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!
by John | Jul 7, 2017 | Highlights, Our Winners, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
Spring 2017 Screenwriting Competition: Major international screenwriting competition, refocused upon what writers value most about us…
Another writing contest complete, another group of winners revealed. We’ve seen the growth and improvement in many writers who have submitted: thank you to all of you who entered for making our jobs of judging the scripts enjoyable.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of our script consultancies to find out why your script placed where it did. It will further your growth as a writer and you’ll be entered, for free, into the current Summer 2017 Contest – another chance to win big!
Here’s what our Top 3 win…
- Cash prizes of $1000, $300, and $200, respectively.
- The 3 winners will receive one year free of script development and mentoring.
- We’ll also pitch and promote the scripts to the top of the film industry. Remind yourself what makes for winning writing HERE.**
- Plus, exclusive prizes from InkTip – an InkTip Script Listing and the winning scripts’ loglines will be featured in InkTip’s Magazine, read by thousands of writers and producers.
Here are the final results for the WriteMovies Spring 2017 Screenwriting Competition
|
|
WINNER
|
|
|
|
|
CHOKE JOB, David Dell Johnson |
|
|
|
SECOND PLACE
|
|
THIRD PLACE
|
|
|
THE FACTION, Kevin Karp |
|
BURNER, Bob Canning |
|
|
|
HONORABLE MENTIONS
|
|
|
|
PERFIDIES, Bill Baber |
THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
CRAZY WITH LOVE, Ronald L. Ecker |
|
|
COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
PEANUT, Manny Jimenez Sr. |
MYSPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
|
|
|
THE CHERRY ROOM, Christine, Stevens DeLorenzo |
|
|
by John | Jun 23, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
We are delighted to announce the Semi-Finalists for our Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest.
Since the Bonus two-week extension in late May, we’ve had a lot of scripts to get through – but it’s been an enjoyable task reading through every one submitted – so thank you to everyone who entered the contest.
At this time, we try to only include scripts that we’re still considering as a potential winner. Having made the Quarter-Finalists shows that a script or writer already has some clear potential, and a Semi-Final place means that with more development this script could become a contender. Keep that in mind as you think about what to do with your script next. With the Summer 2017 Contest having just recently opened, the results should give you a good guide to the current state of your idea, writing and script.
We hope that those who did not make the Semi-Finals will stay in touch with us: very few writers secure an industry commission with their first few screenplays. We have enjoyed our exchanges with you and continue to work hard at making this site more relevant to your careers. Don’t forget that many of our writers got their careers going by using our consulting service: CLICK HERE
If you’ve sent us a revised version of a previous script but it’s still not gained the result you were hoping for, we recommend that you consider getting a consultancy on it from us. That way you can find out what we currently feel is holding your script back. And don’t forget our latest round of contests. You can get free entry to our main contest and the Featured Script of the Month when ordering a consultancy HERE.
So, here are the WriteMovies Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest Semi-Finalists, all of whom will get re-evaluated and new eyes as we select our top three Winners to be announced Friday, July 7th.
|
|
SEMI-FINALISTS |
|
|
| PERFIDIES, Bill Baber |
INSURRECTION (Pilot), Simon Bowler |
THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
BURNER, Bob Canning |
SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS, Dengxian Cao |
| FELIX KERSTEN, Juniet Cedric |
CAPE ANGEL BLUES, Carl B. Clark |
AMERICAN HUNGER, Victor de Oliveira |
CRAZY WITH LOVE, Ronald L. Ecker |
THE ASHERAH, Ronald Ecker |
| COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
DRAGONS, Jason Ginsburg |
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE BAILEY, Phillip Hardy |
NOBODY’S TRACKS, Guy Harvey |
PEANUT, Manny Jimenez Sr. |
| CHOKE JOB, David Johnson |
THE FACTION, Kevin Karp |
GAMERS, Travis Lemke |
MYSPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
NEVER A WORD OF A LIE, Karl Mather |
| LOVE CRUSH, Hamilton Mitchell |
THE LOCKSMITH, Jeffrey Morales |
THE LOSING GAME, Bernhard Riedhammer |
THE LORDS OF FARHAVEN, Michael Snow |
THE CHERRY ROOM, Christine, Stevens DeLorenzo |
| BLACKBERRIES IN THE DREAM HOUSE, Patrick Towne and Diane Frank |
|
|
|
LOVING MY ENEMY, Maria Rosario A. Yano |
by John | Jun 9, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
We are delighted to announce the Quarter-Finalists for our Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest.
Since the Bonus two-week extension in late May, we’ve had a lot of scripts to get through – but it’s been an enjoyable task reading through every one submitted – so thank you to everyone who entered the contest.
We decided against many competent works for a variety of reasons. Most were simply outperformed by other scripts at this stage in their development. Some were not suited for the cinematic medium, others conceptually flawed, and some lacked commercial appeal. But the enthusiasm and dedication from each writer is clear to see, and a lot explored genuinely distinctive territory that deserves further development. This should not be the end of the journey for anyone who submitted to us.
