Los Angeles Or Bust » Competitions

Last day at Trancas

Aadip — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:07:04 +0000

Tough day. Took Audrey to the hospital after she ate a bag of vitamin treats. They’re pumping her full of IV fluids to flush it out of her system. Good news is that there’s no liver damage, just a ton of liquidy poop and puking. I thought she was gonna die.

My last day as an intern at Trancas International Films. I had a wonderful experience and the folks there are super nice, fun, and normal. Read everything…horror, comedy, drama, thrillers/crime, TV pilots and teleplays, comic books, graphic novels, etc. Finished up my very last piece of coverage with a tear in my eye, ok not really, but it was very bittersweet.

Onto the next adventure. A friend put me in for a P.A. gig on a TV show. Potential coolness is high.

Sent a spec off to a TV showrunner for notes, which is very generous of him/her. I’ve restructured, rewritten, punched up dialogue, trimmed descriptions, and checked for formatting, spelling, and grammar errors. It’s 27 pages of crazy hard work, but I loved every minute of it.

Continuing to work on writing a TV pilot with actor/producer friend tomorrow who always makes me feel like a million bucks.

NBC WOTV and DISNEY/ABC WRITING PROGRAM applications due next week. Am I diverse? I don’t know, but I play a brown guy on TV.

TOY STORY 3 tonight.

BUSTOMETER READING: 2

PAGE and BlueCat

Aadip — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:46:31 +0000

Just uploaded my script, Maid of Dishonor, for the PAGE and BlueCat screenwriting competitions. Wish me luck. My last script didn’t do very well there, but did Second Round at Austin. So, go figure.

I waited on applying for Final Draft’s Big Break, since BlueCat gives you free coverage by March 22nd, if you apply by March 2. So, I’ll see what they say.

Of course, after having Pilar Alessandra read it twice, as well as many others, it should be in OK shape.

Long Time No Bloggy

Aadip — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:28:59 +0000

As many of you know we’ve been positively slammed over at the ol’ NWSG. Planning
for our spring/summer program has been exhausting, but extremely rewarding.
I’m learning the art and science of delegation instead of taking on too much.
Damn Virgos, always overextending ourselves.

We just hosted the Way of Story Workshop with
Catherine Ann Jones. What a wonderful event! 15 writers showed
up and tackled their inner fears, wrote from the perspective of their heroes,
and many other timed writing exercises that stretched our brains and our
hearts. I was tired but invigorated by the workshop and Catherine’s obvious
mastery of story. We’re considering bringing her back to do an Acting for
Writers Workshop.

She strongly suggested we all read "Respect
for Acting" by Uta Hagen.

I picked up a copy and can already see the benefit
of learning how real actors will approach possible roles that we write for
them.

On Wednesaday, I was invited by Lacey Leavitt of IFP to speak on behalf of
the Guild at the SIFF Screenwriters Salon at 911 Media
Arts. I accompanied Geoff Miller (co-founder of NWSG back in the day)
and his writing partner/former student, Troy Hunter. We had a grand time,
often derailing all serious conversation by creating elegantly hideous pitches
together. We covered
topics like loglines, elevator pitches, meeting preparation, what to pitch,
research, crafting your pitch, Screenwriting Expo, etc. We were told
that this was the most entertainment Screenwriters Salon so far, which is high
praise. I
hope everybody enjoyed themselves. We even got some members
out of it!

Next up is Marilyn Atlas in about two weeks. I’ll be interviewing
her on Friday, May 2nd (Clear Channel), and then she’ll be conducting a two-part
workshop on Saturday (NWFF). Sunday, she’ll be taking pitches from Compendium
Members (Sorrento Hotel), so get your scripts in. This is not to be missed.
Not only does Marilyn love writers, but she wants to spend a lot of time gettting
to know our members individually. So there will be several opportunities to
network with her and make a personal connection.

What else, oh yeah we’re in the hot and heavy of screenwriting
competition season.
Here are some upcoming deadlines:

Apr 22 – Scriptapalooza
April 30 (late) PAGE Int’l
May 1 (regular) /May 8 (late) – WA State Screenplay Competition
May 1 – Script PIMP
May 1 – Nicholl Fellowship
May 1 – Sundance Institute
May 15 (normal) / June 1 (late) / – Austin Film Festival

WA State Screenplay Competition

Aadip — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:24:48 +0000

I’m pleased to finally announce that the 11th
Annual WA State Screenplay Competition will be co-sponsored and co-run
by the Northwest Film Forum and us,
the NWSG. The good thing is that being a member of either organization does
not, and I repeat, does not prevent you from entering in the competition.

You just have to meet one of the following requirements:
a) Written by a resident of Washington State
b) 50% set in Washington State,
c) Able to be filmed in Washington State.

Finishing a Screenplay Is Fun/Upcoming Screenwriting Competitions

Aadip — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:26:51 +0000

My writing partner and I just finished the fourth (and I hope) final draft
of our screenplay, Happy Accident. We’ve been working on this for a long time,
having lived through our brutal page-one rewrite (our main character’s name
changed!), a significantly revamped third draft, and a polished fourth draft.
It’s out to our proofreaders to make sure we haven’t dangled any participles
or committed gerundic atrocities.

There’s nothing like finishing a screenplay, right?
Whether anybody likes it, options it, produces it, or uses it for toilet paper
(card stock title pages hurt), it’s an accomplishment in its own right. I applaude
anyone who has finished a screenplay, whether it be a short, a TV teleplay,
or feature.

On a related note, now that it’s (nearly) done, we can apply to some upcoming
screenplay competitions, along with the rest of you. Good luck.

Based on the screenplays I’ve read recently from some of our members,
I think those judges will be pleasantly suprised by those scripts coming
from Washington State.

April 1 – BlueCat
April 11/May 1/May 8 – WA State Screenplay Competition
Apr 15 – Scriptapalooza
Mar 15/Apr 15 – PAGE
May 1 – Script PIMP
May 1 – Nicholl Fellowship