s body and times.” Read more here

Wouldn’t it be great to see your name up there next year? Well, you can! Enter the Winter 2018 Contest by the 14th January and you could see your name, face and script up in the 2018 Wall of Fame…

Free Writing Contest – Featured Script of the Month for October/November – DEAD MAN’S HAND by Ronald L. Ecker

Free Writing Contest – Featured Script of the Month for October/November – DEAD MAN’S HAND by Ronald L. Ecker

Featured Script of the Month for October/November – DEAD MAN’S HAND by Ronald L. Ecker

We chose Ronald’s script from a host of October and November submissions for its intriguing concept – which is what this free contest is all about! We combined the Script of the Month to include both October and November entries because of the off-period between our Summer Contest and current Winter 2018 Contest (enter here!) to give everyone the best opportunity possible.

 For winning the Featured Script of the Month, Ronald now receives free Judging Feedback and publicity on our website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page. Ronald 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 Ronald’s summary of this interesting script…

When the hypnotist dies during a past life regression, it leaves a present-day schoolteacher and an Old West gunfighter trapped in each other’s body and times.

Check out a short biography on Ronald, too!

Born and raised in Florida, Ronald L. Ecker received a B.A. in English at the University of Florida, and spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Arequipa, Peru. He earned a Master of Library Science degree at Florida State University, and worked as a librarian at Barry University in Miami and with the state of Florida until his retirement in 2000.

He is the author of five published books, including the Dictionary of Science and Creationism, selected by the review journal Choice as one of the Outstanding Academic Books of 1990. His complete modern-English translation of The Canterbury Tales (with Chaucer scholar Eugene J. Crook) was a widely adopted text in college and university literature courses, and is now available free in an online edition.

He also writes screenplays and songs. His scripts have been in the Winners category in four screenplay contests (e.g., 2nd Place Winner in the 2014/15 Comedy Screenplay Contest, and a Winner in the 2016 True Story Screenplay Competition) and finalists in 14 others.

Enter our Featured Script of the Month Contest with any contest entry or by purchasing any one of our top, studio-quality mentoring services.

New Hollywood Virtual Film School Launch!

New Hollywood Virtual Film School Launch!

So you want to be a screenwriter, huh? Well, we want you to be, too! For nearly 20 years we’ve been developing writers with our mentoring services and contests with the aim of getting writers’ scripts produced. And now we’re going that step further… our Hollywood Virtual Film School is here!

WriteMovies Academy: Hollywood Virtual Film School

The WriteMovies Academy is introducing a brand new Hollywood Virtual Film School for all you aspiring writers and producers.

This 6 month academy will put you through your paces with courses on how to crystallize your concept, how to put that down into a script, and how to sell it and work with the production and distribution – all taught by our top, experienced script analysts, producers and writer mentors.

You invest months of your life on a script in the hope that it will sell. There is nothing sadder or more defeating than a script that has not sold. You owe to yourself to give your projects the best possible chance of getting made. We provide that to you. For a few cents for every hour of your life you have or are about to invest, we will provide you with not only a safety net, but a support system that will always be there for you. You cannot make it on your own, the odds are totally against you. Let us help you: THIS IS WHO WE AREPEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED, and FEEDBACK.

Don’t blow $100,000 to go to film school and be taught by “has beens”. We can teach you to become a professional screenwriter or writer-producer for $3000 and you will be taught by successful working professionals! Let us know about your own personal situation and WriteMovies will adopt a specific plan of action to take your script or idea to the next level.

Book your place on the first Phase of the course, or all six right here!

The Phases of the course, and their launch dates, and prices are shown below:

  • Phase 0 (Project Selection, Additional consultation & notes): $250 (or free if you buy all of the Phases 1-6 for $3000!)
  • Phase 1 (concept & development): $500
  • Phase 2 (development & outlining): $500
  • Phase 3 (1st draft & coverage):
    $500 
  • Phase 4 (writing is rewriting & 2nd draft coverage): $500 
  • Phase 5 (pitching and promoting your script): $500 
  • Phase 6 (that’s a wrap): $500 per year for ongoing support
  • Or, book your place on every Phase at once for just $3000, which includes Phase 0 absolutely free!

For more info on each Phase just click here, or to book your place for Phase 1, go right HERE.