We hope that those who did not make the Quarter-Finals will stay in touch with us: very few writers secure an industry commission with their first few screenplays. We have enjoyed our exchanges with you and continue to work hard at making this site more relevant to your careers. Don’t forget that many of our writers got their careers going by using our consulting service: CLICK HERE
If you’ve sent us a revised version of a previous script but it’s still not gained the result you were hoping for, we recommend that you consider getting a consultancy on it from us. That way you can find out what we currently feel is holding your script back. And don’t forget our latest round of contests. You can get free entry to our main contest and the Featured Script of the Month when ordering a consultancy HERE.
So, here are the WriteMovies Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest Quarter-Finalists, all of whom will get re-evaluated and new eyes as we select our Semi-Finalists:
|
|
QUARTER-FINALISTS |
|
|
| ARIZONA, Natacha Astuto |
PERFIDIES, Bill Baber |
THE DAWN OF EVE, James Bingham |
LADY ON THE RUN, Virginia Bola |
ONCE A KILLER, Virginia Bola |
| TO DIE IN TAJOUTE, Virginia Bola |
THE CAGES OF CORCORAN, Virginia Bola |
TWO CHILDREN OF FATE, Ian Bonser |
INSURRECTION (Feature), Simon Bowler |
INSURRECTION (Pilot), Simon Bowler |
| THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
BLESSE, Bob Canning |
BURNER, Bob Canning |
THE GHOSTS OF LONDONDERRY, Bob Canning |
SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS, Dengxian Cao |
| FELIX KERSTEN, Juniet Cedric |
CAPE ANGEL BLUES, Carl B. Clark |
ROAD KILL, Miles Colella |
MARIGOLD, Lisa J. Cristoforo |
AMERICAN HUNGER, Victor de Oliveira |
| CRAZY WITH LOVE, Ronald L. Ecker |
THE ASHERAH, Ronald Ecker |
COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
ROCK BOTTOM, Mark Flood |
DRAGONS, Jason Ginsburg |
| THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE BAILEY, Phillip Hardy |
NOBODY’S TRACKS, Guy Harvey |
PEANUT, Manny Jimenez Sr. |
CHOKE JOB, David Johnson |
THE FACTION, Kevin Karp |
| CHARMER, David Kurtz |
FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, David Kurtz |
GAMERS, Travis Lemke |
MYSPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
NEVER A WORD OF A LIE, Karl Mather |
| LOVE CRUSH, Hamilton Mitchell |
THE LOCKSMITH, Jeffrey Morales |
WHEN I WAS A CHILD, Terry Needham |
LAST RIDE OF METRO 313, Michael Neyland |
TABLE FOR FOUR, Jim Norman |
| DEPARTING O’HARE, Bill Papa |
SHINE YOUR EYES, Clint Pearson |
MALE DELIVERY, Paul Penley |
THE LOSING GAME, Bernhard Riedhammer |
HERE, THEN THERE, Paul Sargia |
| UP THE MAST, Andrew Smith |
THE LORDS OF FARHAVEN, Michael Snow |
RICHER THAN A WHITE MAN, Christine Stevens DeLorenzo |
John Smith, IRON MAIDENS |
THE CHERRY ROOM, Christine, Stevens DeLorenzo |
| BLACKBERRIES IN THE DREAM HOUSE, Patrick Towne and Diane Frank |
THE SECRET OF BANRION WOOD, Persephone Vandegrift |
|
THREE WISHES, Rita Wheeler |
LOVING MY ENEMY, Maria Rosario A. Yano |
by John | May 17, 2017 | Competition Offers, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
If you’ve entered WriteMovies Spring Screenwriting Contest already, then you can enter extra scripts from just $20 each! Offer ends May 28th.
Thanks to everyone who’s entered so far, for what’s proving to be a very interesting contest. We changed our price/prize weightings this competition to encourage earlier submissions and spread our judging workloads out more evenly – which was even more successful than we intended! As we were still expecting a big influx of later submissions, and maybe some of you were counting on us adding an extra week for submissions as we’ve done before, we’ve now got spare judging capacity for the coming weeks, and we’d like to use it to make a bonus offer to you. If you’ve submitted to the competition already, you can now submit further scripts easily for just $20 each!
So, if you’ve not entered yet, we’re keeping the contest open for another 2 weeks: and once you’ve submitted once, you can submit us a further script for a combined cost of $79 for 2, $99 for 3, £119 for 4 and so on! That’s a great deal and keeps getting better the more scripts you submit! CLICK HERE to get your script to us now…
To take the advantage of this great bonus offer, just email us at info@writemovies.com and we’ll send you a link where you can submit your extra scripts from just $20 extra each! Whatever your story… it won’t get you anywhere by staying on the shelf! Maybe it’s a new passion project, or one you’ve had sitting on the shelf for while – either way, this could be your time to shine! Take your chance in the Spring 2017 Screenwriting Contest NOW!
And here’s a short bio on Jared: