by John Sullivan | Nov 8, 2019 | Updates
The WriteMovies Horror Award 2019 was hotly contested, but one script shone and came through to take the prize: MONGER by David Axe!
MONGER got our attention straight away with a unique concept and setup. The plot and the monster that haunts the protagonists both feel fresh, and with well-rounded characters we quickly came to care about, the suspense was high throughout. Congratulations to the writer of MONGER and the first ever winner of the WriteMovies Horror Award, David Axe!
As the WriteMovies Horror Award 2019 winner, David has won guaranteed pitching to industry, two sets of Development Notes, and further advice on honing his script from our screenwriting experts. He’s also still in contention for our Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest; Quarter-Finalists will be announced on Friday November 15th!
Here’s a summary of MONGER:
Two ex-U.S. Army soldiers, both veterans of brutal combat in Afghanistan, hike into the American wilderness to take some drugs, drink some bourbon and get right with themselves and the universe. But something follows them… and it has other plans.
MONGER is an austere, character-driven horror movie about war, love, friendship, trauma, guilt and self-forgiveness. And monsters.
If you’re a producer interested in this project, email david.vogel@atalentscout.com today!
And here’s a quick bio of the writer of MONGER, David Axe:
MONGER writer David Axe is a filmmaker and journalist living in Columbia, South Carolina. The author of several graphic novels, he also wrote the 2017 indie thriller THE THETA GIRL and has written and directed several short and feature films including SHED (2019) and LECTION (2020).
by John Sullivan | Oct 31, 2019 | Horror Award
With so many great scripts in contention, judging this new prize has been a tough process for us – but today, on the spookiest day of the year, we can finally announce the WriteMovies Horror Award 2019 winner!
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by John Sullivan | Oct 7, 2019 | WMC, WriteMovies News
We’re nearing the end of another contest! Partnered with our first ever Horror Award – the winner of which is announced on Halloween – the end of the WriteMovies Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest is fast approaching, with submissions closing on October 13th!
Whatever genre your screenplay belongs to, we want to see it. WriteMovies has been helping writers to succeed for twenty years now, and we want to keep that going! We’re always on the look out for great scripts and fresh new voices that deserve to be heard.
That’s part of the reason why we offer our top three scripts a year of free script development followed by pitching to industry. We want to make sure that your work reaches its full potential – and that once it has, it gets the best possible chance of getting into production. A screenplay should be turned into a film – not left to linger on the page!
Don’t forget the Grand Prize for this contest either. The winner walks away with $2000… not to mention bragging rights!
So make sure you don’t miss your chance. If you’ve got a script you want us to champion, enter the WriteMovies Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest before October 13th to grab our attention. We believe that great writing deserves to be recognized!
You can also get free entry to this contest when you buy a script report from us. Get professional feedback on your script drawn from industry-standard templates, starting with Judging Feedback from $89 up to our more comprehensive Development Notes at $149.
With just one week to go, move fast if you want to enter the Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest. Click here to submit today!
by John Sullivan | Sep 27, 2019 | Horror Award, Writing Insights
The WriteMovies Horror Award 2019 is almost over! With just two days until the contest closes, your chance to submit – and to become the first ever winner of this brand new prize – is fading fast. We’re saying goodbye to it with one final article celebrating the genre: our insights into zombie films!
Horror covers a lot of different bases. Monsters, ghosts, aliens, demons, serial killers, the devil himself… There’s a whole array of things in the genre that can scare you to death.
Speaking of death though, if there’s one thing horror keeps coming back to, it’s the living dead. Traditional horror stories were based on the idea of people reanimated after having died, and coming back as more animalistic version of themselves or mind-numbed, slow-motion versions of themselves.
Part of the success of zombie films is because they thrive on one of the cornerstones of horror: our innate fear of strangers and of being made to conform to the way that other people are, losing our personalities and individuality in doing so.
One zombie on its own is often not that dangerous. Being mindless, the individual is pretty easy to out-think! But they overwhelm through sheer numbers, relentless. It doesn’t matter how many you take down, there are always more still to come.
And so it should be with the films they feature in; this is a genre that will never die (or if it does, it will come back again!). Modern versions of zombie stories in the 21st century have brought them up to date and re-energized them with new dynamic energy, through such examples as World War Z and the rage virus that powers 28 DAYS LATER .
Stories like these have dynamized the previously slow moving zombie world, making for new kinds of fear and modern storytelling experiences and energy levels to put into films.
No matter whether they’re slow or fast, though, there are still key elements to zombies. They always come in hordes – and they always want to make you just like them…
If you’ve got a zombie story for us – or any other horror script! – don’t forget to submit to the WriteMovies Horror Award by this Sunday, September 29th. Stand out from the crowd by becoming the first ever winner of this prize!
by John Sullivan | Sep 23, 2019 | Horror Award
There’s just one week to go until our inaugural Horror Award closes for submissions – meaning your chance to become the first ever winner of this new award is nearly over! But what are the advantages of writing in this genre?
There’s a good reason why we picked horror as the second genre to celebrate in our new series of awards. It’s a fantastic proving ground for new filmmakers to achieve success – and that includes writers! Here are some of the reasons why you should be writing horror…
- It’s almost always in high demand, giving you a better chance of getting into production than some other genres! Here at WriteMovies, we get plenty of interest in horror scripts from producers and companies. And that’s because…
- It’s often cheap to produce. A lot of classic horror tropes use a small number of locations and a small cast, and the use of suspense also cuts costs compared to all-out action! But even if your horror script doesn’t look so cheap, that might not be a problem–
- Because there’s a strong core audience for horror. Some people just can’t get enough of it, meaning that horror films have a good chance of recouping their budget and then providing profits!
So make sure you submit your script to our Horror Award by this Sunday, September 29th! The winner will receive two sets of Development Notes, guaranteed pitching to industry, and further advice on script development…
Plus all submissions get free entry to the Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest, and the chance to win the Grand Prize of $2000!
by John Sullivan | Sep 20, 2019 | Horror Award
We’re celebrating our new Horror Award with a series of articles about our favorite films and TV shows in horror. Find out what scares us the most… and what we’re looking for from a horror script! Next up: GET OUT…
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by John Sullivan | Sep 13, 2019 | Horror Award
The WriteMovies Horror Award deadline approaches… With just two weeks to go until the competition closes, make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to become the first ever winner of this new prize!
For our 20th Anniversary year, we decided to celebrate great writing with a series of genre awards. After the success of our Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award in the spring, horror is the next genre we wanted to get people writing.
Do you think you’ve got a talent for scaring people? Whether it’s serial killers or monsters, drenched in blood or all in the mind, we’d love to read what you’ve got!
The winner of this award will receive:
- Guaranteed pitching to industry
- Two sets of Development Notes to help take their script to the next level
- Further advice to fine tune their script from our experts
Plus, all entries to the Horror Award also receive automatic entry to the Fall 2019 Screenwriting Contest. That gives you the chance to take home the Grand Prize of $2000, plus other prizes!
Most importantly though, this is your opportunity to be the first writer to win the award for this genre. Prove your skills as a screenwriter and be recognized for your work!
Remember, the Horror Award deadline is just two weeks away on September 29th. Make sure you submit by then to take your first steps towards becoming one of our winners!
If you need some inspiration before then, take a look at our reviews of some of our favorite horror films and shows. Find out what we like and what we’re looking for in a horror script.
And then, when you’re ready… Click here to enter the WriteMovies Horror Award 2019!
And here’s a quick bio of the writer of MONGER, David Axe:
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