Congratulations to the amazing writers from this last campaign. The winners have earned literary representation and will have their projects pitched to various film institutions. We’ll keep everyone posted on how that goes.
The true revelation from this past campaign was just how good the unrepresented writer truly is. Scriptmatix develops for a wide range of writers, and we evaluated for several companies so we have a fair amount of knowledge about the field of writers in the represented and unrepresented sectors of the industry. The writers from this particular campaign were excellent. We have connected with many of the writers below and continue to build bridges and work with as many talented writers who are driven to succeed. Congratulations to all the mentions below.
This campaign saw 3 winners:
“Marilyn 13″ by Jocelyn Osier – Marilyn 13 employs 2 parallel narratives, one of a precocious pre teen girl in the 1960s who is keeping her father afloat after the death of her mother, but struggling to understand herself within the mores of her peer group – and the other about the efforts of 13 women to pass fitness tests which will qualify them to be the first team of female astronauts. Marilyn’s life is changed when her Father begins to date a free-thinking woman who initially challenges her ideas about her Father – but becomes a friend and confidant – while the team of astronauts must increasingly try to stay focused even when existing government bureaucracies threaten to derail the program. Marilyn 13 is a really strong example of a “Time of Tribulation” premise, and an Assimilation Dynamic as the young Marilyn initially finds she must adapt to the presence of this new woman in her life – and also start to assimilate to changing realities about her identity, body and peer group which constellate as she becomes a teenager.
“The Navajo & the Astronaut” by Jane Therese – “The Navajo and the Astronaut” received recognition for a very clear and unusual depiction of an “Aspirational” protagonist. Set in Flagstaff, AZ in the 1960s, it’s central character, Mitena has dreamed all her life of becoming a pilot – despite the fact that her people “do not fly”; Mitena finds ways to keep her dream alive including by riding the local wild sheep – but her worldview is shaken when the awakening of her femininity leads her tribal elders to begin to take more seriously the task of teaching her the cultural customs and initiating her as an adult Navajo woman. Looking for help, Mitena strikes up an unusual and serendipitous correspondence with – of all people – Neil Armstrong, who at the time of the plot is stationed, along with Buzz Aldrin and the rest of Apollo crew, in Flagstaff for a training assignment on the eve of their intended launch – a correspondence which may not only give her the conviction she needs to keep pursuing her dreams, but also save her people whose land and agriculture are being decimated by a government Uranium-mining operation.
“Nobody Stops for Normal” by Lee Karaim – “Nobody Stops for Normal” is an almost “Field of Dreams”-esque story about an innovative and idealistic man who, in an attempt to save his North Dakota hometown from an exodus, determines that he is going to drop out of the work force and build the world’s tallest metal sculptures, beginning with a model of a Mid-Western family. What starts as a hobby, becomes a crusade which divides the town. Based on a true story, the story charts the path by which a hobby or impulse becomes a source of identity or personal cause, and how a cause becomes an obsession. Will Gary’s project become the tourist attraction he hopes it will, or will these monoliths become a feature to an abandoned outpost?
While we love congratulating our winners and looks forward to pushing their careers forward in a serious way, we also want to spotlight night batch of Finalists. Each of the following scripts were championed by analysts, reads by executives in the company, and many were contacted for meetings with executives in the company.
FINALISTS:
10 Angry Dragons by Casey Costello
100 Acres by Alexander Major
A Knight to Remember by Wyatt Browser
Against Her Will by Serita Stevens
Aktion T-4 by John Martins III
Bright & Beautiful by Zachary Smolar
Bucket Kevin by Luper Buon
Natalie by Leonard Varasano
Capture The Flag by Christian Jika
Chicken Tenderized by Bonnie Tunick
ChrisMiss by Ross Marks
Christmas Can’t Wait by Natalia Chown
Cool Story by Gayle Gaviola
Daylight Robbery by Noel Cotton
Dissonance by Sheri Davenport
Flying High by Kenneth Gildin
Freedom by Anita Waggoner
From a Yardie to a Yankee by Sardia Robinson
Forester Get Up and Dance by Travis Sepalla
Haunted Heart by Mike Bencivegna
How to Address An Envelope by Alex Lyras
It’s Only Life by Joseph Stephen Meadows
Jocko by Derek Vitatoe
Lessons from the Gypsy Camp by Elizabeth Appel
Lexie by Casba Mera
Lion City Radio Show by Val Tan
Love, Beer and Children by James Bock
Loyal Americans by Margaret Dane
Map of Your Life by Jordan Galland
Marika’s War by Marianne R. Klein
Minor Party Candidate by Katherine Silverman
Mister C by Terry Connell
Motherkiller by Terry Lynman
Mrs. Strissel & The Dogs by David Congalton
Old Patrol by Kevin Jordan
One Less Heartbeat by Jim Griffith
Possibilities by Lyncon McGill
Rescue Dog by Rich Orstad
Saving Mark Twain by Stanton Rabin
Shaolin Wolf Man by Tom Freyer
Six Day Detective by Josh Flanagan
Soul’s on Fire by Joseph L. Harrison
South for Winter by Jill Ferrari
Spirit of the Wolf by Pamela Perry Goulardt
Spring Branch by Ketih Woodruff
Surrender by Bill Mesce
The Amateur Magician by Jerrard Burford
The Border Crossed by Alex Jiang
The Bracelets by Joanne Bellew
The Coal Miner’s War by Randall Reese
The Donor by Brandon Richard
The Gold Fish by Barbara Ward Thall
The Hobby Horse Kid by David A. Gregory
The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair by Ryan Mekenian
When I Was a Child by T.L. Needham
Where I’m Bound by Blake Ellis
