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What's New, BlueCat?
The Official Newsletter of the
Bluecat Screenplay Competition
May 14th, 2013
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IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER:
- Enter your Short Screenplay by Wednesday Midnight PST for $35
- Screenwriting Lessons We Can Learn from IRON MAN 3
- BlueCat Finalist's Black List Script Gets a Director
- Latest from the BlueCat Blog: Silent Sequences in Film
- "Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs"
- Selected Script: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
- The Zither of THE THIRD MAN
- LightHouse Writer's Workshop
- Newly-Added Workshops in New Orleans, Omaha, & Austin
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2014 Call for Entries
We are now open for submissions! Enter your short screenplay by Wednesday at midnight for $35, and receive feedback by June 1.
This year, BlueCat establishes one of the largest cash prizes in the world for a Short Screenplay, with a Grand prize of $10,000, along with an increase in our Feature prize to $15,000.
Students will be eligible to submit their short screenplay at a discounted rate of $29 for the duration of the competition.
Each Short Screenplay submission will receive one written analysis, while each Feature Screenplay entry will receive two.
All Short Screenplay submissions received by May 15th will receive their feedback by June 1
All Feature Screenplay submissions received by June 15th will receive their feedback by July 1st.
Best Feature Screenplay
$15,000 Grand Prize
Four Finalists
Best Short Screenplay
$10,000 Grand Prize
Three Finalists
$1,500 Prize
The Cordelia Award
Best Feature Screenplay from the UK
$1,500 Prize
The Joplin Award
Best Feature Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada or the UK
$1,500 Prize
Movie Title Contest:
Three Winners $250 each
Recent achievements by BlueCat Alumni include:
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Young Il Kim's script, RODHAM, a 2012 Blacklist Script, recently attached director Jason Ponsoldt (THE SPECTACULAR NOW). Young recently won the 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant from Sundance, where he will write a biopic on Stephen Hawking.
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Aaron Guzikowski's PRISONERS, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Melissa Leo, will be released September 2013. The Sundance Channel recently bought Aaron's TV pilot, THE DESCENDENTS, making it their second scripted show after RECTIFY.
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Ashleigh Powell sold her script, SOMACELL, to Warner Brothers, with David Goyer attached to produce.
- SOMACELL, along with RODHAM, were two 2012 Blacklist Scripts written by BlueCat Alumni.
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Four Screenwriting Lessons We Can Learn from IRON MAN 3
From the BlueCat Blog
BlueCat blogger Ryan David Jahn shares his thoughts on the latest IRON MAN film.
"Here I'm going to discuss three things that don't work and one thing that does, and the lessons we can draw from them. (Let me note, too, that this piece will contain spoilers; if you haven't seen the movie yet, and you don't want an excess of information about its storyline, stop now.)"
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"The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs"
From Go Into the Story, screenwriting blog of Scott Myers
Scott Myers, the writer behind the "Official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List," recently posted the 12th installment of his entries examining the spec script. This latest installment features an interview with 2012 BlueCat finalist Ashleigh Powell, in which Powell relays the story of how she sold her spec to Warner Brothers, and how David Goyer became attached as producer.
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Selected Script:
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
The birth of the modern spec era: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID by William Goldman.
The script took home an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and ranks 11th on the list of the WGA's 101 Greatest Screenplays.
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Hey, Whaddya Say?
"One of the things I love to do when I work with young writers is to disabuse them of the notion that I know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm writing a script now, and as we are speaking, I am looking at my computer, tearing out my hair, thinking, well, is this horrible, or is this going to work? I don't know. Storytelling is always tricky."
--screenwriter William Goldman, winner of two Academy Awards
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From the BlueCat Blog
BlueCat Alum Young Il Kim Attaches Director to Blacklist Script
Thi The good news keeps coming in for 2006 BlueCat Winner Young Il Kim. It's just been announced that his 2012 Blacklist Script, RODHAM, the script depicting the early years of Hilary Clinton, has attached director, Jason Ponsoldt, who directed the 2013 Sundance hit, THE SPECTACULAR NOW, as well as last year's SMASHED. For more info, visit the BlueCat Blog here.
Also, be sure to check out Gordy's video on producing your short film script, also found on the blog here.
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Top Five Silent Sequences in Film
From the blog
Check out the latest on the BlueCat Blog from BlueCat alum, Ryan David Jahn. In this entry, Ryan examines his favorite silent sequences from film. As Ryan says, "...film is, as the cliché goes, a visual medium, and I can't help but feel those scenes and sequences that manage to tell the story without use of dialogue are the purest form of filmmaking."
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Art of the Title
THE THIRD MAN
Here's a non-writing film find for your enjoyment:
Ever wonder where that memorable music from the classic film THE THIRD MAN came from? Check out the link below to learn more about the Viennese musician Anton Karas and his zither.
As writer Will Perkins says, "In the same way that post-war Vienna is a character in the film, Karas' evocative musical accompaniment is as much a part of THE THIRD MAN as 'hero' Holly Martins or 'villain' Harry Lime.
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Workshop With Gordy at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Enjoy Gordy's workshops? Lighthouse Writers Workshop is a week long or weekend intensive writing workshop for advanced fiction, poetry, screenplay or non-fiction writers. Register and find out the details here.
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Connect With BlueCat!
Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, for your opportunity to win a FREE ENTRY. For instance, once @Bluecatpictures reaches 5000 followers, there will be a free entry contest for a 2014 entry! |
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Advertise With BlueCat
Would you like to advertise in our newsletter? Interested in a dedicated e-blast? We have nearly 13,000 screenwriters who read our newsletter every week. To discuss, please contact Heather at info@bluecatscreenplay.com.
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BlueCat Workshops
BlueCat Screenplay Workshops are a one-day, intensive opportunity to certifiably improve your script in a small group environment, led by award winning screenwriter and BlueCat founder Gordy Hoffman.
Your script will be read in advance both by Gordy as well as the other workshop participants; everyone receives in-depth feedback on their script from a number of different perspectives.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:
Online Script Workshop - June 27th - REGISTER
Online Workshop - September 26th - REGISTER
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