by John | Nov 3, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC
The Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest Final Results… And the Winner is…!
Put your hands together and cheer for our Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest Grand Prize Winner… SPOON FED by Scott LaFortune! Huge congratulations to our new Grand Prize winner Scott – in what was one of the most fiercely fought recent contests, Scott has come out on top to prove he has the hottest script of Summer 2017.
Scott provided us with a well-written, commercially strong project with clear potential to become even stronger. So, Scott wins the $2000 cash prize, a year of free script development, guaranteed pitching to industry and exclusive script and logline listings from InkTip.
Of course, we’ve got two more overall winners to announce… in second place is FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY by Tony and Ron Basso – another strong and compelling entry that came close. And coming in Third is CHARMER by David Kurtz! Tony, Ron and David will also receive the year of free script development, guaranteed pitching to industry and exclusive InkTip prizes. We look forward to revealing more about the scripts and writers in the coming weeks!
Meanwhile, several other writers have won an Honorable Mention – check below to see if you’re one of them – another top accolade to boast about to your friends and colleagues!
To reward a greater diversity of writing than we’ve been able to before, don’t forget that we’ve also given awards to Simon Bowler and Richard Guimond for the Best Teleplay, and Book with the Best Screen Potential awards, respectively – two more ways that we’ve been reaching out to help reward and develop more writers and different kinds of submission. The fact we’ve created these awards tells you something about the quality of the submissions we’ve been receiving in those categories lately – well done to all the writers who entered and made our judging so difficult! So many of the submissions we read had significant potential – we hope that you’ll keep us in mind as you develop them further. Look closely and you’ll see that among our winners this time are submissions that have improved since entering one of our previous contests – hopefully a strong message to you all to keep going and keep us a part of your writing journey! Enter our Winter contest here…
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GRAND PRIZE WINNER |
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SPOON FED, Scott LaFortune |
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| SECOND PLACE |
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THIRD PLACE
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| FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY, Tony Basso and Ron Basso |
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CHARMER, David Kurtz |
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HONORABLE MENTIONS |
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| A BOY NAMED JUNE, Steven Bryson |
INSURRECTION, Simon Bowler |
BLACK JACK, Stephen Charles Curran |
| SEA FEVER, Richard Guimond |
NAPOLEON, Kevin Karp |
MY SPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
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FINAL STATUS, Timothy Jay Smith |
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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 John | Oct 13, 2017 | Updates
Summer 2017 Screenwriting Competition: Major international screenwriting contest…
**Semi-Finals date: October 20th.**
Hollywood might have had a downer this Summer, but you guys have made our Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest HOT!
This batch of 51 scripts, books, and pilots made a great impression on our judges and we are so excited to get into these entries and decide on our Semi-Finalists for next week!
Thanks to all of you who entered – find out if you’re one of the lucky Quarter-Finalists below…
The screenwriting quality was higher than we’ve seen in a long, long time at this stage of judging. So this was our toughest field in recent years for selecting Quarter-Finalists, and a number of promising writers have been very unlucky to miss out – so don’t get disheartened if you’re one of them. If you’d like to know why your script performed as it did this time, and how to take it forward, commission a Script Report from us to get an analyst’s eye on what’s working in it and what’s holding it back.
We provide hundreds of studio-quality Script Reports for writers and producers every year, to show them how the industry would currently rate and handle their script, and how to take them to the next level… Oh, and you’ll get the chance to enter our Winter 2017 Competition early, too. Check out our website’s new-look Mentoring section for all the ways that we can take you and your writing to the top!
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Quarter-Finalists |
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| IF YOU WALK AWAY, Scott A. Aiman |
BLOOD RUNS DEEP, Nick Amatuzio |
TWO BUCKS FOR BUFFALO BILL,
Nick Arvay |
| FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY, Tony Basso and Ron Basso |
ARABESQUE,
Sasha Belousova and A. R. Baker |
JEFFREY’S NATION, Carla Bester |
| 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 |
| DIAMOND BAR, Andrew Crane and Jay Pickett |
SARIN AND THE MOON PRINCESS, David Cupples |
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 |
THE HEALER, Ken Floyd |
SEA FEVER, Richard Guimond
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| WHISPERING WINDS (Novel), Richard Guimond |
WHISPERING WINDS (screenplay), Richard Guimond and Linda Cordeiro |
UNDERDEVELOPMENT,
Matthew Heinze |
| BLACK DIAMOND, Karen Marie Howland |
NAPOLEON, Kevin Karp |
TOUCH THE FIRE, Kevin Karp |
| CHARMER, David Kurtz |
SPOONFED, Scott LaFortune |
OWNER OF A LONELY HEART,
Rico Lara-Marin |
| KOPLEVA, Theo Leipert |
MY SPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
FACSIMILE, Gary Makin |
| THE FEDERAL HOTEL, Karl Mather |
SIMPLEST TERMS,
Desiree Moshayedi |
STRANGE CREATURES, Michael Neyland |
| THis OLD MAN, Nicholas Oktaras |
THE MAIDSERVANT’S CAP,
Jeff D. Opdyke |
SHINE YOUR EYES, Clint Pearson |
| SISTER TERRY, Mark Perlick |
MOCK ORANGE, Joseph Ramsay |
LAND THAT WE LOVE, Julian Renner |
| MATRICULATION, Mark J. Rose |
WEST DAKOTA, Mark J. Rose |
THE MICROCOSMIC CARTOON SHOW,
Prema Rose, Hugh A. Rose
and Suryananda Rose |
| FINAL STATUS, Timothy Jay Smith |
ME AND JEZEBEL, Lucinda Spurling |
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS,
Scott Marshall Taylor and Patrick Wiegers |
| ESCAPE TO PLANET B346, Thomas Thorpe |
QUEEN OF HEARTS, Ethan Westgate |
LEGACY OF THE GODS, Tim Wong |
by John | Sep 4, 2017 | Monthly Contest Winners, Our Winners, Updates, WMCm, WriteMovies News
A new winner is revealed for our free writing contest, the Featured Script of the Month Contest…
Our August winner of the Featured Script of the Month is DEAD POSSUM by Jared Wayne Raun.
We chose Jared’s script from a host of August submissions for its unique and interesting concept – which is what this free contest is all about!
Hell, we’ll show you what we’re talking about. Here’s a quick summary on the script by Jared:
“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.”
And here’s a short bio on Jared:
Jared is a longtime lover of movies, comics, music, and episodic storytelling. He graduated from USC film school in the late nineties and spent the first decade of his career working in production. Around ten years ago he switched his focus to writing and though he has written over ten feature scripts and a web series, this summer marks the first attempt he has made to get his work out to the public through screenwriting contests. He is honored to receive this award and hopes to see Dead Possum on screen sometime in the near future.
In addition to many more feature scripts queued up to write, Jared has several animated and live action projects he hopes to direct, the first being a horror/fantasy web series pilot set to shoot in early 2018.
For winning the August Featured Script of the Month Jared now receives free Judging Feedback and publicity on our website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page. Jared 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!
Let’s also give a hand to our Honorable Mentions:
EMILY’S STARS by Bill Baber.
WEST DAKOTA by Mark J. Rose,
And TOUGH THE FIRE by Kevin Karp.
You could be our next Script of the Month winner – you enter for free whenever you enter one of our Contests or order a script mentoring service.
by John | Sep 1, 2017 | Industry News, Updates
Summer Box-Office flopbusters – Notice the trends of Summer flops to avoid the same pitfalls.
A Summer to forget for Hollywood… the worst grossing Summer in the last ten years, but just why has this happened?
The content has been there. WONDER WOMAN, SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING, BABY DRIVER, THE DARK TOWER, DUNKIRK, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Of course, they’re different in quality and appeal, but these belong to some big franchises and film companies. But, this Summer has not been so hot.
It’s hard to remember many other films beyond these. If I asked you to name 15 films released since the start of June you’d probably struggle – hell, we’d struggle!
One of the issues is the ease which moviegoers can check a review and decide on whether it’s worth going to see and spend their hard-earned cash on. It takes less than 30 seconds to open up the IMDB app on my phone to check the Dunkirk rating (8.4/10, not bad, Nolan). And this is no doubt how a lot of people are choosing to see films now.
And so many of those low scoring films will just be forgotten. Remember how the BAYWATCH movie was released this Summer, or PIRATES 5 at the end of May? No, me neither. It seems that Hollywood films are becoming more polarizing each year – we’re losing middle ground and average, yet enjoyable, rom-coms and now receiving either complete trash or filmmaking brilliance. We think that script development professionals deserve a bigger voice in the studios’ choice of projects and scriptwriting – and our founder Alex is compiling the research that’ll prove it, we’ve already had a look!
The lack of comedy seems apparent this Summer. Summer action films are always likely going to be a hit, but there’s very little engaging or original comedies or rom-coms out there. Which is just sad for the Summer. Now, we have to settle for things like THE EMOJI MOVIE… We used to get much better quality and ideas…
Maybe this represents a need for better and more original comedies, but there’s also a sign that Winter is becoming the time to release films. The Oscar bait is usually released around Autumn and Winter time, plus the STAR WARS franchise (and before it THE HOBBIT trilogy) was released around Christmas to increase revenue… and it worked.
It’s worth looking more deeply into what films have flopped and why. Try and spot any trends that occur in the failures and do your best to avoid them.
Read more on Hollywood’s horrible Summer here; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-11/hollywood-s-summer-from-hell
You can also see what sort of scripts are selling recently with Script Pipeline: https://scriptpipeline.com/category/script-sales
Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
© WriteMovies 2017
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!
Put your hands together and cheer for our Summer 2017 Screenwriting Contest Grand Prize Winner… SPOON FED by Scott LaFortune! Huge congratulations to our new Grand Prize winner Scott – in what was one of the most fiercely fought recent contests, Scott has come out on top to prove he has the hottest script of Summer 2017.
Meanwhile, several other writers have won an Honorable Mention – check below to see if you’re one of them – another top accolade to boast about to your friends and colleagues!
